Projection and Powerpoint

[PuppetLight]

Hey All

 

I have a show coming up in December in a church and have alredy produced the media, but on visiting the location I have come to the conclusion the projection will need mapping. I have constructed the media on Powerpoint (as I have had no reason not to in the past, as I have found it easier to manipulate) but as yet I cannot seem to find a software or way in which to map the powerpoint around the 'screen' in the church. Any suggestions on software or any other methods in which to achive my goal would be greatly welcome.

 

I am visiting the venue again in 3 weeks if there is anything I need to know or test.

[lite_lad]

can you provide more details about the "screen" as this will depend on the complexity of what you need... I think when you say mapping you might actually mean keystone? (but mapping is the big buzz word right now!)

[PuppetLight]

well the 'screen; is a 12 ft wide and 10 ft all stone screen with 2 arched windows either side of a central arched walk way, on top if this is a stone cross about 0.5m tall by 0.3m. I want the projection to only appear on the stone and I dont want to just project onto it and let part of the projection contine though the arches onto a different wall, so I assumed that mapping would allow me to only project onto the stone.

[jonathan859]

Do you mean fitting the media to the size of screen? If so, rather than using software to fit the projection to the screen I would adjust the powerpoint presentation to fit the screen. This could be as simple as changing the size of the media or inserting a black autoshape on the slide where you want to have no projection. Depending on the projector being used you may be able to adjust the keystone to fit the screen.

 

What sort of show and media is it? The more detail you give, the better advice you'll get. Another key question is the budget, as there are a number of (rather expensive) bits of software which will easily handle projection mapping.

 

I think when you say mapping you might actually mean keystone?

 

From what I understand keystone is correcting the image so that is not skewed when projected from an angle e.g. projector pointed up towards the screen, whereas mapping is fitting the image to an irregular shape such as a building.

 

EDIT PuppetLight posted while I was writing my reply. Ignore what I said about keystone. The black autoshape may be the simplest option using powerpoint but if you have the budget for it, look into programs like ProPresenter EDIT

[AHYoung]

"Mapping" can be as simple as masking the areas you dont want to project onto or as complex as building exact 3d models and rendering custom content so that it fits both on and above the geometry of the building. Im assuming that you are going for the former as thelater is as complex as it sounds. Id simply go to site and take a photo of the area you will project onto, you can then use this to make a mask ie a transparent frame that has the areas not to be projected onto in black. You can do this in any photo editor. If powerpointis what you are comfortable with , paste this mask over the top of every slide and the jobs done. you can also use the mask or the original photo as a guide to make sure that the various elements of content fall roughly where you need.

 

You can also slightly edit the mask onsite without too much trouble as there will be differences in the lens of the camera and projector. Ive done si ilar things many times and generally the best approach is to use a test grid with the mask to line up the projector and with a bit of zooming and 3d keystone if your unit supports it you can get it fairly close or "evenly inaccurate",

 

 

 

Its probably not true mapping, but done well it can be very effective as its projection that works with the architecture.

[sleepytom]

Powerpoint is a long way from ideal for this.

 

using a playback software with some form of geometric correction wil make it all a lot easier.

 

The main thing to do is to practice.

 

as ever with projection work out your throw distances and lens requirements based on screen size and projector position. If you have the budget to hire in someone with experience to help you then you'll save a lot of messing about.

 

If your also de3signing the content then it will be possible to create content which is sympathetic to the technical requirements which ultimately will always look better than shoehorning existing content into your projection.