Rear Screen Projection

Hi Everybody,

 

I'm in my second year of a Digital Photography and Imaging college course and I

feel like giving my class a taste of the old school. I want to do a really

classic rear screen projection. Really, I could just shoot a model, shoot a

background and combine them in photoshop. But honestly, I've had enough of

photoshop. Lets hear it for doing things that hard way!

 

Anyway, I was hoping that someone could give me some tips on how to do a really

classic rear screen projection. I need to know the best way to project, classic

trademark flaws, all that good stuff!

 

Thanks very much,

 

Cory

In the old movies, rear projection was USUALLY done against a plastic screen onto which the image was projected THROUGH the screen from behind although you can project from the front with the proper set up. The tricks are to achieve realism with true color and lighting balance, perspective, grain, and movement. It rarely worked

The premier company doing projected backgrounds for Hollywood movies from the 30s through the 70s was called Background Enginners. They had proprietary techniques for preparing transparencies so they would withstand the heat of projection (it takes a ton of light to project a realistic background).

 

The basic pitfalls are 1. Perspective and hot-spot, you need to project with a long projection lens so the light fall off is minimized due to acute bend angles through the screen material; and 2. Light level balance, in order to realistically light the model in the f/g, the background projection needs to be really, really bright. That requires a large aperture (slide), typically 4X5 or 8X10 and typically an arc lamp behind it.

 

It's all doable, with antique technology, but it's hardly worth doing, considering all the effort. If you are serious, contact me by email and I can give you more technical details, and maybe some alternative technologies. I was involved in the projection business for many years, a quarter-century ago.

 

<Chas>

Thanks Chas and Art!

 

It's funny, the original idea was to do a bad one on purpose in order to stress the fact that I was doing something kind of silly and convoluted. But the more I learn about it the more I want to do a really good and proper one.

 

As for materials and equipment: I have a budget of zero. Really all I have access to is a digital projector and maybe a sheet. So I'm think that, for now, I'm going to try and make it fun and a little ironic. I'll try and make all the classic mistakes. I'll keep it good enough to be viewable, but I also want it to be flawed and nostalgic. Wow, that sounded artsy.

 

Though, Chas, I may take you up on your offer of more education. When I scratch up the cash for some antique equipment I'd like to try this for real. I've been known on more then one occasion to do a lot of work to do something hardly worth doing just for the sake of doing it.

 

Thanks guys, very much, for all the help! Any further info would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks again,

 

Cory

Cory,

 

You won't get very far at all with only a digital projector and a sheet. The digital projector won't put out enough light to make a photographable image and the sheet won't transmit enought light to be of any help. If you want to do a "classic rear screen projection" you need at least the following: a projector capable of handing a 300-500W lamp and putting a few thousand lumens on the screen and a rear projection screen. You can rent a 35-mm slide projector for a weekend for a few bucks, and you might be able to find some rear projecetion screen material you could hang in a doorway. We did projected backgrounds for experimental films that way in the 60s.

 

Maybe the school has a projector and screen you could borrow?

 

The reason that Photoshop (and similar digital compositing technologies) is so popular is that it's sooooooo much easier then the old "hard" way. The old way didn't work very well and was expensive in terms of time and materials.

 

Best of luck

 

<Chas>

"Lets hear it for doing things that hard way!" I think once you work our the rear projection bugs you should shoot this with a view camera and coat your own glass plates with emulsion. Don't use any of that sissy film that comes ready to shoot. :)

Way ahead of you Craig!

 

I've got a bucket of Colliodon and a batch of Albumen all ready to go! All I need is a 100 year old 8x10 and I'm ready for shooting contact prints!

 

Ahem...

 

Actually, I have to shoot it with a digital SLR and maybe a 6x6 if I can afford the film.