Anyone know anything about Mylar screens for projections? I believe it’s what was used for the Madonna/gorillaz Grammy performance, plus the tupac pepper’s ghost “hologram” at coachella.
Are the screens actually transparent? If so, how can they be projected on?
And will the screen be invisible in a smaller, more intimate setting? Looking at doing a pepper’s ghost on my own, and curious if this is the right way to go. I have zero experience with Mylar screens.
I have no idea what the answer to your question is but I wanted to ask… what is a pepper’s ghost?
Try googling it for details. But basically it’s a stage illusion invented in the late 1800’s designed to allow theater actors to perform with ghostly apparitions on stage. The best known modern example being the translucent ghosts in the Disney haunted mansion rides. The gorillaz performance (animated characters performing on stage with a live human) and tupac holograms are advanced versions of this principle.
Peppers ghost is a reflection off a transparent sheet, not a projection onto it.
Isn’t it a reflection of something projected onto a transparent sheet? Or do I have the wrong technology in mind?
You can’t project light onto something transparent.
Of course, not many things are truly transparent, so if you increase the intensity of the light, the seemingly-transparent object will scatter a little of it and a projected image will appear, but that’s not what Pepper’s ghost is - it’s just a reflection.
With Pepper’s ghost, the audience sees a *reflection *of something from the surface of what is essentially an unsilvered mirror. It may be a reflection of an actual physical object, or a reflection of an image projected on a screen (in either case, out of view).
Obviously we’re not talking about totally transparent material, but material that will reflect some light but still pass light from behind it. I’d assume an unsilvered mirror is a sheet of glass. But it is just reflection of light that produces the ghost effect no matter whether the light could be considered projected or not.
It’s a reflection, like a reflection in a mirror. It’s not a projection, like a movie.
It just happens that the mirror is only partially reflective.
When you see a movie, you’re seeing a reflection. When you watch TV you see a projection. I’m still not catching what you’re trying to say.
When you look at a mirror, you’re seeing a reflected image.
When you look at a movie, you’re seeing a projected image.
That’s not right. A movie screen is a mirror. It reflects light. It’s designed to reflect light from a movie projector, but what you see is a reflection of projected light.
Or to put it in proper terms:
What you see in a mirror is a virtual image.
What you see at the movies is a real image, projected on a screen.
The difference is that when you move to the side of the movie screen, you don’t see around the side of Keanu Reeves’ head, whereas if you’re looking at a reflection of Keanu Reeves in a mirror, it’s true 3D - you can see the side of his head by shifting your viewpoint.
No, it isn’t. Unless you also want to say a white wall is a mirror. (I know a movie screen is not a white wall, but a movie can be projected on a white wall)
So does everything - you only see anything by the light it reflects, but not everything is a mirror.
Yes, the movie screen is designed to reflect light coming from one direction, and reflect it it one direction. So you’re saying the purpose of the mylar screen is to reflect to and/or from all directions? (obviously not precisely one or all directions there, but relatively speaking).
No, a movie screen does not preserve angle of reflection (or you’d only be able to view it from the projectionist’s window, or only see a small portion of the image). A movie screen scatters the light that falls upon it, thus, a movie screen is not a mirror.
Mirror:
“A mirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves much of its original quality subsequent to its contact with the mirror. Some mirrors also filter out some wavelengths, while preserving other wavelengths in the reflection. This is different from other light-reflecting objects that do not preserve much of the original wave signal other than color and diffuse reflected light. .”
Ok to rein it back in – I believe tupac was done via Mylar screen. Was not visible to naked eye (I believe). And image was visible on stage.
Madonna at Grammy performance was able to walk in front of and behind the projections. Yes lighting was very controlled.
Anyone use Mylar screens then? Any experience with them?
Ok, that explains a mirror well, and the difference between a mirror and a movie screen. I’m still trying to see what effect occurs with a mylar screen, and as best I can figure it’s a semi-transparent screen allowing you see images behind it and those that reflect off it from somewhere in front. This would be like a one way mirror at the neutral light level.
The mylar sheet is held taut, leaning forward at a 45-degree angle toward the audience.
Flat on the stage below this, there’s a projection screen.
A projector casts an image vertically down onto the flat screen (this goes straight through the transparent mylar sheet)
The audience sees the projected image, reflected off the mylar.
Diagram here (not sure it’s entirely correct WRT angles, but demonstrates the principle)
The mylar screen is just like a pane of glass, only easier to handle.
Ok, the diagram explains it. It’s what I expected, and was trying to explain. The mylar sheet is both passing light from behind, and reflecting light from in front of it.