Thread: Peppers Ghost Question

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Hello everyone,

I am new to the group and figured I wanted to start early for next year.

I want to create a peppers ghost....similar to this picture.



The room is quite tall and she will be in a window up high so people will be looking up at the ghost.

I think I got the basic concept of a pepper ghost illusion but not sure since the crowd will be looking up how to make the ghost look like it is leaning on the window sill. I think I understand how to make it look like the ghost is inside the window but since part of her body will be outside I am lost.

Any help would be appreciated.

Hi artistwantab.

Ravenmanor has a great and practical tutorial on Pepper's ghost illusion here:
http://www.ravenmanor.com/projects/peppersghost.html
One of the things he did that I thought was key was to place subtle room lighting (i.e., the candles) behind the ghost illusion such that the transparency of the ghost is readily obvious. Even on really cool displays, and the Pepper's ghost certainly qualifies, people often don't spend a long time to fully appreciate what they're seeing.

His ghost is set up to be seen entirely within the house through a window. You said you would like yours to appear to be partially outside the window like the girl in your photo. Not impossible, but it has drawbacks. I believe you would need the reflective acryllic sheet to be extend outside the window, angled from the floor to the sky. That could be a tricky set-up to get the angles and image being reflected positioned below. Also, I suspect the edges of your acryllic sheet would be much harder to hide, especially before it is dark outside. StonebridgeCemetery did a Pepper's Ghost in their graveyard, and that was something they'd mentioned. Being entirely inside a room allows you to control the lighting more and better hide the reflective sheet. This YouTube video shows an outdoor set-up in both day and night, so you can get a feel for this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eQamxvhFRc

Also, if you end up needing a large reflective sheet and can hide the edges of the frame, consider using shrink plastic as described in this thread.
Glass/plexi for Pepper's effect

I like your concept, but as a friendly suggestion also consider other Pepper's ghost displays that would be equally good and may be easier to implement. Good luck!

Thank you.

I think your right if the plastic needs to be angled it will likely be difficult to hide.

Didn't know about the shrink wrap option.

If I wanted to build a small scale model could I use my iphone as a screen to test?

Hi artistwantab. I think that would work. When I was experimenting with the shrink wrap for a Pepper's ghost, I just used a flashlight and my ever faithful (and tolerant) dog to see how well it worked

YouTube has several demos on the Pepper's ghost illusion. Here's one in a miniature, since you'd mentioned making a scale model:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vTjwcfORCc

And here is my favorite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EntsU...yer_detailpage
They used a projector shining on a white foamboard which then reflected off of a large plate glass. Using a video allowed them to manipulate it with software and give the image that ghostly aura, and the projector made it life sized. A more involved Pepper's ghost set-up, but a great illusion!

The piano girl is my favorite as well. Somebody in the forum also combined a FCG with a peppers ghost effect. I don't think that will help artistwantab's cause, but it's still a great effect.