Thread: levatating head prop and i need help

Tweet

So our Halloween Mad Scientist Laboratory is slowly coming along and I found this great idea for haunted houses or basically any house decoration.

Its a way to make it look like a head is levatating in your house or in your outside display. Apparently you're supposed to make a recording of a scary animated face, and then play it on a small television that is turned on its back. Then you put a piece of plexiglass in front of the screen (standing upright) and the image of the face is supposed to reflect onto the glass, making it look like a levatating head.

The idea sounds great in theory, and I'd like to use the effect as an introduction to our laboratory. But, I haven't tried it out yet and it sounds too easy to be true.

Has anyone heard of or tried doing this?

I even have an actor friend that is going to come over to do a recording of our scary head... I'M SO WORRIED THIS ISNT GOING TO WORK!! Plus I have to go buy some plexi glass now!

yep, its that easy.
check out bigscream.com
they sell dvds to use for this purpose.\or for interactive version
hook up a baby monitor to see and hear your audience.
then in a darkened room with flashlight under your face interact in front of a video camera connected to the tv.

I did this last year at work. It was very cool.

Just make sure that, when you record the video, the background is COMPLETELY black. Also wrap the actor in black below the neck. When you play the video, make sure you adjust the colors on the TV so that the black background is as dark as possible. The trick is in the contrast, so make sure the actors face is well lit but everything else is blacked out. As far as the plexi, it can't have any lights except for the actors face shining on it or it will ruin the effect. You can google "Pepper's Ghost" to do more research.

Originally Posted by doppleganger

I even have an actor friend that is going to come over to do a recording of our scary head... I'M SO WORRIED THIS ISNT GOING TO WORK!! Plus I have to go buy some plexi glass now!

It will work. This is one of the oldest visual effects. You are basically creating a "Pepper's Ghost" and it works extremely well. Glass works better than plexi, but plexi will do just fine. You can record it, or you can do it live. Doesn't matter.

The trick is making sure the background behind your actor is completely neutral. Black is best, but if you have the ability you can chroma-key out the background.

I did this one year and it is really an amazing effect. Done right, it can be absolutely terrifying. Done in conjunction with a full pepper's ghost, and it will give your TOT's nightmares.

And yes, it really is THAT EASY. This same effect has been used in sideshows and theaters since 1862 (known then as the Dirksian Phantamagoria). John Pepper perfected it and used it first onstage in The Haunted Man by Charles Dickens and the name "Pepper's Ghost" stuck, but the original effect was invented by Henry Dicks in the mid 1800s.

So have fun, it'll knock your socks off.

One word of warning... control the light. This is a refelected effect, and stray light can ruin it. The more you "hide" the edges of the effect, the better the effect will be. Don't want people seeing the edge of the glass and ruining the effect.

BTW, one of the largest of these effects is the Haunted Ballroom scene in Disney's Haunted Mansions. That effect has been running non-stop for decades.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Pepper's Ghost.

Try this link: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7lJbXLRFYQ]YouTube - ghostly floating head illusion virtual Hologram[/ame]
Gives you the basics for the floating head idea. EBay has some large screen TVs ~ slightly defective but cheap refurbs. Would fine for this application. Also, call around to some window installers some of them have left over windows cheap. Glass works better than plex

I have a full-size screen door glass insert that I've been saving to use in a Pepper's Ghost application. Do you have an insert like that available? Or you can check around at yard sales...

Originally Posted by icemanfred

yep, its that easy.
check out bigscream.com
they sell dvds to use for this purpose.or for interactive version
hook up a baby monitor to see and hear your audience.
then in a darkened room with flashlight under your face interact in front of a video camera connected to the tv.

I did this last year at work. It was very cool.

Do not type in bigscream.com if you have any children around or at work like i did. It showed a very graphic nude picture. LOL. Anyone else got another link.

Originally Posted by TheGothicPrincess

Do not type in bigscream.com if you have any children around or at work like i did. It showed a very graphic nude picture. LOL. Anyone else got another link.

Ha.. I did that too... not quite what I was expecting!

Try this: Welcome to Big Scream TV™

Originally Posted by TheGothicPrincess

Do not type in bigscream.com if you have any children around or at work like i did. It showed a very graphic nude picture. LOL. Anyone else got another link.

Got to love the Internet...Thanks AL!!