I'm playing around with the idea...it doesn't seem far fetched but maybe more time consuming (programming). I can sorta see a bland graveyard setup in reality but then, either by phone or some special screen, have a bunch of ghosties or zombies roaming around. Does anyone has experience with AG and if so, whats the biggest headache for a working setup?
In general, the augmented reality stuff I have seen, don't really "stick" their virtual stuff to the real world very well. I.e. they tend to float around a bit. So, that is perfect for any ghost-like stuff. Though, if something should look rock-solid, don't put that in the augment reality display. So architectural items are probably not viable. You might be able to get away with non-ghostly things, if they are moving, and don't need to be seen touching real things. So, a flying bat would work. But a walking mummy would not, because his feet won't be sticking well to the ground.
No real experience here, but I would not go for a bland graveyard. It still needs to look good. I suggest being strict about differentiating between what is done as augmented reality, vs. real. So, you might separate ghostly things vs. what might be a real-life item. So, you could have a physical pirate, but have the ghost of one of his victims tormenting him in the virtual world. But, be sure to keep ALL the pirates as real things, and ALL the ghostly things as virtual.
Here is an idea. A flying saucer that is beaming up victims, if the victims can be virtual. The victim could be a real person, that gets opaqued by an effect on the virtual display. For example, the user looks towards some people with the augmented reality viewing device, and the people are about to walk into another part of your exhibit. The effect I mentioned stays on until the person is no longer in sight because they walked into the other exhibit. Ideally, if you had a programmer to do it, you might even capture a picture of the person, and show them being taken up into the flying saucer. I can even see trying to catch a front-facing image of the victim. Then, use the front-facing image to levitate them into the flying saucer.
Now you've done it. My imagination is going wild now. Perhaps you've seen the effect at the end of Disney's haunted mansion, where you see yourself in a mirror, where a ghost seems to be sitting with you. Can people be walking along a pathway, and you see someone walking near you get beamed-up? The same approach can be used as with the augmented reality version, where the "beam effect" from the flying saucer, obscures the view of the real person in the partially reflective sheet.
Alternatively, perhaps the "mirror" is simply a clear sheet. But, the audience is seeing a full projection of themselves and the others. See the attached sketch. Note that I positioned the camera and projector at the same elevation as the audience's eye. That way, the viewpoint will be correct. I put an object there to hide the camera & projector. But, a projector that has its image centered can be hard to come by. Perhaps one with a standard offset can be turned onto its side to do it.
In general, the augmented reality stuff I have seen, don't really "stick" their virtual stuff to the real world very well. I.e. they tend to float around a bit. So, that is perfect for any ghost-like stuff. Though, if something should look rock-solid, don't put that in the augment reality display. So architectural items are probably not viable. You might be able to get away with non-ghostly things, if they are moving, and don't need to be seen touching real things. So, a flying bat would work. But a walking mummy would not, because his feet won't be sticking well to the ground.
No real experience here, but I would not go for a bland graveyard. It still needs to look good. I suggest being strict about differentiating between what is done as augmented reality, vs. real. So, you might separate ghostly things vs. what might be a real-life item. So, you could have a physical pirate, but have the ghost of one of his victims tormenting him in the virtual world. But, be sure to keep ALL the pirates as real things, and ALL the ghostly things as virtual.
Here is an idea. A flying saucer that is beaming up victims, if the victims can be virtual. The victim could be a real person, that gets opaqued by an effect on the virtual display. For example, the user looks towards some people with the augmented reality viewing device, and the people are about to walk into another part of your exhibit. The effect I mentioned stays on until the person is no longer in sight because they walked into the other exhibit. Ideally, if you had a programmer to do it, you might even capture a picture of the person, and show them being taken up into the flying saucer. I can even see trying to catch a front-facing image of the victim. Then, use the front-facing image to levitate them into the flying saucer.
Now you've done it. My imagination is going wild now. Perhaps you've seen the effect at the end of Disney's haunted mansion, where you see yourself in a mirror, where a ghost seems to be sitting with you. Can people be walking along a pathway, and you see someone walking near you get beamed-up? Perhaps a large projection screen can be set up behind a plastic sheet that the audience thinks is a mirror. See the attached sketch. Note that I positioned the camera and projector at the same elevation as the audience's eye.
Regarding the idea of a Pepper's Ghost type of projection. I think that the Disney Haunted Mansion version fails in that it doesn't really provide an excuse for why a mirror is there. We see large sheets of glass in places like storefronts, cafe's. Even homes have them, though not as large. So, if you go with this idea, try to find a reason for the audience to see a large piece of glass, so that it is not something that seems to only be there for the mirror trick.
In my mind, Somehow, I would just use a clear sheet maybe 10ft long and mount that at the front of my graveyard. It would serve as almost a large "window" to look through. Now the tricky part is, if you are looking through said window then you would see the ghostly figures (or whatever the setup may be) hovering around. But if you walked around the "window" you would just see the graveyard. Does that make sense? Actually a pirate ship would be another excellent idea because even if not looking through AR the you still see the ship, cannons, mast etc. I need to learn more about it. I think my main question is....can you do a AR setup without people having to use special glasses or their mobile devise but instead up a big, see-through screen.
Regarding that "window"... It is very important for it to not just look like you put up a sheet of plastic. Some graveyards have a sign on the main entry that goes over the driveway. It is often done with wrought iron. That is a perfect frame for the plastic. It would be better to use dark grey gauze or other sheer fabric without a seam.
Regarding that "window"... It is very important for it to not just look like you put up a sheet of plastic. Some graveyards have a sign on the main entry that goes over the driveway. It is often done with wrought iron. That is a perfect frame for the plastic. It would be better to use dark grey gauze or other sheer fabric without a seam.
I realize now that I introduced a new idea, without really explaining it. You may have seen projectors used in windows for a display. In that case, a translucent screen is placed in the window. But, it is also possible to project onto a very sheer fabric that is dark gray or black. As long as there is no front lighting hitting the fabric, you can see through it without noticing that it is there. It is also possible to project onto the fabric. So, it is not a pepper's ghost illusion, since there is not a reflection. Just a projection onto a cloth that you can see through.
As for a cemetery entrance, this is the sort of entrance I was thinking about. Though, I would omit the gate. This forms a frame that the edges of the fabric can be attached to. I've seen people just put up a few poles, and put the fabric onto that. But, it really doesn't look correct, because the audience knows you are projecting onto fabric.
