projecting on to black surfaces

[plymbubba]

Hi BR sorry if this has been posted before had a really good look and can't seem to find anything.

I have been asked by my director to look at the possibalty of projecting on to a black surface which will be painted matt black so first of all can it be done?

The Next problem is the images which he want to use are in black and white so I ask you can you project on to a black background second will it work with back and white pictures?

Many thanks in advance

[revbobuk]

Back projection onto a diffusing surface might work rather better than trying to front-project onto a surface that (because it is black) almost by definition doesn't reflect light!

[GRisdale]

Yes you can.

 

Whether it "works" or not depends on a lot of factors. I would say that using black and White images will probably help as you'll get the most contrast possible. Other than that, you'll need to look into what "black" to use. Reflectance(?) varies quite a bit. A key factor will be what lighting is used at the moment of projection, and even in the minutes leading up to the projection (giving peoples' eyes time to dial down).

 

The only option with things like this is to get some gear in the room and experiment. It's simply impossible to predict, and can be a very expensive dissapointment if left to show day...

 

Gareth.

[pritch]

I've had it work quite effectively before, using only a standard office type projector. I think black and white images is the key, though; anything in colour looked very washed out.

 

Although the stage wasn't brightly lit when I did it, it was far from completely black. We were projecting onto a black cloth; I don't know how user a smooth surface will affect your image.

[WiLL]

You can, but expect a massive difference in 'brightness' of the image between a white screen and black screen. Black cloth (such as wool serge) is a terrible reflector and as such not a good surface. A matt black hard surface would give you a clear image, but to be honest a gloss surface would give you a brighter surface still, although not by much.

I've done a fair bit of this in the past and there is a difference between gloss and matt.

[Just Some Bloke]

Don't forget that when you project onto a white surface it's the white portions of the picture (especially around the edge of the image) that will blend into the background whereas when you project onto a black surface it's the black portions of the picture which do the same. Obvious, really, but quite easy to forget when selecting your images. A good trick is to open your Powerpoint (or whatever software you'll be using) and instantly select a black background for all slides before adding your images - that should help keep you on the right track!

[Ken Coker]

Rosco do a black projection screen - Here

 

You might be better off trying to work that into the scenic design.

 

As I recall it has a narrower viewing angle that the other types of screen.

 

KC

[kitlane]

I think the Rosco Black screen is designed for rear projection which was presumably not what the OP was originally planning.

[Ken Coker]

I think the Rosco Black screen is designed for rear projection which was presumably not what the OP was originally planning.

 

The OP is unspecific it seems to me, thus my suggestion of trying to incorporate it into the thinking around the scenic design. I appreciate that the inherent qualities of black serge/wood are not promising for transmission of light.

But then, as Montaigne puts it, "Que sais-je?".

 

KC

[philipp7pc]

There are several good rear projection screens. Geriets does some in black and dark grey. They are all great for rear projection.

Anyway, you will have to think about a front projection I think. So you might consider not having simple balck paint on the surface. If you are blessed with a painters workshop, go there and ask them if the can apply fine silver particles (they are used by painters very often) on the black cover by spraying (sorry, as german is my lenguage I'm not sure about the right term) them onto the surface dissolved in binder. Also http://www.screengoo.de/ do some really great paints for that. But they are quite expensive.

[CARWYN]

Hi

I projected onto black surge cloth beginning of november and it worked fine but the 2 images I used were brightly coloured and the lighting was dim I was quite impressed myself on the picture

 

Hope this helps

[smalljoshua]

I've successfully projected onto a black screen before. I used a 2000 Lumen LCD projector for a 2.2m wide image. The surface was hardboard painted with two coats of Flints Matte Black.

 

I've got a couple of projectors in stock if you want to borrow one to try out.

 

Josh

[ramdram]

** laughs out loud **, I thought you did tech for TWMA in that tenty place?! Or did you use their screen? That blasted screen went all over the West Country and got in the way most nights!

 

For them as interested, yes it does work absolutely no problem at all, but with these caveats; the throw distance we were working with was no more that 3mtrs onto a pros arch or bit of black. The image was very contrasty, ie white lettering on a black ground. By the by the image was lappy generated sent via vga. Projector was an off the shelf item, ie no massive output power...no I can't recall the make or model.

 

In any event, for other folks who may be considering the same thing, how long would it take to simply oik out your/a projector and do the experiment thing?

[ben ram]

Midnight black by JC Joel, front & back projection. marvelous stuff :)

[addoaddo]

An alternative which may or may not work in your situation is to have the screen area painted white and project a black screen on to it when not in use, when an image is needed the white will show up well.