dbuckley Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Hi, wen I have done work at the northcott, wen ever they have used a projector they have always had a little box on top nicknamed the 'Lolly pop' because of the shape of the little 'baton' which would swing down & block the lense, it was basically just a circuit board, servo ...This would be easy to build, and reliable, and just run it off DMX. Heres the hard bit: Milford Instrumentds DMX512 receiver boards Any el cheapo servo (Maplin?) and the job's a goodun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
back_ache Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 This would be easy to build, and reliable, and just run it off DMX. Or you could go ready made, this company for example do both DMX and manual. http://www.response-box.com/flapper.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Very cool indeed, just a minor matter of $454. Which I suppose isn't too bad, when you consider the cost of ownership of a projector over a couple of years, once you factor in bulbs etc, and it'll outlast the projector anyway. Parts cost of the DIY is probably about 100 quid, so a solution that works and is prettty and wont occupy a few hours of shop time well make up the price differential. There is a shutter mechanism that was used for automated changeovers of 35mm projectors that were designed for the job, but I cant actually find the link or any info for them. Automated changeovers went out with the arc, more or less (pun intended), to be replaced by xenons and platters, and so now (again, more or less) all changeovers are done manually, but the shutter mechanisms still pop up from time to time, I just cant find reference since this thread started :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beware Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 I really don't like any sort of front projection, this being one of the reasons. If you're going to drop a projection screen, I'd always try and do rear projection, even if it involves concealing the projector in the set. this way anyone can blank the projector off once it's done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3guk Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 http://www.ukslc.org/forum/index.php?topic=428.0 Shows my attempt at making a shutter, could probs make someone one for around £30, costs around £20 for the components and around £4 for postage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRisdale Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 I do quite a lot of work with video and performance (on a budget) and have spent the last few years bodging bits of rope running up to projectors with flaps... etc... etc... A few months ago I finally decided to sort things our once and for all and went down the milford instruments route as exactly mentioned above. I now have a small extruded box (ala maplins) with 9v in and DMX in/out on the back. Power comes from a typical 9v AC adapter. On the front a cheap servo turns a "paddle" made from folded up black wrap. Can be addressed by opening up the box (takes a couple of minutes) but so far I have just left it set to 200. Lighting desk fader goes up, projector flap goes up... Depending on your preference you can position the flap to be closed over the lens at 100% or open. I'm still refining it - a proper safety point is next on the list - but it works great. Had it rigged for 12ish ours the other day going up and down periodically during a tech and then through the 2 hours show. Never had a problem. All told I reckon it's probably cost me £60/£70, which includes some 5pin to 3pin DMX adapters so that I can use mic cable to run to it if enough DMX isn't available. You could build it in a day if you had all the bits together. Not as beautiful, but lot cheaper than, the ready made type and just as useful. A tip to anyone else making one is to make sure that your "paddle" is properly balanced (mine looks more like a propellor than an arm at the moment) as this takes strain off of the servo when at rest. Just wish I'd made it sooner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutwo Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 http://www.ukslc.org/forum/index.php?topic=428.0 Shows my attempt at making a shutter, could probs make someone one for around £30, costs around £20 for the components and around £4 for postage. I would certainly be interested. PM me if you would like to take it further? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.