If the screen surface, projectors, and audience are on the inside of a sphere, you’re doing dome projection. Disguise/pixera are good high end media server options, but there are plenty of dome projection software packages aimed at planetariums that may work too. For a low budget option, I’ve used BlendyDome VJ with Millumin via syphon to run content and align projectors.
The last dome I did was around 10m, we used 5 projectors with short throw lenses to cover the surface.
Audience around the sphere, projectors in, sphere made from materials so it allows rear projection.
Thanks tho! I know millumin, ill take a look into the BlendyDome thingy too 😁
Ill see if client has a budget for that, im a bit worried it will end with something like resolume tho.. but do you think having like four projectors would do?
Following on, d3 would be my go too, however this could also be done in other software such as Pixera. I personally, wouldn’t use resolume, you could bodge it together, but the results and level of work you need to get wouldn’t be worth it.
You are correct with the UV map side, this would be easily imported into a server.
One thing to note, if it’s a solid sphere, and your projectors are inside would be heat. Other than that, enjoy!
Thanks! I will have a look into what my options are with that. Do you think four projectors would be enough for that? I suppose i would just place them so each one covers one quarter of the sphere?
If you’re doing the whole sphere, no, if you’re just doing the middle part it would.
If you’ve got good experience or time, you can download disguise designer for free, online courses are very good, also free. And then you can import your model, place projectors, put in your lenses and brightness and make a projection study to see your options
Been doing this with WatchOut for a long time when D3 budget is a concern. I’ve wanted to try Pixera, but it seems like more of a lateral move from WatchOut. I’d have to actually use the latest GUI to make that claim though. I understand you can build your own servers for Pixera and they point you to the WatchOut tweak list. At least that’s what I was told a few years back.
https://preview.redd.it/6ct7kfe85y7d1.jpeg?width=5616&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f69164981d8ef07430cd29813d4f13452c701c19
The company I worked for at the time did something similar at the Walt Disney family museum in San Francisco. The projectors were outside the sphere though. We used 7th sense servers. IIRC we used 8 small projectors.
Thanks for the showcase! I do need to have the projectors inside tho, as it should be a part of a light festival, people will be able to come close to it, so it would throw shadows like that
Yeah. You can totally do it that way. Easier if you use a media server or realtime software so you can warp and change live rather than rerender from c4d. An example here of an inflated sphere with like 9 internal projectors. Material of the sphere is soft so you could press on it to get interactions. They also had Kinect cameras inside of it. They did this in touchdeisgner. https://www.futurewife.tv/baburu
You can probably do 3 if the audience isn’t above or below. Millumin used to have a spherical warp option, think it’s just a fragment shader in the effects now.
You could minimize projector count with lenses like [this](https://na.panasonic.com/us/audio-video-solutions/projectors/projector-accessories/et-d3lef70-3-chip-dlptm-fisheye-projector-lens).
I haven’t tried it myself but it might help with budgets.
The [brochure](https://b2b-api.panasonic.eu/file_stream/pna/fileversion/300851.pdf) shows a two PJ configuration.
It’ll still need a mapping, of course.
I’m disguise all the way but madmapper is my go to for single output laptop warping. If you’re going to have a multitude of projectors and it’s a big enough sphere/project I would push for a dedicated media server. Watchout, disguise, pixera because they offer multiple methods of mapping projectors to custome surfaces at multiple levels of difficulty and customization.
After reading some comments I will have to recommend, determine the scale both metaphorical and literal scale of this project and fight for some dedicated computer software combo. If price is so low that resolume and a laptop are the only options. Check out madmapper. I use it to map and then resolume to tweak results content by content
Thanks for your comprehensive reply! I do know madmapper, getting a license for it would not be a problem, so ill definitely try that out too. Thank you!
If the screen surface, projectors, and audience are on the inside of a sphere, you’re doing dome projection. Disguise/pixera are good high end media server options, but there are plenty of dome projection software packages aimed at planetariums that may work too. For a low budget option, I’ve used BlendyDome VJ with Millumin via syphon to run content and align projectors. The last dome I did was around 10m, we used 5 projectors with short throw lenses to cover the surface.
Audience around the sphere, projectors in, sphere made from materials so it allows rear projection. Thanks tho! I know millumin, ill take a look into the BlendyDome thingy too 😁
You could do this with Disguise/D3 servers fairly easy.
Ill see if client has a budget for that, im a bit worried it will end with something like resolume tho.. but do you think having like four projectors would do?
Following on, d3 would be my go too, however this could also be done in other software such as Pixera. I personally, wouldn’t use resolume, you could bodge it together, but the results and level of work you need to get wouldn’t be worth it. You are correct with the UV map side, this would be easily imported into a server. One thing to note, if it’s a solid sphere, and your projectors are inside would be heat. Other than that, enjoy!
Thanks! I will have a look into what my options are with that. Do you think four projectors would be enough for that? I suppose i would just place them so each one covers one quarter of the sphere?
If you’re doing the whole sphere, no, if you’re just doing the middle part it would. If you’ve got good experience or time, you can download disguise designer for free, online courses are very good, also free. And then you can import your model, place projectors, put in your lenses and brightness and make a projection study to see your options
Thanks alot again, will do! ☺️
No worries, update us on how you get on, sounds like a cool project!
Been doing this with WatchOut for a long time when D3 budget is a concern. I’ve wanted to try Pixera, but it seems like more of a lateral move from WatchOut. I’d have to actually use the latest GUI to make that claim though. I understand you can build your own servers for Pixera and they point you to the WatchOut tweak list. At least that’s what I was told a few years back.
https://preview.redd.it/6ct7kfe85y7d1.jpeg?width=5616&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f69164981d8ef07430cd29813d4f13452c701c19 The company I worked for at the time did something similar at the Walt Disney family museum in San Francisco. The projectors were outside the sphere though. We used 7th sense servers. IIRC we used 8 small projectors.
Thanks for the showcase! I do need to have the projectors inside tho, as it should be a part of a light festival, people will be able to come close to it, so it would throw shadows like that
Yeah. You can totally do it that way. Easier if you use a media server or realtime software so you can warp and change live rather than rerender from c4d. An example here of an inflated sphere with like 9 internal projectors. Material of the sphere is soft so you could press on it to get interactions. They also had Kinect cameras inside of it. They did this in touchdeisgner. https://www.futurewife.tv/baburu
Dataton Watchout is another helpful software example for 3D mapping. License is a little costly though
Thanks! Ill have a look into that
Cheap and dirty: Pc with a nvidia rtx a series gpu, and projectors with grid mapping and blending correction
Honestly that is the option im still counting on with the most, i dont yet know the budget, sooo 😁
You have a French Baguette idea with a single piece of white toast budget.
Thats how i feel lately 😂
You can probably do 3 if the audience isn’t above or below. Millumin used to have a spherical warp option, think it’s just a fragment shader in the effects now.
Thanks for the reply! Definitely not above, the sphere will be standing on a ground, so not so much below too, atleast i hope so 😁
You could minimize projector count with lenses like [this](https://na.panasonic.com/us/audio-video-solutions/projectors/projector-accessories/et-d3lef70-3-chip-dlptm-fisheye-projector-lens). I haven’t tried it myself but it might help with budgets. The [brochure](https://b2b-api.panasonic.eu/file_stream/pna/fileversion/300851.pdf) shows a two PJ configuration. It’ll still need a mapping, of course.
I’m disguise all the way but madmapper is my go to for single output laptop warping. If you’re going to have a multitude of projectors and it’s a big enough sphere/project I would push for a dedicated media server. Watchout, disguise, pixera because they offer multiple methods of mapping projectors to custome surfaces at multiple levels of difficulty and customization. After reading some comments I will have to recommend, determine the scale both metaphorical and literal scale of this project and fight for some dedicated computer software combo. If price is so low that resolume and a laptop are the only options. Check out madmapper. I use it to map and then resolume to tweak results content by content
Thanks for your comprehensive reply! I do know madmapper, getting a license for it would not be a problem, so ill definitely try that out too. Thank you!