Free Projection Resources
Courtesy of Colleen Plumb / colleenplumb.com
Thanks for attending my photozine webinar, produced by New Orleans Photo Alliance as part of their #givenola fundraising webinar series!
In total, the participating artists were able to raise over $14,000 for student scholarships!
Download a PDF of my presentation. I’ll add more to this often!
Activate Your Work: A Quick-Start Guide to Affordable Digital Projection!
I’ve created a list of resources that I hope you will find useful while exploring the possibilities of digital projection. If you have any questions or want to share resources of your own, please send me a note at jeff@jeffphillips.me.
Modern Visual Artists Using Digital Projection
Colleen Plumb: Thirty Times a Minute
Cig Harvey: Projections
Kei Ito: To Implore Your Light
Ludvig Perés: PetaPixel: Photos Document Remote Learning at a Chicago Elementary School
Shimon Attie: Site-Specific Installations and Public Projects
Michael Naimark: Displacements, 1980-84
Using Projection for Protest and Urban Intervention
Ashton Worthington and artist George Del Barrio: RESIST
Installation Video Here
The Illuminator: KOCH = CLIMATE CHAOS
Robin Bell / Bell Visuals: Projected word-bombing
A Manual for Urban Projection
Part philosophy, part field guide to projection installations, A Manual for Urban Projection (MUP) is an introduction to the theories, strategies, tools, and recipes for using digital projectors in public spaces. Highly motivational with a lot of great thinking here — but understandably the tech specs are a bit out of date a half-decade after its release.
Projection Festivals
LUNA Fête
New Orleans, Louisiana
Luma Arts Festival
Binghamton, New York
Burning Man
Black Rock, Nevada
LLUM BCN Festival
Barcelona, Spain
Large-Scale and Immersive Installations
Art on the Mart
Chicago, Illinois
Immersive Van Gogh
Lighthouse ArtSpace at Germania Club
Projection Mapping Introductions and Tutorials
What is Projection Mapping?
Prendi
The Magic of 3D Projection Mapping
Quartz
Mapping on Small Objects (Advanced)
Eloi Andaluz Fullà
Find a Cheap Previously-owned Projector
eBay: Saved Search for high-quality used projectors with the following attributes built into the search:
Price: $1.00 to $350.00 USD
Resolution: HD (WUXGA 1920x1200)
Brightness: 3,000 to 5,000 lumens
Well-known name brand
Condition: New, used or refurbished
Location: Must be in North America
Remember to look for projectors with less than 500 hours of use on the currently installed lamp/bulb — or factor in the cost of a new one (usually $80 to $150.00).
Media Player
This cheap and reliable media player on Amazon.com will display photos, and HD videos in a loop. Accepts SD cards, thumb drives, and USB drives. Restarts if there is a power failure (there will be!)
Ultra-short HDMI cables are inexpensive and connect the media player to your projector while reducing the number of long, clumsy wires in your installation.
Projector Database and Useful Calculators
Projector Central (A trusted resource)
A site with detailed information about almost every projector ever made, back to the beginning of time. Has a comparison tool and a projector throw distance calculator.
Useful Tools for Longer-Term Installations
If you’ll be projecting in a window at home or in a place where you know your installation options in advance, you won’t need many traditional “grip” tools. If you are planning a guerilla-style temporary projection in the wild (urban or jungle) you’ll need plenty of stuff to help you clip your screens to poles and window sills, power your equipment when there is no electrical outlet available, secure your wires and cables to keep your installation safe for the audience (and you).
Power Inverter
It converts your car battery power to AC electricity so you can use your projector anywhere you can take your car.
Rear-Projection Screens (Pro-Level)
Carl’s Place isn’t a cheap option, but their rear-projections screens are the best I’ve used. Their site features a lot of online learning resources about home projection setup, which also applies to your arts projection installations (scroll down past the “Golf Screens” section.)
Rear-Projection Screens (Cheap)
This exact model of frosted gray shower curtain works well for temporary installations where you are rear-projecting your work, i.e., you are projecting from inside a room through a window to the outside world. You get three screens for less than $10.00.