Open Forum

I recommend contacting an AV Company in your area, they will most likely have rental equipment or can budget for you to purchase new

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Jerry Onik
V.P. Theatrical Supplies and Equipment
Omaha NE
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-16-2017 14:01
From: Lisa Singleterry
Subject: Projector question

We are looking at adding a cyc and projector to our theater for backgrounds this year.  I know where I am getting the cyc but need recommendations on a good ultra short throw projector or where to rent a good one (we have a tiny budget and a tiny stage).  Any tips or advice on what to use and what not to use?  I am new to this type of tech and would love any advice or success/horror stories you want to share!

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Lisa Singleterry

Portland Christian Schools

Elementary Music & Band Teacher

High School Drama Director

Masters of Arts in Teaching

Hi. I have started using projectors a lot and it's hard. You have to worry about the image being projected on the performers and then making sure once you add stage lights it doesn't wash out your projections. I have been able to get away with normal projectors we pulled from old classrooms with a lot of lighting tweaking, projecting from as steep an angle as I can and knowing I will project some on people.  The other problem is at least what I have seen, renting is crazy expensive to get anything decent. You could try craigslist and buying one but I have looked at rentals for our space and it's 4-5 grand for the cheapest option I have just gotten pretty good at using what I got. We just bought two of craigslist for our show that came out of a theater before they went digital so they are old but powerful

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Dan Mellitz
Technical Director
St Andrews School
Barrington, RI
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-16-2017 14:01
From: Lisa Singleterry
Subject: Projector question

We are looking at adding a cyc and projector to our theater for backgrounds this year.  I know where I am getting the cyc but need recommendations on a good ultra short throw projector or where to rent a good one (we have a tiny budget and a tiny stage).  Any tips or advice on what to use and what not to use?  I am new to this type of tech and would love any advice or success/horror stories you want to share!

--

Lisa Singleterry

Portland Christian Schools

Elementary Music & Band Teacher

High School Drama Director

Masters of Arts in Teaching

Hi Lisa,

Tiny stage (and budget:) might help you get something more affordable.

If you're looking to purchase or rent a projector the most important thing to pay attention to is BRIGHTNESS. In the projector world this is called lumens. For smaller spaces, I've seen 2,500-3,500 lumens work. But over 5,000 lumens is ideal. If you are able to keep the stage lighting off your screen (by tilting or shuttering the light a little), that helps. There are a lot of projector specs that can seem intimidating, but even after talking to and working with some of the highest level tech directors, their simple advice to getting started is just to get the brightest projector you can afford.

If you think about it like this, it's just another light that needs to work in unity with your other existing lights. So it's also not just a technical thing, it's how you creatively use it to tell your story. Here's a quick example-so when we were working on a local production of Annie, we would bring the projections up at the beginning of each scene first from black to establish the scene kind of like a film does. That simple timing made the audience gush and then of course when the stage lighting came up, it was okay for the projection to wash a bit. In other scenes we would spotlight the scene or fade the light in certain areas so the projection could really come forward more. So it's an art form, one that's quickly growing, and just as creative as it is technical. 

I did write a few 'how-to tips' here that might help with more of the projector and cyc info: 5 Projection Tips

Hope this helps!

Mitch

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Mitch Stark
Founder and Projection Designer
TheatreAve.com
mitch@freedomhouseproductions.com
303-524-2002
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-16-2017 14:01
From: Lisa Singleterry
Subject: Projector question

We are looking at adding a cyc and projector to our theater for backgrounds this year.  I know where I am getting the cyc but need recommendations on a good ultra short throw projector or where to rent a good one (we have a tiny budget and a tiny stage).  Any tips or advice on what to use and what not to use?  I am new to this type of tech and would love any advice or success/horror stories you want to share!

--

Lisa Singleterry

Portland Christian Schools

Elementary Music & Band Teacher

High School Drama Director

Masters of Arts in Teaching

Original Message------

We are looking at adding a cyc and projector to our theater for backgrounds this year.  I know where I am getting the cyc but need recommendations on a good ultra short throw projector or where to rent a good one (we have a tiny budget and a tiny stage).  Any tips or advice on what to use and what not to use?  I am new to this type of tech and would love any advice or success/horror stories you want to share!

--

Lisa Singleterry

Portland Christian Schools

Elementary Music & Band Teacher

High School Drama Director

Masters of Arts in Teaching