Projector Tests

The initial idea was to use projectors to produce the light for the piece. This idea was formulated considering Turrell's and McCall's work, which can be seen in earlier blog entries. In honesty this was probably a process that should have been tested during the research and pre-production stage of the project, but unfortunately was not and consequently must be tested now. Since the original plan was forged I have developed some reservations about how the projector would achieve the beam that I desire. These doubts have come from an increased knowledge surrounding light and from deeper thought into the subject. Something that I didn't necessarily consider before was the way that a projector works i.e. how the light leaves the projector, in a fan cylindrical shape, similarly to a cone.

Regardless of these doubts about how a projector will perform, it is a good idea to consider all options available, as a controlled light video run through a computer may be able to generate a more collimated result.

The first tests that I decided to run were using a standard digital video projector. At first I simply projected light from the projector and blew smoke through it similarly to the initial tests that I undertook a few days ago (found in previous blog entries).





As you can see the beam that was produced wasn't as successful as I would have liked. Although the beam started off fairly narrowly, the angle at which it spreads is far too great over 8 feet. I was curious to see if a filter could have an effect on the beam, hopefully preventing it from spreading as much. I created a simply cardboard rectangular tube and placed it on the front of the projector.





This unfortunately had an adverse effect on the light, cause the beam to become weaker and also to spread unevenly as it left the end of the tube. As I have already highlighted light will refractor around an object such as this, and therefore such a method will not work. At this stage I do not think that a video projector will be suitable to create the effect that I desire. I have therefore decided to try and find other alternatives.