Need an inexpensive material to rear project with a front projector (1 Viewer)

[Jack Ferry]

When all the little kiddies in the neighborhood come looking for free candy next week, I thought I'd try something a bit different: I want to set up my InFocus 4805 for outside viewing. While I'll probably set it up as simply as possible (projecting on a wall), my alternate idea is to put material across the garage door opening and rear project from the controlled environment of the garage. (Since rain and electronics don't mix well.)

My question: what material works for rear projection? Does clear plastic like saran wrap work? Is there anything I can buy cheaply in a very wide roll?

I'm probably going to show Monsters Inc unless someone has a better idea.

(I wasn't sure if this should be in the construction forum, but I thought I'm more likely to find my fellow front projection nuts here.)

 

[drobbins]

You could try a white bed sheet

 

[RomanSohor]

Nightmare Before Christmas or It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown might be cool to show as well!

 

[ChrisWiggles]

you need an opaque material, a very thin sheet would work ok, something like that. Translucent won't work.

 

[Jack Ferry]

Maybe I'll try holding up my various thread bare sheets and see how it looks.

 

[Chris Dias]

I think you are mixing up your terms. You definately need a translucent material like a bedsheet. An opaque material would not let any light through at all. A transparent material would not work either because all of the light would just pass through it.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

duuurh, you are correct, that is indeed what I meant. You can't use a transparent material, it must be translucent!

i get these all confused all the time :b

 

[Jack Ferry]

Ah, but the dictionary definition of "translucent" is "transmitting light but causing sufficient diffusion to prevent perception of distinct images". But in my case I want sufficient diffusion to create the perception of distinct images!

 

[ChrisWiggles]

no, but the focus plane is at the translucent panel/material, which is what you want, a material that diffuses the light, not transmits it or blocks it. Think like a plate of crystal/cut glass or whatever it's called, that kind of thing, or a thing type sheet. These are all sort of DIY materials. Thin plastics that are translucent also work, there are materials purpose-made for RP applications. The point is that the material is sufficiently diffuse to prevent you from seeing images on the other side of the material, but sufficiently transmissive to transmit images formed on its surface to be seen on the other side.