Live visuals are all about projection, but perhaps part of the reason visual work hasn’t become nearly as commonplace as music is that screens and projectors are tougher to come by than speakers and PAs. Naturally, the appeal of a really high-quality mobile rig is obvious – especially one that can work outdoors.

Yesterday, I got to meet with Open Air Cinema, a young Utah-based company that’s already made a name for itself running events like the TriBeCa Outdoor Drive-In and LA Film Festival Outdoor Screenings. Their products have typically run at the high-end. But they’ve got a new “consumer” line that could be just what VJs and visualists need to have an on-the-go projection solution.

I’ve posted my first two videos for the Vixid@CDM Minisite. These cover both the ridiculously basic - how to get started with the VJX - and the reasonably advanced - using cameras, midi and Ableton Live to create a seamless-scrolling effect across two projectors:

Vixid 101 - The Basics: Inputs, Outputs, Routing, Blend Modes, Compositing
Multi-projector Spanning: Cameras, Cables, Midi and Ableton Live

Aside from the exciting possibilities this opens, I’m also happy about the Vixid 101 video as it uses a rather strange aspect resolution - 500×600px - which allowed me to display both the physical view of what’s being done to the mixer and the output.

This is all quite new for me, I don’t have much practice actually talking to cameras, so I’d love to hear your feedback. Is the format working for you? Does my trim-every-extraneous-second editing style scare you? Would you like to see more videos like this on CDMo?

It’s not the lumens that count; it’s how you use them. But it’s easy to forget that when your projections just got blown out by lights, which someone used because they can move and your projection can’t. And it’s easy to get frustrated with the limitations of projection when you’re again looking at a static 4:3 rectangle on another flat wall.

Unfortunately, the art of using mirrors and other techniques to make projection more dynamic aren’t nearly as well known as they could be. Alternative projection techniques have also tended not to be productized. One significant exception is VMS or VideoMovingSystem. It’s the rare case of a hardware product made specifically for creative, live, performative projection. VMS is similar to the iCue moving mirror and some other tools, but it takes the kind of tools previously customized for lighting and specially adapts them to projection. You can actually buy a VMS unit with a projector already attached, or buy a unit that will fit a standard projector, making these more effective and easier to mount and use than lighting-specific instruments. It’s not a cheap solution for an independent VJ, but it is cheaper than competing custom lighting solutions. And if you read this site, you should already know that digital, computer-powered projection can do all kinds of things boring motorized lights can’t.

artificialeyes’ Michael Parenti and Todd Thille have taken a unique role in both championing the VMS tool and developing custom applications for it, as well as rocking Istanbul with the results. Michael said repeatedly that it saved the whole act of VJing for him. We got to talk to Michael and Todd about VMS and why it’s important — and, better yet, we got to play with these units, remote-controlled by artificialeyes’ 3L software and Michael’s iPhone. Even if you don’t plan on picking up VMS yourself (or I should say, convincing a club to buy them for you), you can tell from the interview how much of a difference changing a projection technique can make — not lumens, and not content, the two things we often get hung up on.

Jaymis: I have plenty more video from the ae guys waiting to be edited, both long-form looks into Thrill, and quick tips as well. That said, video is a bit of a new step for CDMo. This past year we’ve been talking about being a visualist mostly through the written word, so it would be great to get some feedback. Do you find video reviews and articles useful? Like the editing style? Think Peter should do voiceovers for software training videos? Hit the comments.

The Oculon Pocket Projector Pro 920 and 1440 are.. well.. actual pocket projectors. Available in December the tiny projectors pack 640×480 VGA for the 920 ($299) and 800×600 SVGA for the 1440 ($399), and literally fit in the palm of your hand. The 1440 sports both composite and VGA (D-SUB 15 pin) inputs connections, while the 920 supports only composite RCA. Both have optional SD card slots and Mpeg4 video playback - which could prove fun.

Obviously, there is a catch - or two. The specs on the product pages seem a bit inconsistent, with the 1440 mentioning 250 lumens (yes, two hundred and fifty), while the 950s spec only quoted at 25 (yes, two hundred and fifty divided by ten. That was not a typo on my part at least). The suggested throw at one meter being a diminutive 24 inches. Still, they could prove quite fun. Oculon mentioned a portable battery pack for the projector. Can anyone say head mounted projector?

Updated: the specs currently show 50 lumens for the 1440, as you can see on the product page. We received a correction via Ariel Chen from Oculon. Note that while that lumen level is relatively low for projection, there are still a number of applications for which this could be a really fun tool. -Ed.

I can. See the Oculon Pocket Projector homepage for more information.

I’ll raise your Anjou Speaker Cables ($7250 for 12 foot of cable) with the Rundco MBX-1 3 Chip DLP Projector. The amazing specs are as follows:

• Variable Light Output up to 5000 ANSI Lumens


• 3-Chip DLP^TM System with New, Dark Metal Process Technology


• 1280 x 1024 Resolution


• Contrast Ratio: 1100:1


• Image Sizes up to 500″ Wide


• DTV Compatibility: 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p

All for the low cost of $249,995.00. Oh, by the way, no keystone correction. I’ll take a Christie or a Barco, thank you very much.

Runco MBX-1 @ Aurant

Ed.: That’s unusual. I guess the pixels are, uh … more … pure? Anyone seen one of these bad boys? Does the humpback whale snout in the lens really make that much of a difference? ;) -PK

Visualists have a wide range of skills to cover. After you’re done figuring out how to create and edit content and turn it into a performance / live installation / whatever, then you have to deal with the technicalities of projectors?

Basic calculations for throw distances are pretty straightforward: a 3:1 throw ratio, for instance, means you need 3′ from the projection surface to get a 1′ image. But that’s before you throw in all the variables: what are the specs of the projector you’re using, what’s the lens, what’s the setting of the lens, what size image and throw will provide an image that’s bright enough for the job, etc. So, while there are various calculators online, by far, my favorite is this fantastic interactive calculator at Projector Central:

Projection Calculator Pro [Projector Central]

Video artist Maya Ciarrocchi turned me on to the site (thanks, Maya)! It’s useful for two reasons, even if you’re decent at arithmetic. First, it’s got an extensive database of obscure projectors attached to it, so you’ll prepared for whatever you run into. Second, it has adjustable sliders so you can try what-if scenarios.

Won’t be long before I put all of this to use. Wednesday, I leave for Pittsburgh and the Hazlett Theater, where I’ll be in residence for a week and a half installing a custom show for choreographer Grisha Coleman, written in Processing and Java. I expect this will be a trial-by-fire for me as far as projector setup and installation, with one computer display and five projectors, all in unusual locations. I’ll be sure to report back on what I learn, including what I learn the hard way.

How about you: got a preferred method for researching projectors and projector setup? Got some killer spreadsheet for your throw distances? Let us know in comments.

VJKungFu.tv launched almost 6 months ago now, and while Momo isn’t drowning the interwebs in new content, what’s showing up is something CDMo is definitely lacking as a VJ site: Original video content. Of particular interest is their high quality go-anywhere DIY Projector Mount, first steps in Quartz Composer, and some intro videos to VJing with the Jazzmutant Lemur (as extensively covered from a musical perspective on CDM).

Their latest initiative: AV Challenge #1, to create source material to be used beatbox-style for a future challenge.

The last competitions/challenges featured on CDMo were from the now-defunct DVGuru. I hope VJKungFoo doesn’t go the same way!