For many of us, once we’ve completed the set-up of our Halloween display, we’ll record a video “walkthrough” for posterity, to send to friends … or sometimes to make others insanely envious. When James Johnson created a walkthrough of his Las Vegas home, he did so with a twist – he did it in the style of a horror B-movie. We liked the creativity. But as we watched the video, we found we liked something even better.
Of course, there are a lot of great things in James’ decoration display – the window projections of Macabre Manor and Ghostly Apparitions decoration collections look great, as do the gravestones and lighting throughout the yard.
But it’s the Hollusion effect that took our breath away!
For the uninitiated, a Hollusion display is the technique of projecting an AtmosFX Decoration onto dark, mesh-like material, like AtmosFX’s own Hollusion Projection Material. When the lights get low, the material fades into the darkness, becoming almost invisible. Yet, the material can still display the projected image, making it seem like ghosts, ghouls and other creatures are materializing out of thin air.
And get this – it was James’ first attempt at creating one!
What makes James’ display so great? For starters, he does a great job with the placement of the projector. This is important because if your audience can see the brightness of the projector bulb, it spoils the illusion. There’s a second projector-placement issue James also does well. The projector is placed in a way that the “spillover” light – that is, the light that passes through the material – doesn’t show up somewhere else, creating a double image. That also spoils the effect.
The spot lighting and detailed gravestones throughout the yard are another reason James’ Hollusion works so well. When the viewer has a depth of field in a decoration display, the eye naturally focuses on that. So while the eye is checking out the colored lights and props in the background, it means those same eyes are not focusing on the material in the foreground. Then, when the ghosts appear on the material – it is a very surprising experience!
Lastly, James’ choice in decorations also really sells the effect. While nearly all AtmosFX Decorations have modes optimized for a Hollusion effect, it’s important to select the ones that work with your entire display. Here, James has selected phantoms that would naturally be exploring a haunted villa like this – decorations from Phantasms, Macabre Manor and Ghostly Apparitions. They’re perfect as they fade in and fade out, just as you’d expect a ghost to do!
Great work James! We think your Hollusion display is top notch – and we cannot wait to see how you improve on it this upcoming Halloween!
Do you have Hollusions or other cool effects in your Halloween decoration display? If so, we want you to send photos and videos to us! You can do so using this easy online submission form. You’ll earn Kudos that you can use in the AtmosFX Online Store, and you may even be named the next AtmosFAN of the Week, earning a free complete decoration collection.
