As much as we love massive, electrical grid–stressing Halloween decoration displays, there’s just something deliciously mischievous about seemingly simple displays that, when you don’t expect it, really pack a wallop. That’s the case for John Wilson’s presentation at his Wauchula, Fla., home. Take a look at this video and you’ll see why.
What do we love about John’s video? We admit, we love it all. But it is a great use of the Hollusion mode that makes his display so spectacular. If you are seeking to create a real surprise in your Halloween display (and who isn’t?) John shows how it can be done.
The first step is creating something in the foreground that really commands attention. All three of the Jack-o’-Lantern Jamboree decorations are proven fan favorites, and we’ve seen Halloween decorators around the globe use the three pumpkins as a captivating centerpiece. In John’s case, he took three hula hoops and wrapped them with orange plastic, and then back-projected the original Jack-o’-Lantern Jamboree decoration onto the hoops.
John says he used the hula hoops so that people would be able to see the singing pumpkins from the street. But another benefit is that it creates something bright and captivating in the foreground, so that you don’t see the discreet gray fabric hanging behind it. After all, how many of you saw the material when you started watching the video? Nor did we!
In John’s case, he used some gray, semi-transparent fabric onto which he projected the “wicked wraith” from the Phantasms decoration. (If AtmosFX’s Hollusion Projection Material wasn’t sold out, that would have been another option.) For those new to Hollusion projection, the idea is this: You need a grayish material that is nearly invisible when the light is low, but still has enough opacity so that it can display the projected image. Think of a giant bedsheet made of panty hose – like that!
There are a few other things that make John’s Hollusion display so effective. He also uses a few lights and props placed deeper in the field of view, which gives his display great depth. And it’s that depth makes it hard to pick up the gray material hanging in between – your eyes either want to focus in the front of the display or in the back.
Lastly, John did a great job positioning the projector so that the “spillover” light doesn’t show up on the wall in the back – that’s a common killer of an otherwise great Hollusion display!
John, this is a great Hollusion mode display – perfect execution! We cannot wait to see what you come up with next year!
Do you have a great Hollusion display that you’d like to show us? Send it, and we can share it with countless other AtmosFAN around the world! Just send us your photos and videos using this simple online form, and you just might be the next AtmosFAN of the Week, earning a free decoration collection.
