This week, our eyes remain on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean to crown another AtmosFAN. We land in Hyeres, France, where Alexander Kunkels has been experimenting with the liquid crystal displays (LCD) in LED televisions. Sander, as he is called, has been tinkering with this technology to create some incredibly dramatic effects.
Essentially, LED televisions work by shining a bright light through LCD panels where millions of minuscule LCD pixels respond, creating the colors and images you see on a TV or computer screen. To create his particular effect, Sander stripped away all the extra material in his television screen, until there was nearly nothing left except the translucent LCD panel. The panels are extremely fragile in this state and Sander had already broken two panels before he was able to create the prototype you see below.
By doing this, Sander was able to create what was essentially a transparent screen. The LCD pixels in the panel still worked, but Sander still had a problem: he needed a source of light bright enough to trigger them; otherwise, the viewer would see nothing.
Sander mounted the LCD panel onto a display case, which he distressed, and then placed cryptic messages on the inside. Then he solved his display problem by adding bright LED light strips around the interior of the display case. The light from the light strips triggered the LCD pixels in the same way the LED backlight does in a television.
When people walk by to read the text in the display case, Sander triggers his effects with a media player. Here is something unusual: Sander is using the “wall mode” from AtmosFX’s Blood Walls and Creepy Crawlies 2 decoration collections, even though he is displaying the effect on essentially a stripped-down TV.
Using the wall mode meant that the effects had no backdrop so that only the blood and critters show on the panel, and the viewer could still read the text behind it.
What a great effect, Sander! This is one of the things we love most about our dedicated AtmosFANs — they are always showing us new ways to utilize AtmosFX Decorations. Oh, and what does the text say? It tells the story of an architect who became trapped inside his own building, never to get out and how, during the full moon each month, strange things happen!
For his innovative display and original ideas, we honor Sander Kunkels as our newest AtmosFAN of the Week!
Have you been tinkering with new ways to display AtmosFX Decorations? Show us what you've created and you may be our next featured decorator! Send photos, video and YouTube links to us using this simple online submission form.
