The Challenge
Live video and mobile projection artist from PRICKIMAGE, Shaun O’Connor, needed an ultra mobile projector for his WALKABOUT Projection | WALKPro3D performances.
WALKPro3D is the first of its kind - a small and mobile video projection system that can bring digital puppetry and 3D character performances to any location. With no need for cables or screens it is a uniquely flexible projection kit.
Shaun said: “The performance frees visuals from a static screen in a way that surprises and delights onlookers. The performers manipulate the projected images live, encouraging audience interaction using Leap Motion with Unity3D.
“Together with PIKILIPITA, who oversees the 3D programming, we have been able to take live 3D gaming characters out of the bedroom and onto the streets using hand gesture like digital puppets.
“But I wanted to make it truly mobile. Previously we used an Optoma EP1691 at festivals and events in a pop-up, renegade fashion but it was a much bulkier set-up. It required more power and a bigger, heavier battery pack which we had to carry.”
The new model for the WALKPro3D performances would need to be lightweight but powerful enough to create a bright image. It needed to have a low power requirement, have wireless capabilities and have reduced form factor so not to attract attention.
The Solution
Shaun chose Optoma’s ultra portable LED projector, ML750e. LED projectors use less energy than traditional lamp-based models and the perceived brightness from LED projectors can be twice that of an equivalent lamp-based model.
Weighing just 380g, this ultra mobile HD Ready little projector with 700 LED brightness and WXGA resolution, incorporates a media player, native office viewer, built-in speaker and HDMI connectivity.
Shaun said: “Coming from a working history in club visuals and VJing, I had always had the idea to take characters away from a static projection screen and into the crowd. I’d been waiting for the right technology to give us the combination of power and minimal size of both computer and projector.”
The battery and equipment for the projection is installed in a purpose-designed harness that is worn under clothing – so invisible to the public. Bespoke 3D characters are manipulated and controlled using the hand gesture technology. Making it all fluidly interactive required an efficient mini PC and a custom app integration.
Shaun added: “The ML750e had best ratio of size, weight, lumens and power consumption for our needs. As the unit needs to be powered by battery – it was essential we have the most energy efficient solution.
“I trust Optoma and particularly like the fact they're black so less distracting for the performance. And as Arthur C. Clarke so eloquently put it, ‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic’."
The Results
Shaun used the ML750e as part of WALKPro3D performances for an UK Arts Council funded-project with the dance company Corey Baker Dance. It allowed the dancers to bring to life indigenous New Zealand characters with increased audience interactivity.
Shaun said: “It’s a great size, which is convenient to hold in your hand or disguise within a costume so it appears more ‘magical’. It is powerful enough to work in ambient light, which is great because total darkness would be a safety issue with the kinds of public interactivity we are achieving.”
Attaching Leap Motion hand gesture tech was straightforward and easy to use. Shaun said: “We tested it out with 8-9 year-old children in a Birmingham School with Corey Baker & Daniel Strutt our Digital Image Theorist. They could intuitively control the characters and wanted to name them with squeals of excitement. It couldn’t be simpler or more fun.”
WALKPro3D is not just for art performances. It can be applied to a range of environments and purposes such as PR events, product launches, festivals and experiential marketing campaigns. Shaun currently has multiple kits and is looking to expand internationally this year.
Shaun added: “We are keen to start using Optoma’s short throw ML750ST in tandem with the ML750e for events so we get the best of both worlds.”
