RGB floodlights and projection surface color

[grillhappy]

I will be using RGB floodlights for the first time this year.  I had heard that white is the best color surface to project these lights on (to make the colors pop), until today, when a photographer told me that a black surface is best, because the colors become more rich.  Which color surface is better?

[DisneyMatt10]

17 minutes ago, grillhappy said:

...Which color surface is better?

I'd say, which ever color you personally think looks best. The more people you ask, the more varied responses you will get. Some people will prefer white, some will prefer black, some people won't care. Like me, my floods shine directly on my house. They shine on red brick, and our grey stone, and the colors look just fine on both surfaces. 

Again, it's going to come down to personal preference. 

~Matt

[grillhappy]

Thanks, Matt.  I just phoned the Dazian fabric people and the guy told me that white is the best color for projection at night.  Since my home is red brick, I'd thought I might hang fabric onto my brick to make for a better colored surface for projection.  I'll be using the CC 50W  RGB  floods from Light-O-Rama.  Maybe my red brick will just work out.

[gsmith37064]

At least you guys know the color of your brick. I could have light tan or maybe a blond color brick. I really don't know.

[Mr. P]

I am no physicist but I was taught that black absorbs most if not all light wavelengths whereas white reflects all light wavelengths. Besides you really don't want to paint your house black do you?  

[Mega Arch]

No need to hang cloth or paint your house. The floods will light up whatever you point them at. Stick with primary colors though. Pastels just look like a dim white.

Here's what my house looks like without floods shining on them :

Here's a short one showing what (2) 50 watt floods look like on the red brick and stone. Just scrolling red, white & blue :

Here's a longer one , still with (2) :

I love them. There's a third one this year to light up the house behind the mega tree. 

Good luck. I think you're gonna love them too.

Edit: My picture of un-lit house didn't show up, so here's a short video from a few years ago. (Forgive the quality, was just my phone. Thought it was funny tornado sirens when I was trying to set up for Christmas. Only in Oklahoma...)

 

Edited June 13, 2016 by Mega Arch
Humm...

[grillhappy]

This really helps me out.  It looks like your house is a combination of tan and also red brick.  Looking at your videos, I can see that I will be just fine by not hanging any fabric in front of the brick.  That's great news, Mega Arch.  AND...it's pretty cool to know you sequenced the song "Light of Christmas".  That's the very song I'm sequencing right now for my 2016 show!  It works great with lights.  Maybe you'll be at either the Christmas Expo or the Holiday Academy 8 this summer.  I'd love to meet you in person.

[Mega Arch]

1 hour ago, grillhappy said:

This really helps me out.  It looks like your house is a combination of tan and also red brick.  Looking at your videos, I can see that I will be just fine by not hanging any fabric in front of the brick.  That's great news, Mega Arch.  AND...it's pretty cool to know you sequenced the song "Light of Christmas".  That's the very song I'm sequencing right now for my 2016 show!  It works great with lights.  Maybe you'll be at either the Christmas Expo or the Holiday Academy 8 this summer.  I'd love to meet you in person.

Yeah - I really love that song too. Will be using it again this year.

Sequenced this song. Well - disclaimer time. This was before I was more comfortable sequencing & way pre-Sequence-U classes. So I didn't really sequence it. I did however modify it to my show & then re-modified it last year when I changed my display up & re-modifying again this year. But the disclosure is the talented MATEO ESQUIBEL first shared this with me.

Christmas Expo is in Chicago - nope. Too far to travel with oil prices this low.

Holiday Academy 8 - Humm... Never heard of this. Where is it located? Who puts it on?

 

[grillhappy]

Holiday Academy 8  is a really good Christmas Lighting event, bringing mostly Texans and Oklahomans together.  Here is the link:

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-holiday-academy-8-registration-23206952620

[grillhappy]

In past years, Holiday Academy (sponsored by Lone Star Holidays) has been located in Conroe and Houston, TX, but this year, they're bringing it closer to Dallas.  I went to both the Christmas Expo and Holiday Academy 7 last year and found both Conferences really great.  I'm attending both again this year.

[Mega Arch]

Dallas might just be doable. 

[grillhappy]

You won't regret it.  You get great lunches (included in the registration), it's an affordable Conference, and many of the same presenters are there as are at the Christmas Expo.  They don't have all the vendors, though.  I met some attendees from Oklahoma City there last year.  I don't remember the number of people who attended, but it was a good sized bunch of lighting enthusiasts like yourself (over seventy, I'm sure, probably more).  The classes were great, as good as at Christmas Expo.

[Santas Helper]

9 hours ago, grillhappy said:

lighting enthusiasts like yourself (over seventy...

Daniel, did grillhappy just say you were over seventy? LOL

Wished I had time to break away for expos and such. But Dallas isn't too far.

[Mega Arch]

41 minutes ago, Santas Helper said:

Daniel, did grillhappy just say you were over seventy? LOL

Wished I had time to break away for expos and such. But Dallas isn't too far.

Wow, I missed that. Not seventy yet. Hopefully still lighting it up when I get there though!

 

[grillhappy]

Cute, Santa's Helper.  There were over seventy PEOPLE there, not people over seventy.  Santa's Helper, maybe you CAN break away to attend this Holiday Academy.  It's over a weekend, so it's Do-able.  The location of this year's event, Waxahachie, is just south of Dallas.  Affordable motels there. 

[Mega Arch]

1 hour ago, grillhappy said:

Cute, Santa's Helper.  There were over seventy PEOPLE there, not people over seventy.  Santa's Helper, maybe you CAN break away to attend this Holiday Academy.  It's over a weekend, so it's Do-able.  The location of this year's event, Waxahachie, is just south of Dallas.  Affordable motels there. 

Tom (Santas Helper) could give the class on hacking cheap floods. 

[grillhappy]

OK, Tom, your turn to reply...this is getting fun!

 

 

 

[Santas Helper]

oh Daniel, you're too kind. It would be fun but can't commit at this time. Working overtime has killed some weekends here lately.

But I will certainly keep my eye on that weekend.

[grillhappy]

It's good to get away from the grind for awhile if you can.  I experienced the Holiday Academy for the first time last summer and I found it to be a great time to learn as well as to make new friends.  They work hard there to foster community, much like these Forums, giving people an opportunity to interact with one another (that's why their lunch times are important, giving them a meal, bringing people together).  If this year's event is anything like last year's, it's worth going to.  While in the past, it has been located near Houston, TX, they are moving north this year to accommodate people from Dallas, Oklahoma and beyond.

[Santas Helper]

Oh I know what you're talking about. They are nothing new to me. I started holding Minis here in OKC back in 2006 before LOR had their own forum. I was a member of Planet Christmas during that time (still am). I hosted about a dozen or more of those get togethers and met some great folks and learned all kinds of stuff. So I know the fun an even like this can produce.