Christmas Light Show

Christmas Decor - Lightform Project Still

Christmas Projection Mapping

Creating eye-catching Christmas decor and displays is made easier with Lightform projection mapping. We teamed up with our friends at Playable Agency to create a Dr. Seuss inspired projection mapped Christmas display. A Whoville-themed gingerbread house set atop a round kitchen table covered in fake cotton snow formed the centerpiece of our miniature holiday village, with small candy cane trees jauntily dotting the landscape. 

One large projector with an LFC illuminated both the enormous lollipops that framed the diorama on both sides, as well as a sequined pipe and drape background, giving the entire scene an immersive feel. Two smaller LF2s projecting down onto the table from each side completed our three-point lighting setup. 

With two projectors mapping our three-dimensional gingerbread house we were able to cover almost all the visible area with Creator Effects, as well as minimize shadows, giving us a riotously colorful and playful AR experience that was a delight to share with multiple people at once.

Difficulty
Medium

Projector
Lightform LF2, Epson G7500UNL

Software
Lightform Creator

Hardware
LF2, LFC

Christmas Decor - Lightform Project Still
Christmas Decor - Lightform Project Still

Halloween Decor: Haunted Bayou

Halloween Decor - Lightform Project

Hauntingly Good Halloween Decor 

Lightform Creator’s reactive effects bring objects and spaces to life and are ideal for use in Halloween-related decor and displays.  Lightform makes projection mapping on complex surfaces quick and easy, so you have more time to focus on set design. Lush physical details can elevate your scene and work in harmony with your projected elements. 

Playable Agency lent us their set design expertise and their collection of props to create a haunted bayou-themed experience with video mapping. Multiple Lightform LF2s and LFCs covered the space to create a ghastly gauntlet of delight. 

A skeletal ofrenda, a lace-windowed shack, shrouded figures, camo-netting, and wisteria filled the space with depth, and texture. Projection mapping added a digital element to the set objects to create an otherworldly dimension with a mysterious ethereal quality.

 

Difficulty
Medium

Projector
Lightform LF2, Epson 1060

Software
Lightform Creator

Hardware
LF2, LFC

Halloween Decor - Lightform Project Still
Halloween Decor - Lightform Project Still

Jen Stark Gallery Show

Art and Technology 

Jen Stark is an artist based in Los Angeles, California, who uses a variety of media to explore visual systems and sacred geometries. The vivid colors and intricate patterns of her work lend themselves perfectly to Lightform Creator’s instant effects.  We collaborated with her to illuminate artwork on display at her 2019 show “Dimensionality” at the Joshua Liner Gallery in NYC. 

We used Lightform to projection map Ethereal Vortex, a swirling spiral of sharp and soft-edged bands of color. Jen’s earlier stop-motion paper animations served as an inspiration for Lightform’s animator Ray Chang. He took his scan of the artwork into Adobe Illustrator and After Effects to create four custom animations used in combination with native Lightform Creator effects. 

Jen and her team also painted a mural on two walls of the gallery. Ray scanned it with a second Lightform throughout different stages of completion to create the projected elements in Lightform Creator simultaneously. In her own words, “Lightform provides an amazing bridge between the digital and real world. It has enabled me to effortlessly breathe life into my paintings through light, color, and movement.”

 

Difficulty
Medium to Hard

Projector
Epson 2255U

Software
Lightform Creator, After Effects, Illustrator

Hardware
LF2, LFC

Lightform Creator – Jen Stark Vortex

Joshua Tree Renegade

Let magic run wild 

Our team has been outgrowing our small San Francisco office so we sent Phil and Sean to Joshua Tree to get some space (for projected augmented reality, that is). 

We wanted to see how the LFC would hold up in the wild and needless to say, we weren’t disappointed. The LFC’s scan did a great job picking up the depth and nuances of the surrounding rocks and nature. 

In the video above, Sean used some of Lightform Creator’s generative effects — Palette Trip, Ripple, and then a blending of Chromatic and Traffic Jam. When they returned to San Francisco with the footage, we couldn’t believe how magical the result was! 

 

Difficulty
Medium

Projector
Epson L1505U

Software
Lightform Creator

Hardware
LFC

Conservatory of Flowers

We like to project on plants, ok? 

We teamed up with the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers to bring their nightlife event to another level. 

Before Lightform, complex plant life would have been intimidating subject matter for the most experienced projection artist, but these plants were no match for the power of LFC’s scanning technology. Lightform Creator is able to use the most minute details of the scan to create stunning visuals with no expertise. At one point a Koi named Frank swam through our fountain projection as it was publishing and we didn’t even have to rescan!

For the video above, we used Lightform Creator’s Ripple effect on the living wall and blended Digital Fade with Tron on the pond plants.  

Difficulty
Easy

Projector
Epson L1505U & Epson G7500 

Software
Lightform Creator

Hardware
LFC

Fern Alley

Fern Alley

We were invited by a local architecture firm to participate in their community event which featured various light artists to transform the space even further and encourage passerby to check out the new space.

We put one LFC and a 12k projector in the alley to add some magic to a medium-sized mural, and we rigged another LFC and 12k projector out of the parking garage to light up the freshly installed asphalt motifs at the entrance. Pedestrians didn’t know what to make of it, and most decided to take a walk down this bright alley to investigate.

 

Difficulty
Easy

Projector
Epson L1505U & Epson L1500UH

Software
Lightform Creator

Hardware
LFC

Renegade Projected Public Art with Hybycozo

Renegade projected AR

We took Lightform’s renegade projection bike out for a spin to augment a HYBYCOZO sculpture at Patricia’s Green Park in San Francisco.

One of our favorite things to do at Lightform is to take our renegade projection bike out for a ride and create projected AR public art. We love the idea of rolling up to a sculpture, a mural, or park and temporarily transforming a public space into something new and magical.

Lightform Renegade Projector Bike

Yelena Filipchuk and Serge Beaulieu, the artists who created the HYBYCOZO series, were hosting a party to celebrate the end of the sculpture’s exhibit in the public park. Serge and Yelena’s work is inspired by the intersection of math, science, technology, geometry, material, and light. A driving force behind their work is the desire to inspire others to make more public art.

“That’s the hope that we have for creating public art, to inspire people do the same, to do whatever their art is.”
-Yelena Filipchu

We hope Lightform inspires people to create more augmented reality public art!

The Process

The Lightform workflow makes renegade projection easier than it’s ever been. You can roll up to any scene, scan it, and instantly start augmenting the scene with digital content.

We’re working on a ‘How to Build a Renegade Projection Bike’ tutorial (subscribe to our newsletter to be notified when we post it). But, you don’t need a projection bike to make public AR art. Power your projector using a generator or portable battery (like this Goal Zero Yeti 1400 Lithium Portable Power Station).

Lightform Renegade Projector Bike

We chose the Epson PowerLite PRO G7905U for our project but you could also use a projector like the Epson HC1450. Mount the projector on a bike, tripod or c-stand.

Renegade Projected Public Art with HYBYCOZO and Lightform

Lightform scans the scene and gives you a Smart Scan – a pixel by pixel map of what the projector sees.

Lightform Creator

Then, you’re ready to to start creating!

Lightform Creator

Difficulty
Hard

Projector
Epson PowerLite PRO G7905U or Epson HC1450

Software
Adobe After Effects

Hardware
LF1, (LFC Compatible)

Creators
Phil Reyneri, Ray Chang, Yelena Filipchuk, Serge Beaulieu

Event Photo Booth

Immersive AR Photo Booth

Simona Bunardzhieva (simoneone) is a Graphic Artist, Illustrator, & Maker. She used Lightform to break her designs out of her sketch book and create an immersive AR photo booth à la 29 Rooms.

Designing Beyond 2D

“Normally my work lives in this 2D space, whether it’s in my sketchbook, or a screen, or a print – it was very exciting to do something that has a much more physical presence and becomes its own world.” -Simona Bunardzhieva​

Projected AR & Motion Graphics Made Easy

“I haven’t done any projection mapping before because it always felt like it was this very difficult and complicated experience…I was very surprised at how easy it was to do with the pre-made Lightform effects.” -Simona Bunardzhieva

Empowering More AR(t)ists

“Lightform is definitely opening up new paths for artists like me to experiment.” -Simona Bunardzhiev

The Process:

Simona began by sketching each element of the underwater world.

The sketches were then vectorized and printed at human scale.

The prints were glued onto cardboard and the cardboard was laser cut. Cardboard stands hold the cut-outs upright.

To create the photo booth, we rented an Epson G7500U, which was ceiling-mounted in front of the scene. We used the Epson G7500U for this installation, which is an installation grade 6500 lumen projector. However, if the scene was a bit smaller or you are constrained by budget, the Epson HC1450 – a 4200 lumen projector – would also do just fine. The projectors can be mounted to the ceiling using this mountceiling plate, and extension pole. Or they could be mounted to truss.

Once the projectors were set up, Lightform scanned the scene using Lightform. Simona worked with an animator Ray to create content using Adobe After Effects.

Difficulty
Medium

Projector
Epson G7500U & Viewsonic LS830

Software
Adobe After Effects, Lightform Creator

Hardware
LF1, (LFC compatible)

Staircase Waterfall

Transform scenes with projected AR

 
Turn your event venue’s staircase into a waterfall and more! 

Use Lightform Creator’s library of effects and videos or bring in additional stock video to turn ordinary spaces into interactive experiences. Check out our guide article on adding content to Lightform Creator here for more information.

 

Difficulty
Easy

Projector
EPSON G7500U

Software
Lightform Creator, After Effects

Hardware
LF1, (LFC Compatible)