As Matthew said, black is the closest you'll get to transparent with projection, because projection works like a very detailed colored light.
Consider projection to work in the real world similarly to how the add or screen blend modes work in After Effects. To that end, you can pre-visualize your project a bit by placing an image of your painted scenic underneath a comp of your animation and setting the animation's blend mode to screen.
Again, as Matthew said, there is no such thing as true video black (although some projectors do get very close!), so you will get a subtle dark gray-looking rectangular wash over your projection area even when projecting full black. (Higher-quality projectors with better [lower] black levels will minimize this; lower-quality projectors with poorer [higher] black levels will accentuate it.) Here are five possible techniques for overcoming this:
- Always keep an image at the edges as a framing device.
- Move the imagery in and physically feather the projection cone.
- Ensure that the projection plane covers your entire visual canvas.
- Take extra care with additional lighting around the edges of the projection area to minimize their visibility.
- Use a projection dowser for full blackout moments.
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at
Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog - What I'm thinking when my workstation's thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events
Reply
Like
