front+back projection screen for under ?50?

[fatmanbob]

i have been wading my way through all the posts on here about screens, but am new to all this so please forgive me for asking for your advice..... i want to make sure i get this right...

basically i want to put together a screen for less than ?50, that can be used to project onto from the front or back. i guess that ideally it would be light enough to hang from a ceiling too.

i'm not how big it should be either..... is about 2m wide a good size? or should it be bigger.

what would you recommend? from the looks of things a big roll of nylon fastened to some sort of lightweight frame would be best?

(kinda sounds like a tent, surely there is a market for tentmakers to move into here????????!?

thanks for your time

james g
www.clubtng.com (http://www.clubtng.com)

[fRED]

i build a screen by myself out of some very nice plastic foil (the guy in the foilshop said its normally used for the inner side of handbags) it is reflecting very good and lets through enough light for rearprojection. i bought a piece of 1,30x2,00m and two 2m metalsticks one is a profil with wholes in it and the other is a 20mm pipe. some white gaffatape adheres the foil to the sticks. now i got a very cheap and when i roll it up easy to setup and transport screen.
i attached a picture of some friend with my screen in action. not the best picture but it gives an impression.

[Psychoptik]

White lycra or spandex work well for me, bought white lycra and had it sown together with a black lycra frame...measure roughly somewhere around 3.20m wide x 2.40 m high and stretch around an extra 40%...have two of these with binding loops on all corners and edges...theyre lightweight, portable, easy to setup, machinewashable, front or rear projection and image quality is above average.
Also have option to attach a homemade lightweight pvc frame(almost never use it though).
Also have a 5m wide x 3.5m tall, white polyester/plastiky/artificial fibre screen(probably material like the one mentioned by fRED) which i hang from its corners...any of these will work well enuff and probably cost below 50 pounds.
Hope it helps!
:)

or you could just use a white sheet...hehe:P

[fatmanbob]

Psychoptik, if you use just lycra, does the screen stay pretty much flat when you stretch it out? or is it kinda funny/strectched in the corners???? what do you put on the corners/edges to attach it to stuff???

[solly]

Hi
Lycra is good and cheap. Get a big piece and let it hand or bend it with fish wire. Even if the projection is a little bit distorted it will look cool and unusual. Do that its better than a plastic tent type of material that can get creased etc.
Solly

[charlielangridge]

Don't foreget to use fireproof materials or have the finnished screen fireproofed. It is a legal requisit in the UK that screens must be fireproofed, and promoters / club owners / h&s peeps may well require a copy of the relevant certification proving this.

[fRED]

if somebody needs a certificate he can pay for the screen. my solution is just for private use and mostly non commercial stuff.
but if they use it in handbags it should be fire proove <hihi>

is it so difficult with burocracy and police in uk?

[fatmanbob]

>>> fRED >>> do you have any (bigger) photos of your screen!??

it looks good though!!!!

[charlielangridge]

Originally posted by fRED
is it so difficult with burocracy and police in uk?

It's called health and safety. It's there to protect your equipment causing uncessary rish of endangerment of others and yourself. It's not a case of difficult burocracy! Do you know how fast certain materials can bur, from just a cigarette end? A plastic material (such as lycras) can and will drop incinerating melting plastic, which can set light ot other stuff, and cause intense burns. There is also the chance that it will fall onto a person. It will then burn, whilst shrinking arround them. This causes the person to be severly burned and starved of oxygen.

Some rules are there for a reason, don't be so foolish as igonore the ones that are there to protect you and others.

[sleepytom]

the standard test for fireproofing in the uk is for the club owner to attempt to set fire to your screen with a lighter - if it catches fire you will have to take it down.

the danger of fire in clubs is very real and should not be taken lightly - flame proofing is cheap and easy to do and will prevent you harming others

you can get flame proofing liquid (commonly called "flambar") from http://www.natfire.com/ in the states or you could ask you local thearter if they would spray your screen for you

if you are really concerned about fireproofing regulations or you require your screens to be certifyed you should contact your local fire station.

[fRED]

Some rules are there for a reason, don't be so foolish as igonore the ones that are there to protect you and others.


thats right and i don't want to give the impression that health and security of others and me does not intrest me.
but there are many rules and paragraphs you have to fullfill when you do official events, that are very expensive and sometimes for my taste a littlebit strict.
and there are many parties that are outside of official club context, the birthdayparty of a friend in his flat, the student party in a seedy russian barracks area, you are not able to make these places 100% safe. when you do parties there its very often the decision between low cost and high security.
here in berlin the club and party scene grewed out of a totally unregulated time during the 90s, much empty houses, hidden cellars, old industry parks. now it starts to become more and more regulated and more and more very kreative places in berlin are dying because of to high burocratic constraints, you may say its a good thing in case of security, for me the spaces outside of big busines are dying.

i had been intrested what the situation in uk is because you got a longer tradition in club culture i think.

ps. and even if its only under 50? you can be sure that i care for my stuff, and try to rig it in a way, that even if it is not fire protected, nobody is able to hold a lighter on it.

to fatmanbob:
i can take some pictures on saturday for you...

to sleepy
thanks for the flambar tip i will have a look for it.

[fRED]

Originally posted by fatmanbob
>>> fRED >>> do you have any (bigger) photos of your screen!??

it looks good though!!!!


this is my newest screen its 4x1,3
http://www.pornfriction.de/pictureupload/Foto39.jpg
important is that you got kilogramms at the foot of the screen it reduces the folds-danger.

http://www.pornfriction.de/pictureupload/Foto42.jpg
you need a littlebit more tape on the edges, and its sometimes a bit tricky to tape it foldless, like you can see.

[cat]

My experience of health and safety is in europe they ignor all the EU regulations and get away with it, in the UK they come down like a brick shithouse if you flaunt them (depending on venue and local fire department), fasinating that!
Case in fact Sonar nights last year were so overcrowded that I could not believe it! I would estimate twice the number that would be allowed in the venue in the UK, quite frankly I was scared! and Ive been working in clubs and partys for over 13 years and have seen some scarey stuff!
Nylon cannot be flameproofed unless it is made that way so spraying is useless, its plastic and it burns and more importamtly gives off lethal fumes, Im always amased by the number of lycra advocates here!
Why dont you all do a flame test on these materials you use, and see how bad they actually are? I suggest you stick to cotton!

[ToxicOrange]

Hi there,

I'm considering utilising a net curtain (the very same stuff used on windows) to project onto and through, with regards to the flameproofing, no problems. However I am concerned on the physical rigging of this and if there are any health and safety ruleings about hanging things and security chains etc.

Apologises if this seems a little vague, but we are due to move onto a larger venue with some seriously nice headroom and the last thing I want is to have my projection screen fall onto anyone in the club!

I'm considering using a weighted frame to strech the netting over (hopefully holding it taught) and eventually creating a cube affair to project through.

Any thoughts, advice, feedback is all greatly appreacated.

Cheers


Toxic

[LEVLHED]

this weekend disassembler and I were talking about success we've had with a simple white vinyl shower curtain!
though I'm not sure how they stack up against you're fire safety regs, I can tell you they are quite efficient for front and rear-beams. tend to wrinkle though, so I had to get creative when using mine...I'd actually put it in the clothes dryer for a bit then flatten it out and transport it flat.

the other "ghetto" solution I had was being lucky enough to score a whole bunch of white parachute nylon off Ebay. got a really really long bolt of it that was about 5 feet wide, had to have it proffesionally sewn together/grommetted. but it rocks for both front and rear, and packs very very small. I had three screens made that are about 15' x 20' (sold one to a buddy though) and they still get used when the application is right.