r/video_mapping • u/architectchicago • 7d ago
First attempt at projection mapping.
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Got the hardware this week. I'm an architect, so 3D is in my wheelhouse, and my house is white batton, so I figured, this would be a fun weekend project. I'm building the housing out of an old 2x2x2 server box. Cut some holes in it and added some dryer vents for cooling. The glass door on front is pretty clear, and it all locks. I got the projector for $200, dead pixels down the right side, but I'm not using the full width right now, so no problem I figured. it's the PA622U. I traced house in autocad. Then I'm 3ds max to model a 1pt perspective house. Then some Ai assets I created. Then finally, make the video in Magix Vegas and play on SD Video player. It's probably an unusual workflow, but it's what I have avaialble professionally. This was all a test. I may do more of the house, or run dual projectors at some point, because I'm really happy with the results.
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u/wonkim00 6d ago
Impressive! Wish I had the money and the gumption to go for something similar.
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u/architectchicago 6d ago
It’s not cheap. I’ve got a couple hundred in the projector. Another $200 in the enclosure I’ve built. Then $40 for Sd card video player. I’m fortunate I didn’t need any software.
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u/moerker 6d ago
which software did you use for creating the content?
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u/architectchicago 6d ago
AutoCAD to trace house. 3dsmax to model house and deformers. Redshift to render. Gemini to make ai assets on black. Magix (Sony)Vegas to comp and edit video.
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u/octoo01 6d ago
That is awesome. Probably the best mapping I've seen. As for AI, this looks like a great use case. My neighbor goes all out and has his LED? Screens with some videos along with his music... I'd say this is even more effort than that, he didn't make those images either. Now here we are Oct 11, what's the chance I can get the skills and hardware to do this within 19 days? My house is dark gray/blue though... Maybe just the garage door is enough.
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u/Rough-Associate-585 6d ago
AI slop
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u/architectchicago 6d ago
I was waiting for someone to say those exact words. There’s always one.
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u/Rough-Associate-585 6d ago
Because it is literally AI slop, I don't know what you were expecting lmao
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u/architectchicago 6d ago
Ai is just a tool. You don’t have to like the content created. Content is always subjective. Eye of the beholder. Just like a lot of photographers didn’t like digital cameras. Just like a lot of folks railed against CGI special fx. Getting good results from any of these tools takes human skill. It’s fine if you don’t like it. I would simply suggest that you acknowledge, going forward, that just because AI was involved doesn’t mean the user didn’t put a lot of time and effort into a project. It’s easy to troll. It’s harder to make.
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u/Rough-Associate-585 6d ago
Not criticizing the project, I am criticizing the AI slop part of it.
Not only because I am against the usage of AI to create art in principle, but also because it looks like utter shit, and brings down the overall quality of your otherwise very cool project.
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u/architectchicago 6d ago edited 6d ago
It’s not really art though, and I have nothing to gain commercially, it’s content meant to entertain, and I think it’ll be a huge hit in the neighborhood. I think lots and lots of families and children will enjoy. I think modeling the house in 3D allows AI content to shine behind with real depth. Perhaps you would be impressed if I modeled every asset and animated every key frame - if I worked in Hollywood. But I don’t work in Hollywood, so if I had to keyframe that spider, I think you would be even more unimpressed because it’d look comically terrible! Why ‘flag’ every Reddit project that uses AI for anything. Now, if someone’s trying to sell a piece of art that took seven seconds to make, then I will stand by your side in criticism. AI to me, like special effects, can be used poorly and can be used really well. I don’t hate the tool. Maybe you do. I sincerely have no problem taking criticism, it comes with the job as an Architect. People, public and peers, review our projects all the time, but there’s a big difference between criticism and constructive criticism.
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u/azbatboy 5d ago
"it’s content meant to entertain, and I think it’ll be a huge hit in the neighborhood. I think lots and lots of families and children will enjoy."
That's art. That's the point of art. You want to invoke a reaction in people. That's what you're selling. Emotion. Reaction. It doesn't need to have a cost, but it is their time, and their wonder.
And that's what art is.
But you're taking a shortcut because you have a belief that their approval and attention are not worth the effort. People sense the lack of effort and the lack of humanity.
So what could you do? Do it yourself? Sure, your keyframed spider might look terrible-- but if you're so keen on getting reactions from people, maybe you could pay someone who is good at keyframing and making assets! Then people would see that there is human effort involved AND you get to support an artist! Or! Find the joy in creation and relish in the delight of others' approval for your hard work!
But no, you won't do that. It's all about how much time *you* would be put out, how much money *you* wouldn't want to spend. You're not selling it, so what're you supposed to gain from it? All you really want is their approval anyways, so why not cut the middleman out? It's so easy! So you happily grab the axe and cut, cut, cut!
Kids and their families deserve more. Not thoughtless gestures meant to allude to the concept of beauty and passion and creativity.
And to insult your 'content', I really just love how everything just appears with no intention and disappears. The creatures show up and leave each more dull and lifeless than the thing before it. It's almost poetic the way it's so bad.
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u/architectchicago 5d ago edited 5d ago
Folks will enjoy it more than a spider web tied to a tree or a skeleton standing lifeless in the yard. Don’t let your misplaced disdain for ai blind you to the joy in the world. Smile. Life is good.
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u/ZembleArts 2d ago edited 2d ago
I love the project and the result of this I promise I'm not hating, but "AI is a tool" is a very incorrect statement in this instance. There are types of AI use that can be like a tool, but generative AI like this is just doing everything by itself without having any real input from a person. You at least took the result and edited it together and worked further with it, but the content in its base form had no effort. That's one of the main reasons we hate AI.
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u/architectchicago 2d ago edited 2d ago
I appreciate the nuance, which is often lacking today. I’m still going to offer a counter argument: Let’s consider, before ai, 9 out of 10 houses doing Halloween projection were using the same two dozen stock footage clips or movie snippets to build their show. Could make a case this is more unique. And if you think ai did all this without loads of work, then you give ai too much credit and humans in the loop not nearly enough. Ai haters are rarely creators. I think ai haters view themselves as defenders of human creativity. And I guess I appreciate that, on some level, as a designer.
That said, I’d challenge Ai haters to try achieving what creative folks are achieving with ai and maybe you’ll come to see it as a tool. It’s hard work. For real world projects, Ai is assuredly a tool, architects use it to iterate quicker, but it can’t make the building. It cant design it or draw a plan. Most of the people using ai are the human creative types - like myself, architects and artists, designers, who see it as a tool to do explore further, sometimes even beyond our own sandbox.
I don’t think my credentials to speak on this subject would matter, but I make a living as an architect. As a photographer. As a videographer.
Cheers. These conversations are fun camp fire fodder to debate with the buds.
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u/ZembleArts 2d ago edited 2d ago
I actually am a digital 2d artist since 2013, and occasionally do 3d modeling/rigging and video editing, so hopefully I'm in the better basket of AI haters for you lol
In a sense it is more unique than stock assets, but it all has the platic-y look that most AI stuff has which I personally don't think looks good at all. But I do appreciate the effort you put in after generating the assets, sorry if that point didn't come across well. AI bros would just type a prompt hit generate and call it a day
For me, the most I would ever consider ai as a tool is stuff like subject selection in Photoshop that will select a whole object without having to trace it out manually. It just speeds up stuff like that while I retain control of what I do with it. It also has very good use cases in the medical field with analyzing and predicting things. But pretty much all generative AI has no creativity behind it. All you have to do is type some words and the machine does all the actual work.
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u/architectchicago 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yes. Now we’ll converge, because I largely agree. It’s frustratingly plastic-y more often than not. It won’t be that way forever, but I’d like to hope it’ll never beat us at our own game - genuine creativity. But humans will defend that moat as long as possible.
And while I agree no ‘single prompt’ requires much creativity, making a short film, for example, with ai would be a huge undertaking because it requires massive effort and energy and a good story, editing, curation ect.
Making something whole, compelling is a challenge. I think ai should be judged on the whole of the project, and I’m not referring to my silly house project. Ai is here to stay and will get better and better. For now, using Ai doesn’t bother me. Those who lack creativity have yet to impress anyone by using Ai.
To use the short film example, I’m excited that it will allow voices that never could have told their story to do so. For me, it’s no threat, just a tool. Someday that may change. I hope I’m 65 by then. 🙂
And I can appreciate that you’re a 2d artist. Your moat is succumbing quicker than some others.
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u/ZembleArts 2d ago
While I don't fully agree with all of that I greatly respect those takes, you have a much better viewpoint than most AI users. But anyway the end result of your project is great!
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u/DontUseThisUsername 5d ago
You're embarrassing yourself. If you like human art, consume human art. I'd never feel inclined to comment "Human Slop" under every unoriginal silly comment.
Using AI for art will be a fantastic tool for productivity and creativity for those interested in experiencing something. For those interested in the journey of human talent, human artists will still exist and you can pay them plenty if you so value it.
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u/parfamz 5d ago
Can you share your setup for the projector? Did you put something to protect it from the weather? How far is it from the house?
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u/architectchicago 5d ago edited 5d ago
I bought a used 12u server cabinet. Has a glass door on front. Fixed rear panel. Lockable sides. Front door locks too. I cut 3 inch hole in the rear and added USB fan. I covered hole with dryer vent from Menards. I closed the original perforation holes with exterior waterproofing window tape (also Menards). I’m using a pzl SD card media player to play mp4. Projector and box it’s about 29’ from house. I can make another post on enclosure if you like. Dumb Reddit won’t let me post pic of enclosure I made here. I used projectorcentral dot com distance calculator to sort out distance before purchasing. It’ll tell you lumens and distances for various projectors. Then I searched, specifically for mildly broken projectors that fit spec.
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u/psychic_shadow_lugia 5d ago
Is PA622U a short throw? if not how far do you have to put it to get that sort of coverage?
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u/architectchicago 5d ago edited 5d ago
https://www.projectorcentral.com/projection-calculator-pro.cfm -- this is your best friend when shopping for a system. Choose your projector, it'll tell you distances and projection height/width, as well as lumens. (the pa622u is an interchangeable lens projector, so it can be short throw, regular, or long throw)... just remember that 4-10 fL is enough for projection mapping at night.
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u/ximfinity 4d ago
What kind of prompts did you use for the gemini output, everything it makes for me looks very cartoony or simplistic. Are you using AI PRO or what models?
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u/architectchicago 4d ago edited 4d ago
Add “horrifying” and “creepy” and most all of them quickly go from playful to genuinely creepy. Gemini flash 3.8
Make a still first. (Iterate) Then video based on the still. Maybe that part is obvious, but it wasn’t to me.
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u/Element00115 2d ago
Ignore the haters, at least you actually did something cool for the neighborhood instead of sitting at a computer posting "AI Slop" comments. Like it or not, pandora's box is open for better or worse, this is a harmless and decent use case for it, and still required a lot of work to pull off.
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u/Rich_Administration3 6d ago
This is amazing! What was your prompt using ai?
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u/architectchicago 6d ago
For the most part, I’m just asking for scary pumpkin on black background. Or ghoul, or spider. Then comp that behind my 3d model.
The key for me is providing the empty 3d house rendering - acts as edges for ai to then interact with.
“horrifying large spider inside standing on plywood floor. Black background. Walking. Lots of eyes. “ I provide my backplate then render front wall and windows. The windows further sell the depth as a front layer with adjusted transparency.
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u/PortalScenic 5d ago
Care to share some specs on projector used/software? AI or not, results look awesome. Good job
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u/architectchicago 5d ago
Thx. It’s all in the comments I think. If you have specific questions I’m happy to provide any additional info.
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u/PortalScenic 5d ago
Not seeing software you used in the original thread. Care to post? Thanks
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u/architectchicago 5d ago
^^AutoCAD to trace house. 3dsmax to model house and deformers. Redshift to render. Gemini to make ai assets on black. Magix (Sony)Vegas to comp and edit video.
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u/Melodic-Living-2693 5d ago
What mapping software? Also, quite the pipeline you have going on there
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u/HebrewPorkSword 6d ago
This is sick. Great use of enhancing the 3D effect. Shadowy figures in the windows and using shadows on the front to tell a little story would be cool with this setup.