Big Scream Halloween Hologram Illusion

Holographic illusion through my front window on Halloween 2009 - the kids were scared but the parents loved it more. "How'd you do that?" was the most popular question of the night.

Check out BigScreamTV.com

All you need is a TV, a cooler (to hold the TV), some plexiglass, and the DVD of your choice. Mine was made for this purpose and available at Halloween supply stores or online. Search the web for "Big Scream DVD". There's more than one to choose from and worth every penny. This illusion only cost me about $35 for the DVD and plexiglass. For optimum effect, you need to put stuff behind it (like the tree in my example) so that you can see objects through the image. Add some uplighting and a strobe and it's perfect. Set it up in a window that people can't get too close to and they'll never figure it out.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Halloween
• illusion
• horror
• scared
• transparent
• monster
• devil
• special effects
• hologram
• big
• scream
• tv
• dvd
• floating
• image
• bigscreamtv
• window
• trick
• or
• treat

[magic8697]

How much did you pay for the plastic if you dont mind me asking.

[wbesack]

I don't exactly recall but it was somewhere between $15 and $20 I think. I bought it at Lowe's but any hardware store should have it. There are different thicknesses and quality ratings which can up the price. Per the video's suggestion, I just went with the cheapest they had. Just make sure it's large enough. I also bought some small extruded aluminum angle to help stiffen and support the edges. I painted it flat black so it was fairly invisible in the dark. Maybe another $12 for that.

[TheBrassHole]

How big was your tv? I want to do this, but I only have a little tv... Will it still be ok? Was your uplighting red? THumbs up.

[wbesack]

The plastic was the expensive part. You want it as wide as the TV and maybe twice as long as the width. For example, if your TV is 20" wide, you want the plastic to be at least 40" long, maybe more like 48" since it sits at an angle. I skimped and got some very thin stuff. It was tough to keep it from sagging. I bought some tiny aluminum angle and painted it flat black. If I did it over again, I'd buy a bit thicker plastic.

[wbesack]

It doesn't hurt either if the plastic is extra wide. For my example with a 20" wide TV, you'd want at least a piece of 24" x 48" plastic.

[wbesack]

Use a standard DVD player (I used a PS2), run the audio through a receiver like you would for surround sound, or even a portable stereo if it has a line-in port. I ran a speaker wire outside and put a small speaker in the bushes under the window. I was really amazed how it turned out. I think the tree in the background was key. You need some background items behind the image to show off how the image is transparent. Their how-to video gives some good examples. Check their site for tips.

[supernova2609]

Great. Thanks for sharing your tips. It would be helpful in my haunt this year.

[flamecaneMD]

so the image that appears(the one we see) is the reflection on the plastic ??

[TheBrassHole]

@wbesack Hey thanx for the pointers. I have a really SMALL t.v. though. *(

[wbesack]

I had 2 lights. One was a green bulb in an up-light can, the other was a basic strobe light. I put the TV in the cooler as close to the window as possible. I put a potted ficus tree (just happened to be there in the window already - bonus!) behind the cooler with the TV. I put the can light with the green bulb pointing up under the tree, and the strobe nearby in the room under the window so you couldn't see it directly from the outside.

[wbesack]

The TV I used for this was 24 1/2" measured diagonally but I think anything 20-27 would probably work. The bigger the set, the harder it might be to find something to support it. Watch their video on how to set it up resting face up in a cooler. That actually works pretty well if the cooler is big enough and stable enough.