Pity is welcome, even encouraged.
About this creation
Anyone who dislikes rants, please cover your eyes.
I've decided to use my latest MOC as a demonstration of the disparity between imagination and reality. To begin:
INCEPTION: I wanted to build a Pepper's Ghost. Pepper's Ghost is a theatrical effect used in turn-of-the-century stage productions (as well as Disneyland's Haunted Mansion) in which the image of an actor is reflected onto a tilted sheet of glass in front of the stage, making it appear as if a ghost were walking on the stage. I thought it'd be an easy build: a T-shaped room, a small plate of glass stolen from a picture frame, a few characters in front of a black background, and voila, Pepper's Ghost.
CONSTRUCTION: First of all, building the actual room took way too long, probably because I didn't use any baseplates, and had to build the floors from scratch. Once I set the glass in place, a whole new slew of problems arose. Double reflections, tilted reflections, lighting issues, limited space, etc.
DOCUMENTATION: I had to borrow a camera after my old one decided it just wasn't going to take any more of my abuse and died. I went from a Canon PowerShot SD110 (which lasted about five years and is covered in battle scars) to a Pentex Optio 60 P.O.S. This camera is... well, I'm not a fan. No offense to the good people at Pentax or anyone who happens to own one, but this camera blows.
CONCLUSION: These were the results:
- - - - - - -
The layout:
My goal was to turn this Shining-inspired red room from a quaint little lounge...
...into a ghostly chamber.
Problems arose. The first was the glass itself. At the wide distances on stage, the double reflection caused by the two sides of the glass is too small to detect. But here, in such close quarters, double image = blurry image. Bummer.
The second was the lack of a ceiling. From minifig POV, the room is U-shaped. The solution? Wide shots...
...and unusual angles.
Above, the one shot I like. Run, you wuss!
I'll admit, I like how the pianist is slowly vanishing from the waist up.
PROBLEM #3: tilted glass. Even the slightest angle meant the ghosts were in midair.
PROBLEM #4: shaky hands. I should have switched to decaf years ago.
There you go. Pepper's Ghost. It's a shame it didn't pan out so well, but hey, what can ya do.
Next up, Pepper's Ghost meets Mr. Sledgehammer.
P.S. In retrospect, yes, I should have stuck a Sgt. Pepper's Ghost joke somewhere in there, but I was tired. Someone else, go for it.
Comments
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I like it |
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January 17, 2010 |
cool |
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I like it |
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July 30, 2009 |
this is awesome. i didnt realise this is what peppers ghost is all about, ive seen alot of mocs saying peppers ghost and i was like wha? but you have made me seen the way forward!...kind of ? :) great moc (Y) |
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I like it |
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July 10, 2009 |
First: The room and MOC look great.
Second: Thank you for detailing your steps. I have wanted to try this, but was not sure how to do it.
Third: When my fiancé tosses me out for spending all weekend working on this effect, hope I can crash at my buddy's house.
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I like it |
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Nano Hdz July 7, 2008 |
i know your trick it ts prety cool i think that you are exellent
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I like it |
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March 22, 2008 |
that is so cool..... i love the iluton.... it is spooky and cool |
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I like it |
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December 12, 2007 |
That was an X-tremley funny line:Run, you wuss!Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha!!!But hey can you try to rate my creations,My name is Avetis Antaplyan.One of my creations is called"My Crew"and the other is called"Big Blue".So if you do Thanks!!! |
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I like it |
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November 23, 2007 |
I am not sure which I liked better - the creation or the reading your story. Both are brilliant as far as I am concerned. Lee. |
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I like it |
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November 23, 2007 |
Excellent use of Pepper's Ghost. Very impressive. |
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I like it |
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November 22, 2007 |
And then it all went horribly wrong... Ha great moc, interesting story. |
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I like it |
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November 22, 2007 |
Oh man. This is so cool. The room is perfect, and the glass really creates a great affect. This is totally original and ingenious. I have a connon powershot SD110 for about 4 years and I really hop it doesn't die soon...
HAPPY BUILDING! |
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I like it |
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November 22, 2007 |
What a blast. Great little set-up to begin with, but cool idea to try this old-school special effect. Of course these days photoshop will do the work for ya, but that takes away all of the frustration...which for legohaulics is half the fun!! |
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I like it |
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November 22, 2007 |
those so called problems actually look like ghostly effects! especially the "unsteady hands" one. |
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I like it |
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November 22, 2007 |
It's funny, I just posted a MOC that didn't turn out as well as I would have liked, either. On my page I mangled a line from Walden regarding that, but for you I hunted down the exact quote: "In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, they had better aim at something high." At least you tried for something spectacular. And I can't think of any Sgt Pepper jokes either. I can quote any number of lines from the album -- Beatles I can memorize, Thoreau apparently not. |
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I like it |
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November 22, 2007 |
WOW... it didn't work? I Don't understand - I see minifigs that are there but arn't...aka GHOSTS. 5/5 for ideas and 5/5 for daring to go outside the box. Nice work! |
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