I have at least two and as many as seven overhead projectors. Now what?

December 16, 2007 8:04 AM

Because of the relocation of a friends' academic department, I have come into possession of at least two, and potentially up to 7 overhead projectors. Besides selling them (which I am looking into) and donating them (which I will do if I can't put them to good use) what are some creative, interesting, or generally mind-blowing uses can I find for them?

The projectors are Eiki 392s and appear to be of sound and sturdy composition.

The only thing I could come up with was to produce Anaglyph 3-d images using two overlapping projected images... but then I thought, I could just project a single red/blue anaglyphic image using a single projector, right? Is there any way I could use two projectors to produce a more powerful 3-d effect?

Any other optical effects or... miscellany that I could use multiple projectors for? I've been very impressed in the past with the creative ideas put forth by the MeFi readership.

Many thanks for your help.

posted by cadastral to Media & Arts (16 answers total)

Response by poster: ...I will also donate a single overhead projector to a charity selected by Metafilter, if nobody in this thread points out my incorrect apostrophe use in the first sentence... or singles me out for censure or ridicule for same.
posted by cadastral at 8:07 AM on December 16, 2007

With an overhead projector and an old LCD display, you can put together a pretty wicked high-def LCD projector for very little money.
posted by TomMelee at 8:10 AM on December 16, 2007

Recent FPP Computing in Dark Rooms might hold some ideas.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 8:13 AM on December 16, 2007

Response by poster: (By the way, the current use is to project an image of the xray of my broken pinky finger on the wall of my apartment. The result is not as spooky as I would've imagined...)
posted by cadastral at 8:18 AM on December 16, 2007

Project stereo paired 3D images such as this. (Bonus if you rig two cameras to shoot simultaneously from slightly different positions, creating your own stereo pairs.)
posted by anaelith at 8:22 AM on December 16, 2007

I've always wanted an overhead to do large format wall murals by projecting through a transparency outlines, frames, etc.

These could come in handy for any artist looking to do that type of work.
posted by wfrgms at 8:22 AM on December 16, 2007

Best answer: Yes! 3D, but not chromatic anaglyph. Get two pieces of polarized glass, and fit them each orthogonally to each other over two lenses. Project onto the same surface.

If you view the projection with glasses that have each frame polarized in the same layout, then, each eye will see only one projection.

I'm pretty sure that's how modern 3D films are displayed. (If I were designing it, anyway.)
posted by cmiller at 8:25 AM on December 16, 2007

Pluribus (or something like it) would be freaking awesome. ;P
posted by jmnugent at 8:30 AM on December 16, 2007

Not to make you feel guilty or anything, but if you do come into the seven, any non-profit that does tutoring or adult literacy would probably be glad to have them.
posted by tamitang at 8:31 AM on December 16, 2007

You can create a liquid projection (example video here).
posted by malocchio at 8:31 AM on December 16, 2007 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: any non-profit that does tutoring or adult literacy would probably be glad to have them.

Excellent point, and rest assured that if nobody can come up with a compelling use for three or more projectors (which would be hard to find, I'm sure) then I will be donating any extras. I hadn't considered where I would donate them, but adult literacy/ESL seems like a good fit. I'll look there first.
posted by cadastral at 8:47 AM on December 16, 2007

I would keep one around for making murals, like wfrgms suggested.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:01 AM on December 16, 2007

Response by poster: Anybody need an overhead projector in the St. Louis area... drop me an email.
posted by cadastral at 9:32 AM on December 16, 2007

What others suggested sounds good: education nonprofits or artists. I'd think some artist could use it as part of an installation or something.

The offending apostrophe in your first sentence should be corrected to read: "Because of the relocation of a friend's academic department.."
posted by midatlanticwanderer at 10:55 AM on December 16, 2007

This describes how to use them in conjunction with a Wii controller to achieve a whiteboard effect.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 11:47 AM on December 16, 2007

I saw a guy at a rock n roll show put on an amazing light show with an overhead projector-- he had several thin clear glass dishes filled with corn syrup & water; the corn syrup floats like bubbles, like oil in water. The syrup was dyed different colors (e.g., one thin round glass plate with red syrup and water; a second plate with blue syrup & water; overall he had about 6 plates). Corn syrup is polarizing-- when it is lined up in one direction, light shines through it; rotate it by 90 degrees and it blocks light completely. By stacking and turning different combinations of plates on the surface of the projector, he projected swirling color-scapes with floating bubbles of different colors.
posted by holyrood at 11:53 AM on December 17, 2007