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Know your audience, and know the size of the venue you'll be
presenting in. Create unique, colorful yet uncomplicated visuals and
keep legibility standards in mind. When this is accomplished your
presentation will be powerful and effective, resulting in an
enhanced image. You will achieve greater customer's acceptance,
loyalty and improve sales and profits.
GOBOS
METAL GOBOS
To project razor sharp images you need special gobos. A gobo is a
form of slide usually made of stainless steel or brass into which an
image is cut. Such gobos require that all parts be physically
connected so that the image does not fall apart. Light is then
passed through it to project that image onto a surface. Metal gobos
can be stamped, laser etched or chemically processed. Metal gobos
can be produced singly or as a gobo wheel. Thickness and quality of
materials determine the longevity and quality of image. Metal gobos
are the most cost effective among gobos. They are extensively used
in the entertainment industry.
DICHROIC GOBOS
In the simplest form, dichroic gobos are basically etched onto
dichroic color filters. Most are versions of the geometric patterns
seen on the traditional metal gobos, with the immediate advantages
of not needing those little bits of metal to join the pattern
together to stop the gobo from falling apart. With color background
of a piece of metal that blocks the light, the general effect is
usually brighter. A second advantage is that both the background
color and that of the projected pattern can be modified by using a
color wheel, producing interesting color combinations and effects.
The pattern is usually made on the gobo by a process called laser
ablation which means that the dichroic covering on the filter is
eaten away by the laser beam that traces the required design. More
sophisticated processes produce multicolored gobos by overlaying one
or more dichroic coatings on the same piece of glass. Given the
nature of the dichroic coating process, which can be rather time
consuming particularly when repeated for more than one coating it
should not come as a big surprise to learn that some designs can be
quite expensive.
PHOTO LITHOGRAPHIC GOBOS
Photo lithographic gobos take us an even larger step from
traditional metal by allowing us to use photographic images and
techniques to produce the gobos. If you imagine a black and white
photograph you will remember that the images contain many shades of
grey as well. The photo lithographic gobos make use of this grey
scale to produce tones and shades. Many of these gobos are black and
whites images with several shades of grey. These can be used in
combination with optional color wheels, although you will find some
that are printed onto colored backgrounds. The most imaginative use
more than one background color. The next logical step, is full color
photographic, which are becoming more utilized. It is not cost
effective in many applications.
TEXTURED GLASS GOBOS
A textured glass gobo is a glass with raised or indented patterns in
it, similar to that used in bathroom windows. On projectors with
controllable focusing facilities a whole range of effects can be
produced by varying the depth of the glass that you focus on. Of
course, to withstand the temperatures inside today's projectors with
their high powered lamps, the glass used must be tempered.
SLIDES & COMPUTER GENERATED TRANSPARENCIES
Why use slides versus any other type of media? In a nutshell - it's
low risk and high quality. In an age where we are communicating more
and more with images, slides deliver the best and clearest image to
your audience. With resolutions of film reaching well aver 4,000
lines per image, you can achieve tremendous clarity with slide film.
The technology is also easy to use, extremely reliable, and offers
the highest level of brightness of the competitive technologies.
In terms of what goes on the slide, the days of yellow headlines on
plain backgrounds with white text are almost over. Design of the
background must be the first priority - it can't be taken for granted.
Today, executives and computer artists are equipped with tools that make
the creation of innovative backgrounds as inexpensive as creating a
plain blue background. There are many computer programs that are used to
create those high end backgrounds, and some have several ready made as
part of a package.C
There are also ready-to-use backgrounds available on CD-ROM.
Audiences respond better to higher quality production, so it is
important to pick the right background for your application.
The keys are to make it unique and colorful. The tools available to
the computer artist also make it possible for photographs to become
part of the background.
As slides are created, based on the concept you developed, you will
have three types of slides in your arsenal:
Text Slides
Photographic Slides
Graphic Slides
Test Slides
Test slides should be simple. Too much information can be confusing
and irritating and is almost as bad as no slide at all.
Photographic Slides
The most significant technological advancements have probably come
in the area of combining photographs into slides. High tech scanning
capabilities now allow any photograph, negative, or printed image to
become a digital computer image within minutes. This opens up many
opportunities for photographers to use today's point-and-shoot
cameras for professional presentation purposes.
At that point, the photograph becomes an editable piece of art, and
very creative things can be done with it. In fact, there are
computer programs that can totally edit a photograph into a new and
improved image. Unedited full frame photo slides can still be used
to incorporate the photographs into the background. This enhances
the beauty, consistency and selling power of the presentation.
Graphic Slides
One of the biggest mistakes which can be made is to think that
legibility in one form means legibility in another. It is important
to note a graphic that looks good on the printed page may not look
acceptable projected to a large surface. Take care to make sure that
detailed graphics are created with thicker line widths and
simplified detail to convey important information you need. It is
also true that a picture paints a thousand words. When you can, use
creative graphics to make up your presentation.
As far as 35mm slides go, another important topic is mounting the
slides. Please consult with us prior to selecting your mounting
style.
Plastic Mounts
If the slides are expected to be used for short term, it is cost
effective to use plastic mounts for your presentation.
Glass Mounts
The quality of the projection is better and the ability to reuse the
Slides is guaranteed when you use glass mounts. These are slightly
more expensive but worthwhile for longevity and quality purposes.
Slides are one of the most attractive creative media for Graphic
Projectors. They can produce any image and any color as simple or as
complicated as required. Slides are easy to produce and reproduce;
are very cost effective and are readily available almost anywhere.
Nowadays, there are many levels slide thicknesses and qualities
which affect life span, consistency of image quality and casts.
Slides are a great medium when used right. We: strongly recommend
its usage on a short term temporary basis in trade shows,
galleries/museums, product launch, etc. Use can range from 90 to a
few hundred hours, depending on a few factors, among them the
quality of the slide, the projector and the quality of the image
(lighter images will last longer than darker ones). A well planned
replacement and maintenance program can make the use of slides more
attractive and realistic. Graphic Projectors with infra red and
ultraviolet blocking filters as well as heat reducing filters a well
designed cooling system will ensure longer, more consistent image
quality by protecting the slide from its greatest enemies: IR, UV
and heat.
Nothing communicates more powerfully and quickly than an image does.
Nothing equals the image quality and sharp bright colors of a 35mm
slide. Slides are less expensive to produce, easier to use and
control, more compatible and portable than other presentation media,
including overheads and electronic displays. Even in the electronic
age, professionals still prefer the power and beauty of slides
wherever they go, because of their high quality, compatibility and
reliability. |
