Video Art Installation Tips Required Please!

fungoose · Post by **fungoose** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 4:02 pm

Hi All,

I am placing a piece of video art in Deep Playa called Hoarse. My 4th Burn but my first Art Installation. Some advice would be great from anyone who has done any of this before in the tricky circumstances good old BRC provides...

My current plan is to have the projector, dvd player, amp and batteries housed inside a wooden or metal box chained to the several rebar stakes. It'll only run at night so i am hoping heat-wise it'll be ok. I'll cut ventilation holes in the sides and top to allow hot air out... and cover these with filter. Thought I might add

I'll be powering them through 2 12v marine batteries which will be charge during the day at my camp's solar power chargers.

I am however arriving into Los Angeles from London so can't bring everything with me. I will have a week to prep in LA though so...

a) Anyone have a suggestion for an-off-the-shelf box about 4' x 2.5' x 2' that i can cut ventilation holes into that i can buy in LA.
b) is locking the box and chaining it to rebar stakes enough of a security?
c) any advice on cooling in the crate?
d) keeping dust off lens? screen?
e) Anyone have a suggestion on screens options? I will have one rear-projection set-up but would like to a hardwood option in the case of severe winds... probably not looking at anything larger than 6' x 5'
f) Transport - if i need to get help from someone in a pickup to just do an initial run to the site and a return journey on the last day - i know radical self-reliance but is there any resource that can be approached for assistance and what is the best way to do this?

Lots of questions - i have various ideas about it but hoping to get better ones from folks who have done it before!!!

Please respond on forum or better still to secretlab dot hal at virgin dot net

Many Thanks and Clear Skies

Doctor Lobster

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 4:15 pm

One night, we were wandering Out There and saw a dim blue light on the horizon. We approached and it became more distinct but we couldn't figure out what it was until we were right on top of it.

It was a huge contraption, with a big arm that rotated on a pivot. At the ends of the arm, there were bare glass tubes from a TV. They were playing some sort of video. Everything was run off a generator. I didn't see anyone around this installation. I guess they just left it to do its thing, trusting that the desert and the burners would be kind to it.

I don't remember the dust being as bad as some make out. The wind doesn't rage at night like it does in the daytime.

Sorry, but I can't think of solutions for the rest of your Qs.

Elorrum · Post by **Elorrum** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 4:22 pm

I would say take your video equipment back to camp during the day. It's going to bake in a box. Think if how you need shade to sit under. If you leave a dvd player and projector in a box in the full sun, I don't think it will survive. That heat would be greater than the heat generated at night inside the box by the equipment being on. You might make a shade shelter to put the box inside, raised up off the ground with good airflow and shade around it. I just thought of one of those small pet exercise cages with the shade top.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 8:20 pm

Ah, here we are. Don't expect anyone to go out and enjoy your art by day. This would be a night-time installation.

Think of how the entire thing would look from a distance as well.

rodiponer · Post by **rodiponer** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 10:30 pm

I am doing a slideshow of kids playa photographs, and a fellow Kidsvillian is so wonderful to lend a projector to me for this. Anyways, he has done projection art there for last x years and tells me that DVD players are not reliable on the playa. He brings two or three for his project, and lots of canned air to blow dust off the DVD lens and keep the whole thing clean.

With that in mind, I purchased a solid state playback box to drive my project. It plays a media file on a USB stick, and seems much more robust than a DVD player. There are several, but this is the one I decided to use: http://www.ambery.com/hidediphtvpl.html

He also told me that the exotic light bulbs in projectors have a large start up current that overwhelms all of the inverters he has tried, and that he has to use a generator. I don't know what size of inverter he's tried, or how big his projectors are, but I am hoping the 2000 watt inverter I have will work. I assume LED projectors don't have a large start up current, so that may be an option if you can tolerate their lower brightness. Anyways, this is something to keep in mind when you are buying your projector and inverter, or to at least test before you get out there.

For cooling... You're probably going to stop by some place like Fry's Electronics once you're in LA, so you may want to buy a 12 volt computer fan to wire up to the batteries and put it in front of one of the holes you drill in the crate.

For a screen, it might be kind of cool to project down onto the playa from above. Or a fabric screen tensioned by a PVC half hoop that's staked into the ground. There are so many cool options out there.

I think the art folks give you a pick-up/drop-off driving pass for your art.

Do you know where your art will be? I want to see it...

Stickygreen · Post by **Stickygreen** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 1:47 am

compressed air, for your DVD players, is a must, also blow out the projector every night and morning! playa dust kills projectors, so don't bring one you're really attached to.. rent one if possible!

also don't forget about NTSC - PAL issues, any video gear you bring from the UK, will be in PAL, make sure any equipment you get state side is capable of playing a PAL signal.

also as for your box, it will need shade, for the daytime, plus you want your electronics equipment to be large enough that people and vehicles don't accidentally drive into it. I'm sure you can make something look pretty, use your imagination. also make sure everything is lit up at night, I know it's a screen.... but illuminate the projector box to!

if you need any help, I'm doing a video install in the big dome 10 o'clock and esplanade, you can't miss it. if you need anything come and ask, I've got lots of extra odds and ends, you never know what you might need....

also if your interested there is a live video artist meet and greet at center camp 3PM - 5PM, mostly video nerds, and VJ type people.. if that's your thing, stop by and meet some other like minded individuals.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:51 am

I would think most of the equipment would take the heat okay while it's not running, except for hard drives.
Not sure about a dvd though.

Be cautious about the machine powering up before the day's heat cools off.
I would consider leaving ventilation out and using shade.

Sun into the screen may heat things and then the heat generated might be too much.
Find out how much heat these things take.
Once things cool off, you should be fine, depending on power levels.
Wattage?

This early power up has been an issue with lighting in the middle east in desert areas.
The issue turned out to be heat from the sun not having time to dissipate.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:14 am

Solid state would be fine.
Hard drive as suggested likes cold.
Keep those cool when running.
Make sure they are shut down in day.

sun4all · Post by **sun4all** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:02 pm

Marine batteries are not a great idea as they are 'wet' and can leak or spill. It's better to use AGM batteries which are 'solid' and don't come with the spill risk.
It is always better to use batteries rated for PV systems and marine batteries aren't really good for this application. Here is a URL with lots of info

http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Batter ... 0Batteries

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:16 pm

There are AGM marine batteries and they are wet cells.
It means absorbed glass mat or material.
Optima is of this type.
Wet cells have some advantages over gel cells.

justfred · Post by **justfred** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:30 pm

Suggestion: instead of using a DVD player, consider a solid-state iPod nano or touch. Most recent ones will do video - you need a special cable. Often you can find one with a broken screen for cheap, even better. They'll do hours and hours of video, and will even rotate randomly; they take almost no power at all. Not sure how they'd handle sitting out in the sun inside a box all day, but easier to bring back and forth.