it's going to be a difficult task. every venue is different and management might not let you mount it on walls.

The best way to go is short throw projectors and use a rear projection screen. short throw projectors need about 3-4 feet distance from screen. this allows you to put screen near dance floor with interrupting party.

[IMG]i1222.photobucket.com[/IMG]

Yeah short throws are probably your best bet

ok thank you so much. I didn't know about rear projection. That sounds like the solution right there. As far as short throw projection, I'm not sure if I have that or not. I have a Vivitek D535 DLP Projector and it doesn't say anywhere that I could find that it is a "short throw" projector, but I could be wrong. I just saw a quick video describing what rear projection looks like. He mentioned something about "inverting" the image. How do you do that?

inverting the image is a setting on your projector. it's needed for rear projection. you probably do not have a short throw projector. short throw projectors shoot the picture upwards. you can still use your projector for rear projection but you will need sufficient room in the back of the screen to fill entire screen.

Ahhh. Now it all makes sense. Thanks man I REALLY appreciate it.

+1
Without a doubt. When I broke into the video scene a year ago, searched the hell out of forums, asked a few users and in no time had a Benq short throw + Draper ultimate rear projection screen ordered.

First time I used them both only added 20min to my set up time. Best DJ Investment since SL1 in 06. Best of luck.

Get a cheap speaker tri-pod and a "Top-Hat" mount. You can mount the top-hat to your projector and attach it to the tri-pod.

Rear projection is the way to go and you can even make your own screen with some sheer fabric from Jo-Ann or Hobby Lobby.

www.pssl.com

that's a good idea if the venue doesn't mind having a tripod in the middle of dance floor.

He did say rear projection...

I was talking about the tri-pod idea.

Yeah, which with REAR projection will be behind the screen, no? ;-)

s1148.photobucket.com

s1148.photobucket.com

Screen is mounted on top or lighting rig with projector about 2 meters back.
True, clubs set-up is way different, but I do a lot of mobile work.

to easily/quickly hang my projector at the club I bought a run of the mill projector mount (www.247av.com), then drilled a hole in the top I could mount a megaclamp on it (www.thelightsource.com).

ran some video cable from the booth, and projected onto a pull-down mounted on the wall. I was at this venue regularly enough that I installed some hooks for the screen, and left the cables in the ceiling. Only took 5 minutes to setup after that was done. Only problem is if the club doesn't have any truss within a reasonable distance from the screen...

don't forget a safety cable!

it's rare when you have enough room to project from rear on a regular projector. with short throw projector all you need is about 3 feet of space behind screen. No tripod either. the projector sits about 2 feet off of ground with lens facing upwards.

It's amazing the amount of creativity that we (DJ's) have to come up with to get videos on the screen. Props to all those inventing their own clamps, screens, mounts, and brackets when the clubs don't have it. Hell, we're lucky half the time that they even have an elevator to get gear up the the third floor!

Could that mega-clamp hold a projector at an angle safely, to project up or down through severe angles? Does it attach to the projector mount securely? Looks like it might be ideal for what I need.

I've always wanted to try one of these on the top of a truss with a ceiling mount to rear project my home made stretchy screen.

parts.americandj.com

wonder if that support bar would be strong enough.


Until then I'll stick to my flat screen tv mounted to the truss.

I've got a short throw projector that I haven't used in a long time.

If you tighten that with a wrench, the Megaclamp is not going anywhere. It's a professional clamp for any and all lighting fixtures. As long as you are on standard 2" pipe, there should be no trouble. But use a safety cable just in case ;)

My projector mount had a steel plate on the top, with small holes for every installation. I just widened the hole to fit the megaclamp 1/2" bolt, tightened well with a lock washer.

The projector mount I used had some fine adjustment for angle (up/down and side/side) which is crucial for a good fit on the screen, not to mention picture size adjustment on the projector.

Thanks! I find it hard to find what I'm looking for as I have no idea what the things I want are called. Do you, or anyone else, have other tips for this sort of DJing scaffolding kit? I've been looking at a lot of photography orientated sites, trying to figure out if I could mount projectors on the kit, but everything looks too flimsy and unstable for the sort of environments DJs work in.

I don't need a full mobile rig, just stuff that could be useful for small clubs that already have a DJ booth, a stage, or at least somewhere to set the DJ equipment up. If I could do what I want, I don't think I could really rely on venues having somewhere to mount things where I want them

I can't help but think there must be stuff to mount fancy lights/lasers and point them where you want, I just want to change the light for a projector.

only way to set one up stand-alone is with some truss.
www.google.co.uk
That would be fine for some lights, or an LCD screen.

Now if someone bumps your light stand and it moves a bit, no problem, but if someone bumps the truss with your projector, the picture will be half off the screen, or bouncing around all night.

Short throw projector behind a rear-project screen is stil the safest. Unless you can hang it properly somewhere.

I had to weld my own projector support. It only fits the top-hat mount for speaker stands though. The commercial mounts are pretty heavy duty, but they are expensive and you might still have to jimmy-rig it to the clamp. I find that O-clamps are much more secure than C-clamps, but they can only be mounted on standard pipe diameters.

This guy on ebay sell a material called sail cloth. Perfect for rear projection. its sheer but very strong, Ive had a few drunk chicks fall into it and it held up fine.lol. its about 25 bucks for five yards. makes awsome bachdrops for leds too.

My Boss provided the Projector screen and the Drape coz he saw the potential of videos in a bar.....I know that I need my own so I'm saving for that.

at the fabrc stores what you want is "bathing suit liner"
white obviously

it only comes in X4ft height, length is endless.

ok for you mobile VDJ's, what is the best short throw projector out there under $400? Or is there one? Right now I'm using 2 39" samsung LED TV but I'm looking to go to a bigger screen.

under $400?

Save some more money and invest in something better. In that price range you are going to get something with low lumens.

I think the ultra short throw NEC is amazing, Because of its ability to be so close to your projector it can go on the grond front or back side of the screen. That would be the easiest to setup i think. www.necdisplay.com

This is the short throw projector I bought shortly after I started this thread well over a year ago. Viewsonic PJD6353s. The quality is excellent and the price is very reasonable (as low as $581.00).

These are some great suggestions. Perhaps I could offer another.
We found that many venues didn't have projection, and those that did were frequently too small.
SO, We use a self-supporting truss system with our mobile gear.
This system serves multi-purposes. Originally purchased for our lighting gear.
However, we added a screen which we attach to the truss with the included bungie cords, then mount a piece of unistrut to the top of our truss system which extends from the middle out to a little over 6 feet from the screen. So the projector (short-throw) is at the top (inverted), above guests heads. The cables run behind the screen along the unistrut.

Nothing to attach to anything at the venue itself.
Projector out of reach of guests
Beautiful large wide-screen image
no additional stands or mounting hardware for the screen
and the screen is able to go back against a wall if the venue suits that. Otherwise the project can be "rear-mounted" the same way.
setup of the projector is less than 10 minutes, and all highly portable.
Our truss system is also able to grow, to accomodate larger screens.
With the projector only weighing in @ a mere 6 pounds, we can even extend the unistrut out further within this concept.

We find this very functional. Hope this gives you some other thoughts.

CJ

For my mobile setup, I mount a portable screen on a truss and I found a projector tripod mount for $50 on ebay. The tripod I use is made of heavy duty carbon fibre (cost me $160) and can hold up to 20 lbs, so the projector wont fall off/over.

Here's a video clip where you can see the full setup
Watchvimeo.com

This is the screen I use
www.epson.ca
It comes with a wall mount, which I attach to a piece of plywood that I modified with C-Clamps to hang on the truss.


Also, I'm using a short throw projector.

I work as a projectionist doing live productions. It seems like you have a pretty small projector. The easiest way to mount it for you would be pipe and base. You will need 3 parts. Projector bracket, pipe, and base. If you google search your projector model for hardware, you should be able to find several brackets to fit it. At Home Depot you can buy a steel pipe of whatever length is needed. They can thread it at the store for you. Remember to make sure they are the same size. Aka 3/4" steel pipe needs mount with 3/4" mount bracket. Last use a small square metal base or wood base and create a hole at same circumference as the pipe to screw into. Remember to weight the base with sandbags or something so it can't get knocked over. This can be used for either front or rear projection depending on the screen. Hope this was helpful.

here is a projector mount to be used with a speaker stand.

www.djforums.com

I do have a short throw but I was just pondering the same thing. I went and picked up these suction cups $7 (reviews.canadiantire.ca) . I am hoping to incorporate the handles (I got 2 of them) to make a mount. Probably just a simple wooden mount with a swivel between them. The suction is unbelievable and can be put on any ceiling. Any suggestions?

Sounds like my ex!

Giggity

You got a pic of the set up ?

i1148.photobucket.com

i1148.photobucket.com

It's a long shot of the screen at a large school dance, but you might get the idea. The projector is mounted behind me on the stand. I'll try to post one of the tripod and projector mount soon. I have to demonstrate this to a client on the Feb 15th. I'll snap a pic then.

This is exactly what I'm trying to fabricate right now.

But I want it to be dual purpose, it can stand on the floor or be raised on a truss above me.

You need one of these with a rear projection surface. The standard legs have adjustable height, or the screen on its own can easily be hung from some type of truss.
www.da-lite.com

This is what I would want for the floor setup so, www.djscreen.com

That gives a nice finished looked.

But what I wanted to do is have an arm extend out the back and the projector be supported by an arm.

I would use a short throw that way I would only need approx 3ft of clearance behind the screen and I can place it anywhere.

The speaker stands make it look kind of amateur, imo. They do make proper kits for these screens.
www.da-lite.com