Are you interested in taking your holiday decor to the next level? Hello, projection ideas! It’s not surprising that projection displays are becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Are you familiar with projection mapping? I assume you are since you are here, but I’ll briefly explain it.
According to Business News Daily, it involves projecting an image or video onto an object’s surface, essentially transforming it into a visually stunning display. This technique turns the exterior of an object into a canvas to create mesmerizing light and illusion effects. The best part is that you can map predefined areas separately, which allows you to project different media onto the same object simultaneously.
Projection displays offer an engaging and interactive experience with almost limitless possibilities. Two popular examples are the Van Gogh Immersive Exhibit and the Immersive Disney Animation. Ultimately, we never attended either of these shows, mainly because once Edgar figured out how easy it was to do it at home, he wasn’t a fan of the high prices. The available time slots also didn’t correlate with our kiddos’ naps, which was probably the most significant factor. I’ll hang onto those naps as long as I can!
Cool…What’s My Point?
It just so happens that Edgar has delved into the world of projection display ideas and developed his own shows in the process. His first attempt for Christmas 2021 was a huge hit, impressing everyone who saw it. Since then, he has constantly devised new ideas to keep wowing us. Not only is a highly effective way to decorate the house without hanging Christmas lights in the bitter cold, but it’s pretty simple too.
Below, I have compiled a list of a few of Edgar’s displays. Although these are not his only projection ideas, they are my personal favorites. If you want to see more of his shows, check out his YouTube channel, which has an entire playlist dedicated to his displays. Hopefully, these will inspire some creative projection ideas in you, too.
Contents
- Before Your Projection Ideas Can Come to Life
- 1. The First of Many Projection Display Ideas (Christmas Display 2021)
- 2. The First Singing Jack-O-Lantern Display (2022)
- 3. “Interactive AI” Dollhouse
- 4. Christmas Projector Drone Show (2022)
- 5. New Year Drone Show (2023)
- 6. Dollhouse Bed Painting Live with iPad
- 7. Halloween Pumpkin Display (2023)
Before Your Projection Ideas Can Come to Life
You’ll obviously need a projector. You’ll find that popular retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, Office, Depot, etc. offer expensive prices. However, Edgar discovered a more budget-friendly option through Facebook Marketplace. He purchased all his projectors through this money-saving platform and saved a considerable amount of money compared to retail prices. His first projector was an Epson PowerLite 420 that he purchased for $20. He used an Epson PowerLite 535 for most of his projects, which was $50. Both projectors have worked perfectly despite being “used.”
Regarding projection mapping, Edgar has free demonstrational YouTube videos for Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple iPad Pro.
Do you need to weatherproof your projector? Well, if you use it outside, then of course you do! Check out Edgar’s DIY enclosure video for a cheap and easy solution.
Alright, now that we have covered our bases, let’s dive into the fun stuff!
1. The First of Many Projection Display Ideas (Christmas Display 2021)
This Christmas display was Edgar’s very first projector show. Initially, when he tried to explain his inspiration, I had no idea what he was talking about. He mentioned wanting to transform our house into a Disney castle display but without the actual castle. I responded with a typical “Oh, yeah. Sure. Sounds cool.” Thank goodness he wasn’t looking for my words of approval because he got right to work.
For this Christmas light show, he turned our house into an adorable gingerbread house with Santa flying across on his sled, followed by a clip of Melianna drawing a Christmas tree on another projector screen, and ended with the famous Christmas light clip from the movie “A Christmas Vacation.” His display was so unique that it was featured on Channel 6 Columbus News, which was a surprise to us. My parents were actually the ones who told us about it!
2. The First Singing Jack-O-Lantern Display (2022)
This display did require props; however, they were simple and thrifty, and he included the kiddos in making them. Basically, Edgar bought three 4" x 8" wood sheets for $5 each. Then, he and the kids cut out pumpkin shapes and painted them orange and green. Edgar even had Meli and Xander's "tool bench" outside to make them feel like actual builders. They enjoyed creating these pumpkins with Edgar and loved his projection display onto them. They went outside almost nightly to watch this Jack-O-Lantern Show before bedtime. Our neighbors got a big kick out of this display, too.
3. "Interactive AI" Dollhouse
I am aware that AI has become incredibly prevalent in today's world, but I want to clarify that this dollhouse was not AI-powered. Let's face it, that would be rather unsettling for a children's toy. Edgar only made the claim as a joke, though it did generate a lot of interest.
Undoubtedly, Edgar's biggest inspiration for his idea was Melianna. I wrote an entire post about the interactive dollhouse, and Edgar created a DIY video for those who want to wow their kiddo with his simple yet effective method. In a nutshell, he replaced the wooden dollhouse back panels with a white sheet and projected images of the dollhouse panels (separate rooms) onto the sheet. He preprogrammed Barbie's questions and responses, knowing how Melianna would react. Essentially, it's not AI at all, but is it epic? Absolutely! Our favorite part was Melianna's adorable reaction.
4. One of the Coolest Projection Ideas: Christmas Drone Show (2022)
As unbelievable as it may sound, Edgar created an entire drone show without using a single drone. Instead, he used a projector to bring his vision to life. The process was undoubtedly more intricate than his previous Christmas show, but still relatively simple and a fraction of the cost.
Drone shows are expensive, to say the least. It is not something you would expect to see in a typical house display. Edgar used his usual projector show method that he had created the previous year, but this time, he added new elements and projected a faux drone show over our house. He was able to do this by using tulle as a backdrop for the drones he projected. The effect was very remarkable.
It was so impressive that a multimillion-dollar drone show company forced him to take his YouTube video down by going through YouTube to do it (instead of contacting him first). He ended up modifying his show so there would be no issues with said company. It is surprising that they would go to such lengths to protect their market from a small YouTuber who doesn't make any money through his side projects.
5. New Year Drone Show (2023)
Edgar's New Year drone show for 2023 wasn't as complex as his Christmas display, but it was still really cool. Like Christmas, he used our house and the tulle above our roof. Who doesn't love fireworks on New Year? It was a bonus for being silent fireworks since we live in a neighborhood with many young ones who were most likely sleeping when the ball dropped (like our kiddos).
6. Dollhouse Bed Painting Live with iPad
That's right, Edgar had multiple exciting projection ideas to turn Melianna's bed into a fantastic display. My personal favorite was a canvas for her to paint, but he also did Mario, Frozen, and several others. As Melianna has a dollhouse frame for her bed, it provides a perfect amount of surface area. Edgar mapped her dollhouse bed using the Notes app on his iPad. He then handed her the iPad and allowed her to express her creativity by coloring on it, one of her favorite activities. Edgar has created a very helpful iPad Pro mapping video demonstrating how to do this.
7. Halloween 2023 Pumpkin Display
Edgar decided to take it up a notch with his pumpkin display in 2023. He created singing pumpkins with Meli, Xander, and our Yorkie Zuki as the main characters. The kids absolutely loved this! It was adorable, to say the least. He made them appear as carved-out pumpkin faces. It was a delightful surprise for the kids since they helped create the pumpkins the previous year. Now, their faces were the stars of the show.
Edgar took things to the next level by adding a unique touch to his Halloween display. He incorporated Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce singing "I Got You Babe" as a cute and quirky display since their relationship has been making headlines lately. Additionally, he transformed each pumpkin into a McDonald's Halloween boo bucket and had them sing "The Monster Mash." This specific version might actually be Meli and Xander's favorite.
The possibilities for customization are limitless, and I linked the separate templates he created if you would like to use these for your projection displays as well. Also, as I mentioned earlier, you can find all of these videos (and more) on Edgar’s YouTube channel under his projection show playlist.
We hope you enjoyed these projection display ideas as much as our family. Please share your thoughts, questions, or experience with projection displays in the comment section below. We would love to hear your feedback and see what you have created! What projection projects would you like to see next? Edgar thrives on your input!
Check out our Projector Projects for the best and latest ideas we cover on our site.
