Resolume Forum

There is probably a simple solution to this, but it is eluding me.

I cut out some rectangles and arranged them on a board and plan to project onto them



How can I recreate the exact placement of the rectangles in say illustrator? I tried taking a picture and then tracing, and when I project that image it comes close, but does not line up exactly.

Is there a way to export what I have mapped in my advanced output to a jpeg or something along those lines?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

how about a screenshot of the advanced output window / output area?

There are a few solutions, depending on what you got...

1) Pressing 'F' removes all the toolbars, etc in
Photoshop! So here's what you do-
a) set your monitor to the projector's resolution
b) make an Photoshop doc that is also that resolution
c) mirror your desktop to the projector
d) 'F' until it's full screen, zoom to 100% and just
draw shapes in Photoshop, and watch to line them up
with projection/ Then open in Illustrator.

2) Create the animation FIRST, then line up the rectangles
by moving them WHEN YOU PROJECT IT. The reverse of above.
I've made illustrated animations that line up to drawn images- by
animating first and then just drawing over the projection!

3) Grab a tape measure, measure everything in inches, recreate that
in Illustrator. I've done similar- basically, if it's 96 inches wide, make a
960 pixel image. If a square is 24 inches and it's 12 inches from the top,
add a zero to everything. Then maybe double it, etc for resolution.

Does that help?

Thank you both!

The screenshot got me close but not perfect.

I ended up using number 1 that georgeberlin suggested. It has been working wonderfully. I really appreciate you writing out those methods step by step for me, and anyone else having this issue.

I was trying to avoid having to use his number 3 method which was going to be my last resort. Glad I got it sorted out without busting out the tape measure!

Don't underestimate the power of method 2.

A lot of people starting out with projection mapping tend to think that getting the mapping right is the most important part of a show. Correctly lining up the output is new to them, so getting this right naturally gets most of the attention.

I would argue that the mapping is just the tiny final step at the end, where you tweak a few corner points to make sure everything lines up.

When you know that you will projecting on 7 rectangular shapes, you can start creating videos that roughly take these shapes into account. You don't need to know exactly where the shapes are, just how many and roughly what shape they have. By working with a template like the image I attached, you can create all your custom content before hand. You can make videos where you are tracing the outlines, filling the boxes one by one with different colors, fill them with liquid or balls, anything you can imagine.

Then when you arrive at the venue, all you need to do is create 7 slices that take the areas of your template as input, align them, and all your content will work seamlessly.

I agree with Joris' method. I tend to save all of my pixel space as much as possible. This way you have more available composition space to play with if you need to add to it.

Resolume forum has been LIT with wonderful help and suggestions lately. Feeling really inspired to get to mapping again. Looks like summer is over!