Here are some examples of my projects that use the “Pepper’s Ghost” effect. It’s called “Pepper’s Ghost” because it was used in a stage act in the 1800s and made popular by John Pepper. Sometimes it’s was called “Pepper’s Mystery”. Anyway, there weren’t TVs or iPads to reflect off of back then, so they did it with a large piece of glass and objects hidden offstage that were illuminated by gaslight. To the audience, they would appear as ghosts.
In my work, I avoid calling them holograms. Holograms are awesome, they’re real, and they’re way more complicated than what I’m doing. Also, I want people to be able to search for the specific term “Pepper’s Ghost” to find other projects where people are using the technique and to maybe also learn about the history of it.
I like how simple the effect actually is. It sort of asks you to make sense of it and even after you recognize that it’s just a reflection, it’s still fun to look at. To me, it’s sort of like suspending your disbelief at the movies. We all know that the lasers and explosions aren’t putting anyone in danger but that doesn’t ruin the movie. In the same way it doesn’t ruin the movie to see an actor in a different film as a different character. There are terms to the agreement of the suspension of disbelief in movies.
With “Pepper’s Ghost” it’s easy to quickly understand what’s happening and play along anyway.
And because it’s so simple, anybody with a screen and a piece of plastic can try it out. What would you make with the “Pepper’s Ghost” effect?
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5 апр 2023
