I wanted to do a scary (something), on my wall since I saw a project for Magic Mirror. I stumbled across the videos made by AtmosFearFX and thought it was perfect.
Later I applied most of these parts and processes to build Christmas Cable TV.
The main components of a simple portrait project are: computer monitor, something that outputs video, and a frame. From those parts you can loop videos that scare those who walk by.
To accomplish this, I used:
- Custom Frame
- Computer Monitor
- Ultrasonic Sensor
- Raspberry Pi to control the sensor and output video
- AtmosFearFX videos
I wanted to take mine further and include a sensor that detected if a person was in front of it. I didn’t want it looping over and over. I felt like it lost the appeal of something that pops out (lack of better terms), and scares you.
For the frame, I built a rectangle using 1X3″ pieces of wood. The inside dimensions was formed tight against the monitor. If you have extra space, the monitor will slide left and right. This gives you 2 1/2″ of usable space. You might need to use 1×4″ pieces of wood depending on the thickness of the monitor.
The front framing itself was a piece of chair rail I bought from Lowes. You want to cut it so about 1/4-1/2″ makes a border within the frame. This will allow the monitor to sit against it. After all this you can sand, paint, etc.
I measured and drilled out two holes for the ultrasonic sensor. This type of sensor produces a signal that bounces of what it reached and returns, giving you a value of how far it’s away. Then configured the Pi so that the video played when someone walked in front of it.
