First, I said floating head, but it can be any thing you like. What you’ll need:
- A TV with brightness and contrast settings (smaller TVs are easier to work with)
- A large sheet of clear plastic (Measure the size of the sheet needed)
- A DVD player (the TV needs to have the proper inputs)
- Decorations for the area around the "floating head"
- If you want sound effects heard more easily, outdoor speakers
- A floating head design surrounded by black, on DVD (If you don’t think you can make one yourself you can buy a DVD with several from big scream TV)
Adjust the brightness and contrast settings on the TV so that the areas on the screen with no image (black areas) have no light coming from them, don’t worry if you have to turn it all the way down. Then turn the contrast as high as you can without distorting the image, so you end up with a bright head surrounded by blackness. Select a location for the floating head, for this guide you want a window visible from where the trick-or-treader’s will be but you can be creative and do whatever you can think of for this effect. Once selected, set the TV on it’s back with the bottom of the TV away from where the viewers are going to be, use a cooler, table, box, whatever you have around to make a stable stand. Make sure you can plug in the TV and DVD player before proceeding.
Next you will need to measure the size of clear plastic sheet you will need. You can use a piece of cardboard for reference, you’ll want the sheet of plastic to be diagonal to the TV so the image reflects off of it and is seen by the public. You may also want to get some metal guides to put on the edges of the plastic to keep it from bowing in the middle, either that or be prepared to drill a small hole in the plastic to thread a wire and support some of the weight from the ceiling.
Once you have the sheet of plastic installed, you may want to test the image by turning the TV and DVD on and see if it works correctly at the angle you believe most people will be looking at it. Adjust the setup for the optimal angle. Now that the floating head is where you want it, set up a scene around it to enhance the effect. This includes setting up the audio so people can hear the sound effects. You can open the window slightly to simply let the sound out, or run an audio cable to some outdoor speakers. The scene around the head can be as simple or as complex as you want it, but if people can see through the head into your regular living room, or something it will come off as half assed and lame. As long as you do something to jazz up the scene a little it will look great.
