Maybe you've seen CHOPS or another one of our famous virtual characters somewhere else - our new "Let's Face It" gameshow on the Web, at a tradeshow or company meeting, at a kids program or even on YouTube or another video site.

We'd love to stay in touch with you and hope we can connect in person, to show you just what this technology is capable of, now that we have eliminated the motion capture aspects.

Here's where to find us on Social Media - please share!

- CHOPS BOOKMARKS -

Let's share connections on any of these sites below -

OUR NEW COMPANY - CONSOLE CALL
FOR ONLINE MEETINGS, WEBINARS AND TELECONFERENCING FOR THE HOSTS WHO CONDUCT THEM -

Animation videos

Our Blog

Digg us today!

Become a fan

Link here

Videos up

Gotta have it

Updates

Social stuff

Gary's channel

More social

 

Our Bubble Screen hangs inside the portable canopy to keep it shaded from the strong overhead lights

Live Animation is projected onto our unique "Bubble Screen Video Display System"

Here's a very popular way of placing CHOPS into your booth - on a round screen that takes up just a little floor space, and there is nothing quite like it out there. The Bubble Screen is an attention-getting video display that keeps people looking.

The Bubble Screen is a display system designed and perfected by Gary Jesch, to help catch attention along the aisle of a tradeshow booth. It can be either free-standing, as shown in these pictures, or built into an exhibit space. The screen is a two-foot round milky black or white 1/4-in. thick plex, with a black stand system.

The stand system is adjustable in height, and takes up about a 2x7 ft. space, including the projector and stand, the speaker/stand, and the screen/stand component.Typically, the screen is about six feet off the ground, with the speaker and projector directly behind it, but we have done some interesting variations of that layout, and they seem to work. We are currently looking at very-short throw projectors with special lenses and mirrors, which will allow us to confine the footprint to about 2 x2 ft.

The main issue is how to present CHOPS in such a way that it's easy and comfortable to interact with him, and still keeps the mystery of "How do they do that?" alive.

Small details seem to be important - such as making the color of booth carpet the same as the color of the aisle carpet, so there is no border on the floor to cross. People are just more inclined to stand on the outside of the line. In the case of the Bubble Screen, we'd like to see people stand about three feet away, for the best interaction.

The Bubble Screen stands are now powder-coated semi-gloss black, giving them a stylish, discreet appearance that looks good in any booth. Of course, they should be positioned so that no one walks between the projector and the screen. Normally, we run our cable "set" under the carpet and bring it up near the projector stand, dressing it in a plastic tube between the floor and the electronics.

There are no wires going to the screen itself. The screen is very bright, can be seen from all angles, and can be photographed. We are using a dark screen with the black stand, and it can be seen clearly from a hundred feet away in a well-lit indoor environment. Sunlight is the only thing that seems to affect its brightness.

Here are some pictures of its use at various venues. The cream color stands were changed. In photos where CHOPS' picture is washed out, it's an indication that the screen is substantially brighter than the rest of the booth. In real time, the screen is a bright, intense video image.

 

 

This image of the PGC booth shows a three-ft. diameter Bubble Screen we can supply. It's hanging by clear line from the truss. In this booth set-up, it seemed like the screen was a little big and a little high off the ground for really good face-to-face interaction. In the photo at the top of the page, "My Fish People" were entertaining children at the Nevada State Fair on the same screen, so it was lowered to eye level and placed under a canopy to darken the space a little. The two-person control system is behind the red drapes, concealing the performers.

One of the system's advantages is that its "roundness" catches the eye, since it's a departure from the rectangular plasma screens. Another is that it is very thin and floating.

This is the system's current appearance (left), with Brash on a bright gold background.

It's very catchy, especially when people are talking, or there is a front man to show people that it's OK to interact. Some booth designers have come up with ways to cover up the pole stands, with good results.

One company even made a mannequin with stuffed clothing, to put under the CHOPS face!

We've also experimented with transparent screens for this application, but found them unsuitable because our guests could see the background behind the screen, which might have included a company logo or something. The transparent screens are fine when you can control what is behind them, but that is rarely possible at a tradeshow or conference.

Here's how we made it work in a 10x10 booth (right) that included the Bubble Screen, a pop-up display and table, and the Digital Puppeteer control system (behind the pop-up). Note the second spy camera on top of the pop-up, so the performer can see the traffic on the aisle.

The control system takes up about a 5x5 foot space, and is connected by wires. It can be anywhere in the booth, but it makes for an interesting attraction to get people to stop and come in the booth, where we can start conversations.