Has anyone had any pictures of themselves or part of their show blown up (life sized) like they do "basketball players or ie superheroes" for advertisements, on site and/or prior to the event.

This could be used as "stage setting" and advertising during a show. It also could be set out prior to the show hour or perhaps day of the event.

Any idea what the price for a small run would be of

ie this nearly normal magician and his puppet family.

Would I go to a photo or print shop for this???

I got the idea when I went to see another family entertainer. He was not a magician. He was a singer.
There were many things I noticed and liked about his "set"

1. He wrote his own material.
2. His show built energy.
3. He interacted with the audience prior to show time
4. His "stage" looked great with sound sytem, themed
pictures blown up on what looked like cardboard back(see above)
5. His sound system was appropriate for the venue.
(didn't blow out any ears but he could be heard
6. He smiled and frowned and used a lot of emotions.


Thanks in advance.

Harris Deutsch
Laughologist

That is a great idea though. How much would that cost to make one of those??

I talked about this a bit on another thread. The best way to go about this is to either have an artist design it for you or go to what we call an artist service bureau.

These places are where artist and people can go to get things done such as car magnetic banners and oversized printing.

They are used to handling big and different projects and usually have people there that can tell you exactly the best way to go about it and what you would need to give to them to complete the project.

To keep costs down for you, I would limit the size of the piece. Perhaps it does not have to be life-sized. Maybe it can be a size that will fit nicely on an easel or can be placed on a small table that also has your business cards and flyers on it.

If you were looking at life sized color stand-ups, and were just doing a limited run of a few, it would likely cost you a few hundred dollars.

You are talking about a large scale color print, then mounted on something like foam core (which would require an oversize mounter that many places do not have).

Brent is right, although mounting it onto foamcore would not be sturdy enough for it to last. I think mounting it onto a "gatorboard" would make it last more.

Also, once it is mounted, you would have to make sure it is laminted in some way with either a clear plastic laminant or a waterproofing spray.

It can be done, but as Brent pointed out, it will cost you a few hundred to do based on limted number and the size involved.

You can cut your cost down by reducing the size of the piece and making it work on an easle or on a table top.

Large color prints are pricey, however, there are many versions of large scale prints. All have different qualities and they vary in pricing. You may not need the most costly print done if these are going to be viewed at a distance. Just something to keep in mind.

I'm sure that there is a company that does this for around $100. Life size. I was looking at their site about a year ago. I'll try to find it again.
Dave

I just typed in search....stand up photo life size ..... and got several sites from $99 on up. I am thinking of life size banner photo. Life size but can be hung up out of the way. Less prop damage worries.
Dave

I would not usually use a banner photo as 1) you would need a place to hang it from 2) the wind becomes a factor outside needing holes in the piece to account for that.

I think if you go this route, you really should get the print out mounted onto some kind of board. Have this backed with an easle backing so that it can stand up and then laminated to protect from the weather. Life size can work, but as I said before, it might work better if you limit the size a bit with this. It would allow for eaiser transfer and would not be as heavy or cost as much. Put a nice show time clock on it and you have yourself a very cool and useful piece.

For an inexpensive outlay...get the picture you want of you full size, on the best resolution possible. Get it "tiled" photocopied onto A3 (or A4 if that's all that's available).Tiling is where a photocopier will copy sections and enlarge them onto the size you wish. Its programme will allow for sections to be exact when piecing together.
Cut the image out as you want it, maybe your own oultline, and paste over suitable background, then onto plywood or heavy duty card cut to shape. Laminate as required with clear fablon and make a stand...
Did it for a show in Greece once and it was ok
Vernon

Vernon:
I am sure you could do it that way and save yourself a lot of money. I just think the quality would not be all that great because of the tiling involved. It certainly is an option if the person has some creative skills.

I would stay away form putting it on plywood as I feel this would make it very heavy and cumbersome to travel with. A nice card stock or gatorboard might work better.

I've used the tiling technique and it is very difficult to piece it all together perfectly. I put it on cardboard and it was very difficult to keep from bending when moving it around, however as Kyle says, plywood might be a bit too much. An unusual place to get enlargements is any place that makes Blueprints. They can do life size but color is limited. Since they don't do this kind of printing very often, the novelty of it all usually results in a very "Good" deal. Some free tickets?
Dave