Madame Leota Build

Madame Leota

Projected crystal ball prop

Approximate cost: $150.00

After seeing the various props online,  I decided that I too, needed a Madame Leota.  Actually, I feel like this is a good first prop for anybody because it’s really not that hard and the awesomeness and gratification are enough to make you want to continue on the quest.  Several of the online tutorials use a Gemmy Spirit ball with the guts removed.  Good luck finding one of those now…at least for a decent price.  Instead, I opted for the 16 inch acrylic globe from Light Bulb Surplus.  It costs 35.00 and I think with shipping was around $47.00.  You might even get the 14 in ..i think that would be plenty big...   Here is the bonus…they will cut the opening to any size you need.  I asked for 9 inches and I think that’s a pretty good size. It doesn’t come with a lip or anything, but I think I might use a cake plate for the base of the crystal ball.

Next I got a Styrofoam wig head from Hobby lobby.  I opted for the female one.  She has no ears, but I think once you add the hair, it won’t matter.  She runs $6.99 but I used my 40% off coupon.  Several people said they had to widen the chin to keep the mouth from looking strange.   With the loop I downloaded off Youtube, I didn’t find it necessary, but I’m not a super perfectionist… maybe I was just blown away with the coolness of the project.

You will also need a projector.  Here is the first place I really messed up.  I know nothing about projectors, but I do know that we tend to have a lot of thievery in the neighborhood… that being said, I wanted to go as cheap as possible.  I opted for the PPP03 Pico pocket projector… The reviews all said the video quality was lacking, but since I wasn’t watching movies, I didn’t care… here is what I care about…there is no sound.  Well, it’s there, its just so quiet you can’t hear it… and there is no way I have found to add speakers.  SO that was $72.00 down the drain ( I may actually use it for my peppers ghost later, so maybe not a waste).  What to do?    I could actually use this projector if I wanted to mess with sound editing software and try to get the timing down… then I could loop the video and the sound separately and hope they look ok.  Im not sure I want to do this so now I am looking for a projector that will allow speakers. I really wanted one small enough to mount inside a skull to sit on the table in front of her, but I’m not sure that would work anyway unless the picture is adjustable.  The PPP03 adjusts the size of the picture by moving the projector closer or further from the screen.  In my case, I needed a distance of about 7 feet to get the face to fit on the head.  Right now, I am considering a Discover Wonderwall.  There are a lot of complaints about this model as well and it is a lot larger than I wanted, but I think it might work for Leota.  This is also the projector I am considering for the Grimm Grinning Ghosts.  I will let you know how it works.

As for hair, some people use wigs and some use fiberfill stuffing.  I haven’t decided what I will use.  I am curious about spun glass angle hair.  It’s a bit pricey, but I wonder what the effect would be.

One thing you will notice is that there will be a glare from the projector.  You aren’t the only one having this problem and if you come up with a solution, let me know.  One person on a forum suggested a light coating of gold paint…but if you get too much, I fear you might run the risk of a double image projection.  We briefly thought about cutting a tiny hole in the plastic where the projection was actually reflecting but decided against it as it might be impossible to ever line it back up perfectly.  Another person said they didn’t worry about it because in the real setting, there will be other lights reflecting on it too.. this makes sense to me, so I figure I will just add some fake candles and stuff to distract from the projector light reflection.

You may notice that behind your ball, there is a projection of a large square with things like the battery image and other things from the projector.  This is fixed by taking some thicker paper like cardboard or cardstock and piercing a hole in it that only allows the face image through.  This part can be tricky because this hole is small.  I am still trying to work out getting the hole small enough to only let the face through but large enough to not darken the image too much.

I plan to use things I already have around the house to finish off this prop, I cant put anymore money into this one.  I think a table with drapes, a skull and some candles and books will do nicely…  once I figure where the project will go, I will follow up to let you know what I did to hide it.

For the download, I am using a great loop I found on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b08B4EKNJc&feature=youtube_gdata_player  . 

Supplies:

Wig head – hobby lobby 4.20 (after coupon)

Acrylic Globe 16 inch with 9 inch hole http://www.lightbulbsurplus.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=431

Wig – some people are finding these on ebay for $10.00  be sure to get the lightest color you can. Or you can use fiberfill… that’s about 2.99 per bag at wal-mart

Cake Plate – free from my kitchen

Projector – 72.00 ebay… PPP03 Do not get this one.   The wonderwall is running about the same price… if anyone has suggestions on another projector, please post.