Project SG-69: our Stargate at Silicon

[kproche]

We built the new frame, I bolted it all together, we tipped it up onto the base with the help of half a dozen Klingons from Mara's bar. (No photos... we forgot the bloody camera)

Then a gust of wind hit. The Stargate held together, the base didn't tip over, but the metal braces attaching it to the base gave up and folded and it ended up face down anyway.

Much swearing ensued.

Then I did some field re-engineering and put it up as a seven-chevron partial gate so it would fit flush against the wall under the overhanging 3rd floor balcony.(This is as much of the gates as you usually see in most episodes of the series anyway, as there is a ramp/pedestal obscuring the lower two chevrons). We had to do front projection of the event horizon effect, but it was still very effective.

It was also wildly popular.

Once it was dark, I went out and took some pictures with my phone.

didjiman got some much better ones, I'm sure.

Some photos of the gate shot with my phone

	The Field-Modified Stargate in Action After emergency rebuilding of the Stargate as a partial seven-chevron structure so it could be placed flush against the wall of the building
	Kevin at the boundary of the event horizon This will look so much cooler when we can rear-project it!
	Packed up and ready to go The whole works (including buckets of tools) fits in a footlocker and a footlocker-sized stack of parts
	Most of the parts The tall stack is the front segments, the small stack is the rear panels, the bundle of wood is the frame spars and they are sitting on the 2x4 foot base that we tried to bolt the original full 9-segment ring to.

Comments

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

That is just entirely too cool for words! Makes me even more sorry that I wasn't able to make it to Evil Geniuses (damn this working late and being exhausted thing!).

[icarusjj.livejournal.com]

Looks awesome! Congratulations!!!

[johny--b.livejournal.com]

The metal broke...that sucked majorly. The metal.

[didjiman.livejournal.com]

Will try to upload pics tonight. It is an awesome Stargate!!

[johno.livejournal.com]

Photo tech check...

Do you think a long exposure (.5-1 full sec)
slow sync flash (turned down 1-2 stops),
would capture the lighting effects,
yet illuminate the ring and pedestal properly?

[didjiman.livejournal.com]

I shot ASA1600, 1.4 @ 1/30th a second. It seems to work reasonably well.

For flash, yes, turn the flash way down -2 or more and long exposure for ~1 sec sounds pretty good. Try it and see :-) You may need to turn on manual mode so the lighting shows up as lighting...

[johno.livejournal.com]

I thought of the slow sync today.

I was Manual:

F4.5, 1/30, 1/20, 1/10 and finally 1/4.

I had the lightning effect down to 1/10th,
(which could simply be hand shake blur)
but didn't get any ring detail until 1/4.

Also Kevin, if you're still with us. ;)

For a planned photo op or static wall mount, you should use solid sheet. My eye keep going to the line down middle and C asked what I screwed up to generate the line.

[kproche.livejournal.com]

It's 8-plus feet across the ID. Kinda hard to find fabric that wide.

[karisu-sama.livejournal.com]

Buy a photography backdrop. :D

[kproche.livejournal.com]

Maybe... most of those appear to be made of muslin...
But fabric.com has 108" wide white drapery sheer fabric, which might serve better for our purposes...

This, of course, is for installations where we don't want to be able to walk through the gate :-)

[johno.livejournal.com]

It was really cool looking, even missing the lower bits.

My pics of it are here at the bottom of the page.

First with flash, then 4 with longer and longer exposures (till camera shake made them all blurry).

...now...I have some ideas on how it can be photographed to see the ring details, yet get the chevrons and event horizon show up.

[starherd.livejournal.com]

Okay, you are officially my hero now. *bouncing up and down with enthusiasm*

[esprix.livejournal.com]

I think the squared off bottom looks better, especially if you keep the ramp.

NICELY DONE!