Front Projection vs. Rear Projection

Video screens come with a white opaque screen for front projection and a greenish grey semi-transparent screen for rear projection. There are pros and cons to using either style of projection, and to help you decide which is best for you, we have included this guide to the characteristics of both front and rear projector screens.

 With rear projection, the audience doesn’t see the projectors, scaffolding/ rigging, and cabling necessary to have video projection. It is also helpful in case of any type of video glitch. The video engineer backstage will be able to deal with the problem at hand without the audience being aware that there is any issue at all. It also prevents the crowd from walking in front of a screen and casting a silhouette on the screen, a common problem.

There are times when every bit of extra space is needed in a room and front projection is more suited to those situations. Rear projection requires enough space backstage to allow the projector to throw the image far enough to fill the screen. With front projection, this is not an issue. The screens can be placed very close to a back wall and the image is projected from the front. The downsides to front projection are that the projectors are visible to the audience and vulnerable to being bumped, damaged, or walked in front of. Of course, the projectors can be flown, which eliminates most of these problems. Front projection is also used for delay screens. Delay screens are screens placed farther into a crowd so that they can see the images as clearly as the people in the front rows, which can be a very valuable tool when you have a large number of attendees or a very large room to work with.  Whatever projection style you choose, Royal Productions will help you to integrate it seamlessly into your event, taking care of anything and anything you need when it comes to the projection for your production.