Backyard Movie Night
Outside, the room is gone. What replaces it is a surface to project onto, a way to get power there that was designed for outdoors, and one rule about weather that has no exceptions.
Plan from above
Three measurements
Projector position to the surface
Why it decides
Outdoors there is no wall to work back from, so this distance is chosen rather than given, and it sets the picture size.
How to take it
Pace it, then measure it, with the projector standing where it will actually stand and the surface hung where it will hang.
What it rules out
Any picture size the surface cannot hold, and any projector position in the path people walk.
Reach to an outdoor-rated outlet
Why it decides
Power outdoors comes from equipment made for outdoors, and the distance decides whether the evening is possible at all.
How to take it
Measure from the projector position to the nearest outlet intended for outdoor use, along the ground path.
What it rules out
Every arrangement that would need an indoor strip carried outside, which is all of them at that point.
Surface height off the ground
Why it decides
People sit on the ground or on low chairs outdoors, and a surface hung at indoor height points over everyone’s head.
How to take it
Measure the bottom edge of the surface from the ground and compare it with eye height from a low chair.
What it rules out
Any hanging position that puts the bottom of the picture below the heads of the row in front.
Room constraints
- Nothing outdoors stays where you put it once there is wind.
- Power outdoors is a different problem needing different equipment, and there is no indoor workaround for it.
- It gets dark late in the season people plan this for.
- Everything has to come back inside afterward, so everything has to be carried.
- The ground is not flat, and neither is anything standing on it.
Order of work
- Find the outdoor outlet firstEverything else is arranged around it. If there is no outlet intended for outdoor use, that is the answer for the evening.
- Hang the surface and measure backPut the surface where it will actually hang, then measure the projector distance from it rather than the other way round.
- Set the seating on the groundLow chairs and blankets sit far lower than a sofa. Check the sight line from the lowest seat before deciding the surface height.
- Route every cable off the walkwayKeep connections up off the ground and away from anywhere water collects. Nothing crosses a path people use in the dark.
- Agree the weather rule before you startDecide in advance what ends the evening. Deciding it while carrying equipment in the rain is worse in every way.
Safety boundary
Stop
Outdoors, use only equipment stated for outdoor use, and take power only from an outlet intended for outdoor use. Do not carry an indoor power strip or surge protector outside. Keep connections up off the ground and away from anywhere water collects. If it starts to rain, stop, unplug at the source, and bring everything in. Do not look into the lens of a running projector, and keep children away from the front of it.