Moving Sirius Black Wanted Poster (Harry Potter)
Intro: Moving Sirius Black Wanted Poster (Harry Potter)
I'm a huge fan of Harry Potter Universe (as you might tell with my other instructables), I wanted to add this prop to my collection for a long time. Some day, I had few hours free so I decide to begin this project. It turns out really cool and It didn't cost me a lot because I already had a Digital Frame. Also, It is difficult to see the real image quality with the video but the result IRL (in real life) is amazing. The screen on the video looks bluish...
What you will need :
- 12" x 18" Frame (you can use other dimensions) (generally comes with MDF)
- A Printer
- X-acto or other cutting tool
- Digital Picture Frame (that can read videos with USB or SD card)
- Spray glue
STEP 1: Open the Digital Picture Frame
We want the electronics behind the frame to be as tiny as possible because the frame is not thick. So we must disassemble the Digital Frame. Each one is different, in my case I had to insert a screwdriver on the sides and remove the back part. Then, I unscrew the motherboard from the back panel. Be sure to check if it's still working after!
STEP 2: Print the Poster Image
I printed a draft of the poster to see if the Sirius mugshot part fits my frame. When everything was scaled correctly I send it at Walmart to print in higher quality and in 12" x 18". You can also print it at home if you have a good quality printer. After the print, I juts cut the part where the frame will be.
STEP 3: Cut Into the MDF
Place your printed/cuted poster on the MDF and trace around the square hole. Cut the MDF using cutters or other cutting tools. The square hole on the MDF must fit the LCD screen of the Digital Picture Frame! So, the square hole on the poster must be smaller than the MDF square hole.
The image just show the cutting before I finish.
STEP 4: Glue the Poster to the MDF
I don't have pictures for this step but it is really easy. Spray your MDF with glue spray and apply your poster, aligning the square holes.
STEP 5: Mount the Motherboard to the Screen
I mount the motherboard to the back of the screen because it would be easier in case I had to do some modifications on it. I used glue to attach it to the back of the panel.
STEP 6: Create the Video
I searched on youtube some videos of Sirius mugshot but I only find one "OK quality" video. I used Camtasia Studio to add sound to the video and rotate it. I had to rotate it because my digital frame is placed in a 90 degree angle in the real frame. Then I transfer the final video to a SD card and insert it to the motherboard.
STEP 7: Assemble Everything
I put the poster/MDF in the frame and I tape everything in the back just to be sure that nothing will fall. I have a remote for the Digital Frame so I can control it remotly.
STEP 8: Final Result (video)
An easy DIY project for everyone who likes Harry Potter. It didn't cost me a lot (because I re-used an old Digital Frame) and it looks very good! If you liked it, don't forget to vote for me for the contest! Hope you enjoyed it, any comment is welcome.
17 Comments
jeddleman11 6 months ago
AmelieP1 1 year ago
Sarahpesso 4 years ago
jeremycyi 6 years ago
I have an identical looking frame to yours but named NOOU. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KCQMPUA/?redi...
My project looks identical to yours and came out great bc of you! I was wondering if you or anyone else has a solution to this other problem... My frame has a motion sensor that is supposed to start the frame up and continue playing the last video it was playing when it shut down due to a sleep timer. When it wakes, it restarts the frame and goes to a memory card instead of playing the video. In short, I have to take out the remote and scroll to the video file each time to restart the playback. The instructions say it should be automatic. There is no internal memory. Manufacturer website no longer exists. All settings are set to replay video indefinitely. Any help would be most appreciated.
Lazarov 6 years ago
Sorry for late reply. The companies that makes this cheap frames pops
and down all the time. Sometimes its a nag even to get an answer if they
support video or not. I had one frame that support JPEG and MP3 but not
video... *sigh*
A work around for your problem could be to bypass
the sensor. Simply make an short cut so the frame thinks that there
always is someone. I do not know exactly how the sensor works but I
think there is a 3 cables. 1 and 2 is power and 3 is opened when motion
is detected. If you short cut so 3 always has power the frame thinks
that there always are motion in front of the frame.
Lazarov 7 years ago
I have an older Digital Frame 8" from 2014. There was a lot of problem before I could get a playable video to work. I flipped it 90 degrees with VLC (google it Youtube). The problem was getting a format and codec that my Digital frame could handle. The working result was AVI container and MPEG-4 Codec and you do it in VLC. The end video is 174x190 pixel but its ok. There is some bright green colorpixels in the top side when it plays on the Frame, but they are outside the hole in the poster.
I will try to put in a sepia color over the video so the "white" parts of the video is matching the poster background colour.
jeremycyi 6 years ago
Lazarov: I must have a similar frame to yours bc I couldn't get it right until I used your method. Thanks! I was wondering if you have a solution to this other problem... My frame has a motion sensor that is supposed to start the frame up and continue playing the last video it was playing when it shut down due to a sleep timer. When it wakes, it restarts the frame and goes to a memory card instead of playing the video. In short, I have to take out the remote and scroll to the video file each time to restart the playback. The instructions say it should be automatic. There is no internal memory. Name brand is NOOU. Manufacturer website no longer exists. Any help would be amazing.
Lazarov 6 years ago
Sorry for late reply. The companies that makes this cheap frames pops
and down all the time. Sometimes its a nag even to get an answer if they
support video or not. I had one frame that support JPEG and MP3 but not
video... *sigh*
A work around for your problem could be to bypass
the sensor. Simply make an short cut so the frame thinks that there
always is someone. I do not know exactly how the sensor works but I
think there is a 3 cables. 1 and 2 is power and 3 is opened when motion
is detected. If you short cut so 3 always has power the frame thinks
that there always are motion in front of the frame.
Lazarov 7 years ago
I have posted version of the Sirius v3, a Sepia tinted, flipped 90 degrees and looped to 1min (my frame has a loading frame every time it load the video) on youtube.
https://youtu.be/vSShBVPZ120
Patrick Tollgren 7 years ago
The poster in "hi rez" can be found at harrypotter.wikia.com (link below). Download the "Full resolution" image and import it into a Word document ( I added a 1pt Picture Border in Word. The poster pops out better). Make the document A3. Right-click -> "Wrap Text" -> "Infront of text" to be able to resize and centre it in the document. Measure the short end of your Digital Frame (DF) and create a Text Box in Word. Make the short end of the box the same length as the short end of the DF. Now you resize the image so the short end of the picture of Sirius is the same as the short end of the Text Box.
I have a Roxcore 8" 4:3 DF and the poster fits fine as A3 with ½" passpartou. The DF is longer than the Sirius picture but some DF is hidden. If you have a 10" DF i guess that the picture is going to be lager than A3.. 8" seems perfect.
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/File:EscapeFromAzkabanProphetLarge.jpg
lonepiper 7 years ago
What size digital frame did you use? The paper image you included looks like it has a cutout of +/- 3 x 5 inches.
ConorR10 7 years ago
NamedJohnny 7 years ago
I used a video of a person visiting Universal Studios Orlando. The person filmed a frame like mine. I just cut his video to only take the Sirius part.
Patrick Tollgren 7 years ago
Loving it!
Can you publish the video somewhere and link it here? Zippyshare or some other place that don't tamper with the video like Youtube.
There are some phonevideos from Universal Studios on Youtube but they are in bad rez and have allot of reflections :(
maniacse 7 years ago
Great idea, nicely done! Thanks for sharing!
dpiccine 7 years ago
Very well done!!! I'll try this man! awesome!
zposner 7 years ago
Awesome, would have been a great entry in the gift contest, I know a ton of fans who would want this.