What is a 'balloon pop' effect?
Balloon Pop is a very popular type of interactive effect for wall projection and window displays. The effect can be used as an interactive sign, game, or sensory activity, and it includes audio. The background image or video is overlayed with animated clouds, and balloons react to movement or touch by exploding into confetti with a 'pop' sound.
Great ways to use the Balloon Pop template
Retail:
- Showcase a logo or brand in a playful way
- Promote a seasonal sale or event
- Entertain customers waiting in line
Education & Health:
- Encourage active play
- Create a themed experience for a clinic or school
- Support curriculum activities (i.e. color, number, or object identification - works best as a wall ball game where players can aim at specific balloons)
Events:
- Add an interactive backdrop to a performance
- Promote a tradeshow booth
- Provide a custom experience for birthdays, bar and bat mitzvahs, and seasonal events
Prepare your images
All images should be saved as png files. Background, Mask and Logo images should be made with the final resolution and aspect ratio of your installation display in mind.
The Mask, Idle, Logo, Balloons, Clouds and Confetti images should be saved as png with an alpha channel (transparent background). We recommend that balloon images be no larger than 300px square, and confetti images be no larger than 20px square and clouds be no larger than 500px, but this is your choice, and will depend on your final resolution.
Video backgrounds work best if they are MP4/H264 compression, and they should be rendered to match the resolution and aspect ratio of your installation display. Videos that are a seamless loop under 60s in length will perform best.
We recommend that videos be under 500MBs for smooth performance. The limit for all assets combined is 1GB, but each template produces a slightly different size by default based on the template itself and the other assets included.
If you want to add background audio to your effect, you can add looped audio to the video.
Video Tutorial
Learn to make an interactive wall with this LUMOplay Balloon Pop video tutorial. A full, step-by-step tutorial is available later in this article (keep scrolling down).
Download the video tutorial working file (requires Photoshop)
How to use the LUMOplay Motion Maker Balloon Pop template
Download the graphics used in this tutorial
We recommend connecting your final installation display to your computer as a second monitor so you can preview your final app on the intended display. If you have a full LUMOplay installation connected to your computer (including a display and a camera), you will be able to test your app as you build it.
1. Open LUMOplay, select Motion Maker from the left menu, and click Create next to the Balloon Pop template.
2. When the template launches, give your app a name and click anywhere on the grey bar marked Overlays to open the first menu. (NOTE: the tools may look different on your computer, particularly if you are using multiple monitors.)
3. Click the folder icon underneath each item to choose the appropriate image. All overlay images are optional. The Idle image will appear on the screen when no one is interacting. It can be used as a call-to-action (ie: Move to Play), or to display a message or logo when no one is playing.
4. If you'd like to make your projected image a custom shape, you can upload a Mask image. The Mask image sits on top of everything else except the Idle Image. In the image below, the Mask is the foreground grass. You can also add a Logo image.
5. Open the Background menu and click the folder icon to choose your background image or video.
6. Open the Sound menu and adjust the volume or turn the sound off.
7. Open the Balloons menu and click the folder icon to add your balloon images. Use the sliders to adjust the density and speed. Remember to test your changes as you go. If you don't have a touchscreen or interactive projection system connected to your design machine, you can use your mouse to test the balloon behaviour as you make changes.
8. Open the Clouds menu and click on the folder icon to choose your cloud images. If you do not want any clouds, set the number of clouds to 0. Adjust the opacity of the clouds. When using the Cloud Speed slider, please note that this controls the speed and the direction, so if you don't want the clouds to move quickly, your slider should be close to the middle.
9. Open the Confetti menu and click on the folder icon to choose your confetti images. Use the sliders to adjust the confetti spread and density.
Don't forget to give your app a name and save it. When you're done, click the X or press esc to return to the LUMOplay dashboard.
NOTE: If you forget to name your app, or if you accidentally close it before you're finished, it will automatically be saved to the Drafts section in LUMOplay's Motion Maker, so you can edit it again.
Publishing your Balloon Pop app
Playmaker: When you're ready to publish your app to your account, click Publish and confirm. Remember that after your app is published, you will no longer be able to edit it.
Wait for the app to finish uploading.
You will find your app in the APPS list in your LUMOplay software. If you can't find it right away, use the search field to look for it by name. It will be available to every license in your account.
Playground & Free: Upload your app to save a copy to the LUMOplay server. You will be able to continue editing your app until you purchase it.
Each time you upload your app, you will be given an option to purchase it or upgrade to LUMO Playmaker and publish an unlimited number of Motion Maker apps.
When you're ready to purchase your app, you can click Purchase and you will be redirected to LUMOplay.com and prompted to log in. When you're logged in, you will be taken directly to the cart page to purchase your app.
Once the app has been purchased, it will appear in your APPS list in your LUMOplay software, and you will be able to search for it by name.
Still have questions? Contact us!
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