Audio for house Mapping
If you’re hoping to incorporate music in your show your options are either speakers or an FM transmitter, or both.
Speakers
With your speaker, if you want to go down a cabled route, you’ll typically be dealing with a 3.5mm AUX headphone jack.
Or you might choose to go wireless with Bluetooth.
On the one hand, that’s one less cable to worry about.
However, there is a lag with Bluetooth; it’s only a few milliseconds but can be noticeable if you have characters with mouths synced to speech or music lyrics.
If you opt for a battery-powered speaker, again that’s one less cable to worry about and presents less of a tripping hazard – but you need to remember to charge it.
You can typically expect around 16 hours from one charge.
For a speaker you’ll be using outside it either needs to be outdoor rated or kept inside a weatherproof enclosure.
Inside an enclosure is better for security since it’s easier to walk off with it if it’s loose.
If you aren’t keeping the speaker in a secure enclosure you need to consider its security by maybe hiding or disguising it, chaining it or locking it down or fitting it with an alarm.
When it comes to positioning your speaker, I’d recommend placing it where the audience is, not necessarily where the projector is.
This means the sound can be quieter to keep neighbors happy.
Having a speaker encourages visitors in cars to park and come up to the show so they don’t hang around blocking the road.
The speaker also serves people coming on foot, like trick or treaters.
FM Transmitter
An FM transmitter, on the other hand, takes your audio and broadcasts it over an FM radio frequency which audience members can tune in to, usually in their car.
At colder times of year this is advantageous because people would rather be in a car.
It also has the advantage of creating no noise for neighbors.
It also keeps the audience out of the way of the projections where they might cast shadows.
Depending on where you live, there might be rules around taking over a radio frequency and over what range you can broadcast, so look into those.
Remember to have some kind of sign to tell people the frequency to tune into – this can be some kind of physical signage or integrated visually into your show.
If you want to incorporate both a speaker and an FM transmitter, you need an audio splitter out of your projector or media player.
TIP
Use the shortcut Command + F1 twice and it will extend your display.
Kit List
See a list of suggested house projection mapping kit including projector, media player, computer, audio, cables, window covering & enclosure materials.
Related Guides
Projectors for house Mapping
Which projector should you choose for house projection mapping? Learn about lenses, brightness, resolution and lamp vs laser light sources.
House Mapping Video Content
Where can you find video content for your projection mapping show? There are many free resources out there and also some high quality paid content.
Will My House Work?
Is your house suitable for holiday mapping? Learn about some of the biggest considerations like house size, yard length and ambient light.
