u/lilthislilthat

I know absolutely nothing about projectors / VJing, but I am looking to pull together some simple visuals for a very small bush rave.

My initial idea was to do some very simple projection mapping of trees around the DJ. The DJ booth itself will be under a standard tent canopy.

I’ve also considered getting a backdrop to project onto instead, but I feel like it might look janky(?) since the largest screen we could realistically display would just be the size of the tent canopy wall and obvi not a completely flat surface as it would be a makeshift backdrop.

I’m on a budget of $150–$~200 Cad and have 3 main questions:

1. Is it even possible to project onto a tree outdoors at night with a projector in this price range? Or will a budget projector completely disappear into the leaves? If the tree idea is a no-go, would projecting onto a small tent-sized backdrop behind the DJ look half-decent, or is it not worth the hassle/money?
2. If you do think it's possible, do you have recommendations? (I am totally open to hunting for older, used brand-name projectors on Marketplace if that's a smarter route than Amazon projectors).
3. Should I skip the projector option altogether and just focus on uplighting trees? I feel like I'd get good use out of a projector for home use, hence why I'm interested in trying to make it work and can spend a bit of money on it. But if some cheap floodlights + gel filters will create a nice coloured effect on trees for relatively cheap, then I'm fine with that option too.

Thanks in advance!!