LCD DISPLAY FOR FILM PROP

[LIAMT]

HI EVERYONE.

LOOKING TO BUILD AN LCD DISPLAY TO BE USED AS A PROP IN A FEATURE FILM.
IT IS A TIMER/CLOCK - COUNTING DOWN HOURS/MINUTES/SECONDS.
IDEALLY AROUND THE SIZE OF A WATCH BUT COULD BE SLIGHTLY BIGGER IF NECESSARY.

WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO BUILD ONE SO SEEING IF ANYONE HERE IS INTERESTED IN HELPING OUT ON THE PROJECT.

LIAM

[ledtester]

I have no experience in the movie industry, but it seems to me that it would be easier to just Photoshop the close-up shots of the watch.

Dave did a couple videos on designing a custom LCD display:

- https://youtu.be/v=ZYvxgl-9tNM
- https://youtu.be/10D5jpO45Lo

but you still have the problem of putting it into an enclosure and controlling the display.

Here's a hobby project that uses an OLED display -- in case it gives you some ideas:

- https://youtu.be/KrUJlZK1ct0

[jmelson]

Can't you buy an off the shelf LCD timer and repackage it to suit the prop needs?

Jon

[james_s]

What's with the all caps? Typically that is considered YELLING.

This sounds like something that would be trivial to build with an arduino nano and whatever sort of display has the look you are going for. There are lots of different segment and graphical displays out there these days that cost very little.

[LIAMT]

THANKS FOR THE REPLIES TEAM.

WE'VE DRAWN A SIMPLE PHOTOSHOP VERSION  TO GIVE YOU AN UNDERSTANDING - THE WIRES FROM THE BACK ARE NO WORRY FOR US AS WE CAN HIDE THEM BEHIND THE STEERING WHEEL.

I THINK IT WOULD BE 3 SCREENS - 1X3 NUMBERS (HOURS) 2X2 NUMBERS (MINUTES, SECONDS)
FROM THERE WE COULD MAYBE MAKE A CASING AROUND THEM.

THIS LINK IS ALSO SIMILAR TO THE KIND OF SCREEN WE HAVE IN MIND BUT IS FAR TOO BIG.
https://bar-proof.com/products/countdown-clock

[themadhippy]

Erm that be a led display not a lcd,all you need is something like a max7219  8 digit 7 segment display (around a quid on ebay) an ardunio and 10 minutes searching  the net for suitable code

[ledtester]

The electronics for a red 7-segment LED display like that is totally routine and probably will require at most two external wires -- for power. Maybe two more depending on how you want to control it.

You'll have to decide how tall the digits will be. Common sizes are 0.27 inch, 0.39 inch, 0.56 inch,  0.8 inch, ~1.0 inch and greater.

Then you'll need an enclosure... probably easiest to just 3D print one.

To increase the contrast of the segments usually some sort of red filter (like a piece of red cellophane) is placed in front of the digits.

I would probably start by deciding on your digit size and then design the dimensions of your enclosure around that. You can get the exact dimensions of the LED digits from their technical datasheet. Here is an example of one:

https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/239/d4608JS-1150714.pdf

[LIAMT]

THANKS FOR THE HELP.

DO YOU THINK THE 7 SEGMENT DISPLAY WOULD WORK WHEN WE WANT A GAP BETWEEN HOURS/MINUTES/SECONDS?

OR WOULD IT MAKE MORE SENSE TO HAVE SEPARATE DISPLAYS?

[LIAMT]

IS THERE ANYONE WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN BUILDING THIS FOR US?

[wraper]

Do you have caps lock on your keyboard stuck? FYI it is considered a very bad tone/ rude to write everything in caps.

[Mr. Scram]

IS THERE ANYONE WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN BUILDING THIS FOR US?

If you have clear requirements and a budget I'm sure there are people who can help out. Depending on both I can imagine I wouldn't mind taking a stab at it.

[sokoloff]

@LIAMT, your PM inbox is full, so I'm responding here.

You mentioned today that you need this next week.

I know this is a rush but just seeing if it's possible.

Here's what I have on hand that is possibly workable.

I have an 8 digit, continuous display, whose total width is 10cm by 2cm for the display and 11cm x 5cm for the whole display board.

Image here: 5 and 10 pound notes for scale. 1 and 2 Euro coins also for scale. (I couldn't find any pound coins handy.)
https://s3.amazonaws.com/static-s3.sokoloff.com/random/electronics/7+segment+displays+for+film+project.JPG

With the timeline as you now have it, there isn't time to order custom PCBs and therefore isn't time to have a customized layout. The best you can do is get a trophy shop to cut out some plastic bezel or something to cover up the excess circuit board on these prototype boards (or do something similar from sheet plastic that you might have lying around)

I banged out some quick code to make it go and it should be ready for me to post out early in the week. You can then decide how fast/expensive a postage trip you want it to take.

Video of the project as it stands now: https://youtu.be/nSzxYOgwnZQ (it will be easy to see that of the two of us, I am not the filmmaker...  )

This video gives you an idea of what is possible in terms of making a bezel for it (this is not my video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_RKP6kS5j0&feature=youtu.be&t=370

Cost of parts is around $10 for the LED module, $20 for the controller, a few bucks for wire connectors and you'd end up with something that you could power off USB battery pack [that you would need to source locally]. Call it $50 plus postage (net to me after all fees) and it's yours (assuming what you see in the video is OK for your purposes  ) If there's a reasonable place to get a mention in the scrolling credits, I'd greatly appreciate that, of course. If you need me to flip the jack around so the wires come in from the back, I can do that as well.

Postage looks like it's going to be $37 for 6-10 days, and $65 for 3-5 days transit time, and $90 for 1-3 days transit time (coming from Waltham, MA 02451 or thereabouts). Fedex was quoting transit costs over $150, so either they don't want the business or think that you need this a lot more urgently than you actually do... If you have another carrier that you prefer to use (or have a carrier account that gets you discounted rates), I can use that as long as the effort is reasonable on my end.

If we had 4-6 weeks until you needed to shoot the final, I could also spin a custom PCB and get the layout however you like if the exact appearance is critical for the film. Costs there would be more like $250 all-in (plus postage) for a working programmed PCB with roughly the functionality as shown in the first video above.

But if you just need an ominous looking 80s-style LED countdown timer, I think the parts I have on hand will look and work just fine. I didn't use the LEDs below the digits display, but we could. That are bi-color LEDs (meaning a combined red and green LED, meaning they can show red, green, or yellow on each LED as you wish, but the yellow doesn't look good [it just looks red]).


Please advise any thoughts!

[MarkF]

THANKS FOR THE HELP.

DO YOU THINK THE 7 SEGMENT DISPLAY WOULD WORK WHEN WE WANT A GAP BETWEEN HOURS/MINUTES/SECONDS?

OR WOULD IT MAKE MORE SENSE TO HAVE SEPARATE DISPLAYS?

Each digit would be a 7-segment display.  You would need seven of them and could space them any way you want.

Sample:

[Mr. Scram]

I tried sending you a message too but got the same message of your inbox being full. That typically happens when you don't have enough posts on here. I think you need 5 to be able to receive messages. Could you perhaps message me your email address?

A timeline of a week is a bit of a challenge. With the approximate month between your initial message and desired delivery date a fully custom PCB would have been possible, but now the options are unfortunately somewhat more limited.

[Kean]

Custom PCB?  Surely a one-off like this can be made on some proto/matrix board with DIP 7-seg displays.

[KL27x]

3 panel meters glued together.

3 union set workers standing out-of-frame, carefully turning potentiometers for $30.00 an hour. 

[Mr. Scram]

Custom PCB?  Surely a one-off like this can be made on some proto/matrix board with DIP 7-seg displays.

It can but I don’t know whether it’s better. Hand wiring takes a lot more time and having potentially sketchy connections isn’t what you want in a device banged around on set especially when nobody has a clue how to troubleshoot issues. Design a proper PCB, build two or three devices and you’re covered. The last thing you want is risking a shoot.

[hamster_nz]

Aliexpress has a wide selection of clock kits and modules  that could be adapted.. Or at least used for insperation. For example :

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32908184741.html

[NivagSwerdna]

Go Nixie tube, far cooler.
I'm not convinced you are bona fide from your use of CAPs.
Custom clock with small tube Nixie's... Might even do it free for a credit if it a proper production and I'm free next week. What timescales?

[Mr. Scram]

Go Nixie tube, far cooler.
I'm not convinced you are bona fide from your use of CAPs.
Custom clock with small tube Nixie's... Might even do it free for a credit if it a proper production and I'm free next week. What timescales?

Maybe Fivver is your thing. Can you do it in a monkey suit?

[NivagSwerdna]

TBH The thread has a bit of a smell about it.

No budget, no plans, no timescales.

Maybe it was simply click bait for the link they gave?

[Simon]

IS THERE ANYONE WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN BUILDING THIS FOR US?

Stop posting in all caps! As the topic is reported as possible spam I will have to read all of your damn posts and I have visual problems that make reading all caps even in my font of choice hard work! As pointed out it is poor etiquette. If you can't follow basic rules you won't last long. I will also move this into the jobs section where you should have put it!

[Raj]

I can make it 10$ excluding shipping (choose your own method)
What i'll do is use a white OLED with red film/ red marker stain in-front of it.
Being coloring OLEDs this way since years.
bonus:you'll be able to select whatever font or image you want and control it over USB (just 4 wires)

[Mr. Scram]

Did anything come of this? I don't think much happened here other than showcasing a race to the bottom.

[NivagSwerdna]

Did anything come of this? I don't think much happened here other than showcasing a race to the bottom.