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I Made A Darth Vader Disco Ball
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I Made A Darth Vader Disco Ball

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I made my own Darth Vader disco ball from a Halloween costume mask and dollar store items. I’d wanted to make a Darth Vader disco ball ever since I saw the Boyz Noise Oi Oi Oi album cover with the disco ball skull.

As I start to expand the motion side of my photography portfolio I thought it would be the perfect time to finally create and document it.

More info: justinpoulsen.com

Full resolution video available here.

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    Original rubies helmet

    I acquired this for around $50 at a costume shop

    Painting helmet parts

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    I used a Krylon premium chrome spraypaint, which is not really that chrome, but an excellent brushed/matte stainless steel look.

    Although in this image the mirror effect looks pretty decent, as soon as the dust was wiped off the helmet became more matte.

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    Application of mirrors

    At this point I sent the eye lenses to a local proprietor to be sprayed true chrome. I considered doing this myself, using some imported spray cans from the UK, but ended up leaving it to the professionals.

    The mirrors for the helmet came from miniature disco balls I found at a local dollar store. I simply pried off all of the mirrors from the foam ball and glued them to the helmet. This application took way longer than expected. I used Aleene’s tacky glue to adhere the mirrors. In small spaces, where a small mirror would not fit, I ended up covering in chrome automotive vinyl. These spots become less important when the disco ball is lit in a dark room.

    Completed Helmet

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    Drilling one hole through the top of the helmet, I was able to stick hardware from one of the dollar store disco balls to act as a fastener, holding the two parts together. This piece also functions as the hanger for the entire mask.

    Creating a Backdrop

    This background is loosely based on the walls of the Death Star. The dimensions of the rounded cutout ends are that of the base of a spraypaint can. Lots of tracing and cutting. The material is a simple grey matte board from a craft store. After cutting all the vent holes, I then covered them with LeeLux 400 diffusion material.

    Lighting Setup

    To light the head for filming, I used two Kinoflos to illuminate the background. Two inexpensive tungsten pin spots lit the back of the head, reflecting warm dots of light onto the backdrop. I shaped foamcore around the set to create white and grey reflections in the mirrors. These foam pieces were lit by the two LED panels adding fill from above.

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    Finished product

    Down-scaled frame pulled from the video.

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    justinpoulsen

    justinpoulsen

    Author, Community member

    Read more »

    Conceptual Still Life Photographer and Maker

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    justinpoulsen

    justinpoulsen

    Author, Community member

    Conceptual Still Life Photographer and Maker

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