Audio-Reactive DJ Helmet Doubles as Sci-Fi Film Prop
Daniel Aagentah made this helmet for a sci-fi film costume and it serves double duty for DJing.
Film props are rarely functional — they just need to look like they do something. That’s true even for many props that would be possible to build in the real world. For example, spray painting a Nerf blaster is a favorite trick among prop artists working on sci-fi films. They’re cheap, easy to find, and look “futuristic” with a coat of black or gray paint. But every now and then we see a film prop that actually works, as is the case with this audio-reactive DJ helmet built by Daniel Aagentah.
Aagentah and some of his friends are filming an indie sci-fi film in Machester, England. He doesn’t provide any information on the plot or setting of the film, but apparently it calls for a character costumed in some sort of spacey outfit. As the EDM fans among our readers know, DJs are fond of wearing elaborate helmets. Daft Punk, deadmau5, Marshmello — the list goes on. It seems that Aagentah does a little DJing in addition to his prop making work, so he killed two birds with one stone and made a prop helmet for the movie that doubles as an audio-reactive DJ helmet.
This helmet is actually pretty subtle when compared to many DJ helmets. Aagentah handcrafted thehelmet from EVA foam, which is a popular choice for props and cosplay. It is mostly just a solid silver, with a few black lines for accents. The exception is a four-digit, seven-segment display mounted right in the middle of the "face." The numbers on the display change depending on which MIDI instrument the DJ plays at any given time. So a piano note might change the display to "4444" and a drum sound might change it to "9999." That happens in real time, adding a little bit of flair to live DJ performances.
This is all works with Ableton, which is popular DJing software. It sends whatever note the DJ plays to an Arduino Uno board, just like if it were a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) device. Every MIDI note contains a designation for a corresponding instrument, so the Arduino simply uses that information to determine what digits to show on the seven-segment display. It isn't complicated, but it is quite effective. It looks cool for DJing and should look pretty neat on film, too.