SPN Project: Spoiler screen.
*sigh* I did say I'd post this if I made one...
Spoiler-Screen Construction for Spoilerphobic CW Supernatural Watchers.
As most of you are aware, last week the CW aired several spoilers for Season 4 in a ticker line during the repeat broadcast of Supernatural. Many people were not happy about being spoiled. Some (like me) avoided exposure because Supernatural fans kick ass and people on the East Coast who saw them spread the word.
However, knowing the bone-headedness of the CW Promo department, this may very well continue to happen in future airings of Supernatural during the hiatus, and possibly in the new season. :-P
So, in order to safely watch the episode tonight without fear of being spoiled, I constructed a Spoiler Screen. In case any other spoilerphobes are interested in constructing their own, whether to block spoilers or just block out that damned distracting ticker (ETA 03/26/10: or as SFX pointed out in their Spoilerphobe Quiz, block guest stars names so you don't know who's in the episode), here's how:
Step 1. Find piece of cardboard as wide as your TV. You want one where the corrugation (the inner structure of the cardboard) will be going lengthwise, so the cardboard will be easier to fold.
Step 2. Turn to a channel like CNN or CBC NewsWorld, one that's supposed to have a ticker line of text going across the bottom. Measure up the side of your TV how much space this takes up on the screen only and note it down.
Step 3. Play a previously taped episode of Supernatural (or find a letter-boxed (not wide screen) movie or show somewhere on TV) Measure the distance from whatever the TV is sitting on to where the letter-boxing ends and the picture starts.
Step 4. Add the amount of space the 'ticker' takes up to the letterbox size, then add a quarter-inch because god only knows if anyone's going to have a super-sized ticker, it'll be the CW. Added bonus, the extra height may block most of the dancing green baloney the CW throws up on the bottom of the screen during shows. :-P
ETA: Update from ficwriter1966, the CW crawl was two lines high last week, so add a full inch, maybe even an inch and a half, not a quarter. Grr.
Step 5. Score (slice a little with a knife or scissors) your cardboard. This will make it stay bent easier. Try to do this so that the more neutral side of the cardboard will be facing out, or it may be distracting. (I think I might have done the wrong side, it may work better to do the scoring on the outward-facing side. I also did step 6 before step 5 because I was trying to do this and get photos of each step before I left for work and the caffiene hadn't hit my bloodstream yet. Oopsie.)
Step 6. Lift your TV, one side at a time if necessary, and scootch the part of the cardboard not intended to block the ticker underneath until the folded section is flush with the TV front. If you have a CRT style TV (like me), this may be difficult to accomplish alone, but doable with patience and wiggling.
Step 7. Fold your ticker section up so it blocks the screen appropriately. It may not stay up on its own. If not, fold the sides of the cardboard (cutting as neccesary) around the sides of the TV and afix with tape. Do not leave tape on the TV when not blocking spoilers or it may leave gummy patches on your TV case. (Photo edited slightly because no one needs to see a reflection of my messy apartment or my elbow sticking out of Dean's ear.)
Step 7a. (Optional) If you are feeling particularly creative and MacGyver-y, it should be possible to rig up something with empty thread spools or some other improvised pulleys by which you can engage the spoiler screen mid-show as required by pulling on a bit of string or suchlike. This may however require cat-like reflexes and nerves of steel, as well as an iron willpower to avoid thinking "oh a little peek won't be so bad..."
Step 8. Watch with caution at first to ensure the tickerline is completely covered and no spoilers are visible. If any other CW shows are afflicted with the dreaded ticker as well, these might be good to test your spoiler screen on, although I'm not sure if the CW is airing spoilers for Supernatural in the tickers of its other shows. Doubtful, but I wouldn't put anything past the CW.
Step 8a. (Optional) If desired, and if it will not be a distraction to you, decorate your spoiler screen with pictures or art, or glitter, or whatever enhances your squee. (not shown, because I did this in five minutes in my PJ's this morning and didn't have time for creativity or squeeing. Darn evil work.)
And so, voila. Spoiler screen. Yeah, I went there. Bite me, spoiler-spouting CW promo department. ;-P
I will be road-testing this puppy tonight, so the instructions might get tweaked afterwards if there is a catastrophic structural failure or it explodes or something. o.O
ETA: Results of field test
Good luck! Stay safe! Duck and cover! Ever vigilant!
*is crazy*
Spoiler-Screen Construction for Spoilerphobic CW Supernatural Watchers.
As most of you are aware, last week the CW aired several spoilers for Season 4 in a ticker line during the repeat broadcast of Supernatural. Many people were not happy about being spoiled. Some (like me) avoided exposure because Supernatural fans kick ass and people on the East Coast who saw them spread the word.
However, knowing the bone-headedness of the CW Promo department, this may very well continue to happen in future airings of Supernatural during the hiatus, and possibly in the new season. :-P
So, in order to safely watch the episode tonight without fear of being spoiled, I constructed a Spoiler Screen. In case any other spoilerphobes are interested in constructing their own, whether to block spoilers or just block out that damned distracting ticker (ETA 03/26/10: or as SFX pointed out in their Spoilerphobe Quiz, block guest stars names so you don't know who's in the episode), here's how:
Step 1. Find piece of cardboard as wide as your TV. You want one where the corrugation (the inner structure of the cardboard) will be going lengthwise, so the cardboard will be easier to fold.
Step 2. Turn to a channel like CNN or CBC NewsWorld, one that's supposed to have a ticker line of text going across the bottom. Measure up the side of your TV how much space this takes up on the screen only and note it down.
Step 3. Play a previously taped episode of Supernatural (or find a letter-boxed (not wide screen) movie or show somewhere on TV) Measure the distance from whatever the TV is sitting on to where the letter-boxing ends and the picture starts.
Step 4. Add the amount of space the 'ticker' takes up to the letterbox size, then add a quarter-inch because god only knows if anyone's going to have a super-sized ticker, it'll be the CW. Added bonus, the extra height may block most of the dancing green baloney the CW throws up on the bottom of the screen during shows. :-P
ETA: Update from ficwriter1966, the CW crawl was two lines high last week, so add a full inch, maybe even an inch and a half, not a quarter. Grr.
Step 5. Score (slice a little with a knife or scissors) your cardboard. This will make it stay bent easier. Try to do this so that the more neutral side of the cardboard will be facing out, or it may be distracting. (I think I might have done the wrong side, it may work better to do the scoring on the outward-facing side. I also did step 6 before step 5 because I was trying to do this and get photos of each step before I left for work and the caffiene hadn't hit my bloodstream yet. Oopsie.)
Step 6. Lift your TV, one side at a time if necessary, and scootch the part of the cardboard not intended to block the ticker underneath until the folded section is flush with the TV front. If you have a CRT style TV (like me), this may be difficult to accomplish alone, but doable with patience and wiggling.
Step 7. Fold your ticker section up so it blocks the screen appropriately. It may not stay up on its own. If not, fold the sides of the cardboard (cutting as neccesary) around the sides of the TV and afix with tape. Do not leave tape on the TV when not blocking spoilers or it may leave gummy patches on your TV case. (Photo edited slightly because no one needs to see a reflection of my messy apartment or my elbow sticking out of Dean's ear.)
Step 7a. (Optional) If you are feeling particularly creative and MacGyver-y, it should be possible to rig up something with empty thread spools or some other improvised pulleys by which you can engage the spoiler screen mid-show as required by pulling on a bit of string or suchlike. This may however require cat-like reflexes and nerves of steel, as well as an iron willpower to avoid thinking "oh a little peek won't be so bad..."
Step 8. Watch with caution at first to ensure the tickerline is completely covered and no spoilers are visible. If any other CW shows are afflicted with the dreaded ticker as well, these might be good to test your spoiler screen on, although I'm not sure if the CW is airing spoilers for Supernatural in the tickers of its other shows. Doubtful, but I wouldn't put anything past the CW.
Step 8a. (Optional) If desired, and if it will not be a distraction to you, decorate your spoiler screen with pictures or art, or glitter, or whatever enhances your squee. (not shown, because I did this in five minutes in my PJ's this morning and didn't have time for creativity or squeeing. Darn evil work.)
And so, voila. Spoiler screen. Yeah, I went there. Bite me, spoiler-spouting CW promo department. ;-P
I will be road-testing this puppy tonight, so the instructions might get tweaked afterwards if there is a catastrophic structural failure or it explodes or something. o.O
ETA: Results of field test
Good luck! Stay safe! Duck and cover! Ever vigilant!
*is crazy*