neff Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 The school I work for is staging Grease in about 4 weeks time. As part of the set they want to be able to highlight the edges of about 6 8*4 flats with thin blue lighting that stays on all the way through the performance. I had thought about using blue rope lights but they want a continuous line and thinnner than rope lights. I don't really want to break the bank in doing this effect but I do need the effect to look good. Any ideas? Cheers Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GShort Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 UV blue paint with a UV gun? G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnPartridge Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I don't really think that the UV idea would work, the Bead/Rope light idea is the only one which I think would work. Ill carry on thinking John Partridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightnix Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Have a look at Electroluminescent Wire (a.k.a. EL-wire / EL fibre). Probably the best place to go for it is AS&C CooLight in the States - they ship quickly and their prices are keen (although don't forget to add VAT + Duty (= around 22%-ish), which you will probably have to pay to the courier before they let you have it. There are a few sites in the UK that do it, but they don't have the same range of accessories and are frequently more expensive. EL wire is driven by an inverter, which converts a small DC voltage into 120VAC at a very low current and a very high frequency; the higher the frequency, the brighter the glow. The inverters are small affairs, typically run by 4x AA batteries. EL wire is also much, cheaper than ropelight. The downside is that it's very fiddly to solder up (hair-thin wires) and doesn't have anything like the life of LEDs or pea lamps. The "working life" of EL wire quoted on most websites is the time it takes for the wire to dim to 1/3rd of its "when new" intensity. The brighter you run it, the shorter the working life - as little as a few hundred hours if driven at 8kHz. It probably won't stand out against intense stage / ambient light levels, but can look very cool if kept "in the shadows". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekij Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I was also thinking of Electroluminescent Wire (lightnix beat me to it).I also have the same concerns, primarily that it might not be bright enough for your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Some Bloke Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Try here for instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neff Posted January 18, 2006 Author Share Posted January 18, 2006 UV blue paint with a UV gun? I'd allready thought pf UV but the problem with that is (even though I have UV lamps coming out of my ears!) the amount of white that is on the set allready and on the costumes - I don't want to have the UV effect on the rest of the set. I do however like the look of the Neon Glow Tent Kits on Surelight Cheers for the replys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPete Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 As for the EL, here's a company in the UK that might be able to help. Hth,Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkySteve Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Is Electroluminescent Wire the same as cold cathode? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekij Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Is Electroluminescent Wire the same as cold cathode?No.For a description of Cold Cathode see This page at wisegeekand for EL wire see This page at wisegeekhttp://www.btinternet.com/~boxzone/Other/Smilies/Smilie_google.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich newby Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Another Vote for El wire! I think maplin still sell it aswell, it aint cheep from there, but if you need it quickly. There always seems to be one within 20 miles of anywhere when you need it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfitzpat Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 EL Wire is a pretty good way to go. The only other method that I can think of off the top of my head is end lit plastic fiber. A couple of companies specialize in it (Luminyte is the only one I can think of off the top of my head). It is not as bright as EL Wire, but you can change color and it is good for situations where EL Wire might raise safety concerns. -jjf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagelight Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Do you have any baby Parcans you can attach to the set? This worked for us when we did return to the forbidden planet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDnL Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 fibersource fixtures? martin qfx 150 would do the trick with some meters of fibersource on it I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 I'd suggest a true RGB colour mixing fibre illuminator rather than the QFX150s - I've had some very bad experiences with the QFX150s.(Right now both units are sat in the workshop waiting for parts from Martin) If you spin the colour wheel or move it too fast on the QFX units they tend to get out of sync and then fail to go back to the home position, and the fault that sent them to the workshop was a tendency to open the dimmer to full and spin the colour wheel without being told to.The twinkle wheel doesn't really do much either, although it's a nice idea. At least an RGB illuminator will tend to fail more gracefully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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