CPlater1 Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 in an upcoming production of Guys and Dolls at my school, I have been told that a cross needs to be illuminated. the cross is made from mirrors. the size of the cross is about 6 foot tall, and 4 foot wide. at the moment I have put a minim shining across the centre from approx 2 foot away. I have been told that the cross should shine brightly, but with all the different lights I have tried, it doesn't shine very brightly. if you need any more details please tell me. any suggestions of hiring are almost out of the question because of the almost non existent budget. thanks in advance Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody74 Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 I have run into this problem before; what I have to tell people is that you are not lighting the mirror, you are lighting what is seen IN the mirror. You are not lighting the mirror because the light is essentially passing through it, and the only way to make it "shine" is to give it more surface area (similar to a mirrored ball or aluminium foil), otherwise the audience will probably only see the flys and light in them. It's kind of like how automobile ad's are photographed: with a large cyc or other light material flown just out of view of the lens, so that the shiny black car reflects SOMETHING instead of the void of the studio ceiling. Hope this makes sense,-w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adcuz Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 If its just a one large flat mirror on the front then it will just reflect down in one place so it wont look bright unnless you are standing in the light that is being reflected. you will probably need more lights pointed at it at a lot of different angles. problem with "lighting" mirrors is that you cant really light them they just reflect all of the light off. I dont know what else to suggest. EDIT:Sorry woody we posted at the same time.. I agree.. ill shut up now ** laughs out loud ** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPlater1 Posted January 24, 2006 Author Share Posted January 24, 2006 thanks for the suggestion. although with the layout on the stage, im not sure how I could get that to work. I had read somewhere once that if you lightly sand a mirror it will make better results, but im not sure. if I cannot get any other ideas of how to get it to work, I will try the cyc. cheers Chris ps tomorrow I will try and get some pictures of the cross, stage and lights so you can see the situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Sanding, never heard of that but I'm guessing all that will do is dull down the mirror. Is it actually used could you not use foil (dull side) and light that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Not sure sanding the mirror will work. Carborundum paper might score the glass, diamond will. Spraying with a light varnish would have a similar effect, or using the matt side of tin-foil. Beware using a real mirror, I have had unfortunate experience in the past. Seem to have avoided my 7 years bad luck though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adcuz Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Anyway if the budget is non existant then why did you use foil in the first place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPlater1 Posted January 24, 2006 Author Share Posted January 24, 2006 OK. I shall explain the process. the drama department told the art department what was needed. the art department made the cross. the drama department then give me the cross (with mirror already attached) and they want me to 'light' it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich newby Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 I Have always used Vaseline to dull the reflection off mirrors, but it would look crap if it was smeared on a mirror of this significance. I only have to dull much smaller mirrors and from a distance it looks OK, but I don't think it would work if it is of this size. There is a dulling compound you can buy, photographers tend to use it, but I cant find anywhere that sells it, but I will keep looking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPlater1 Posted January 24, 2006 Author Share Posted January 24, 2006 I Have always used Vaseline to dull the reflection off mirrors thanks for the vaseline idea. I just tried it on a small mirror and I can see that it gives a good effect. I might try a bit on the big mirror, to see the effects that can be produced. I can always try it and see what happens. cheers Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 If its from art is it cheepo plastic stuff, rather than the heavy glass mirror? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 I Have always used Vaseline to dull the reflection off mirrors,Try spraying it with hairspray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Graham Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 I've had this problem before, hairspray works well and gives an smoother finish than vasaline. Position your light sources FOH (narrow angle profiles), this way the light will reflect back to the audience and not into the flys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Some Bloke Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 Try spraying it with hairspray. ... but don't have the can too close when you spray. Make sure it has had a chance to spread out a bit or if the hairspray goes on in clumps it looks awful and is quite difficult to get rid of. [speaking from experience!] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPlater1 Posted January 25, 2006 Author Share Posted January 25, 2006 yes it does have cheepo plastic mirrors. it is now being fixed after one of the mirrors fell off, so I am not sure how they are going to fix it. if it is the same when I have it back, I will try using hairspray on it. cheers Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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