avdavesound Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Hi everyone, Got a gig next month where the client is looking for an effect like the bat signal, Anybody recommend a good searchlight to do this? and whats the best way to make the logo? what if its a clear night? what do I do?also would it be easier and better if it was done with a laser? I can get my hands on a 40w (with operator) if budget allows. And before anybody asks: yes I will be contacting airport and local authorities! :P thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niclights Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 I'm thinking a high power spot with gobo would look more authentic than laser. Syncrolites seem like the obvious choice. If it's a clear night.... run away?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_keys Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 See here: http://www.fineline.uk.com/searchlights/index.htm They are certainly very bright and as far as I know it is possible to project an image from them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenalien Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Allow plenty of time to contact the CAA, especially with the holiday season coming up. notification needs to be given at least 28 days in advance.This guide from the CAA is worth a look. what if its a clear night? Hire in several of the biggest fog machines you can find, several gallons of smoke fluid, and a big fan so that you can blow the fog into the path of the beam. Try and do a test run before the event! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Don't take what GreenAlien said lightly, I work with the CAA in my day job, and whilst they are mostly friendly and out to try and help, they can also have very big teeth! Prosecutions will follow, especially now you know about it!You'll probably see by the way the way the document is written it does intend to be helpful and constructive, not just a list of "thou shalt's". My local theatre is within 2nM of the airport (my workplace) and we were in direct contact with Air Traffic Control last time we tried anything similair to this. Can I suggest the Air Traffic Services Manager would be a good place to start. If not, the Operations Director. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niclights Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Surely it's more important to notify Batman that it's not a real emergency?! Those Diablo's look nice. Are you sure you can project image with them though? I'm not convinced about using smoke if no cloud cover. Certainly you can show up the beam but the all important projected image? Perhaps there is a building/surface available as an alternative if necessary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Baldwin Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Those Diablo's look nice. Are you sure you can project image with them though? Saw them at PLASA a couple of years ago - serious industrial engineering, they looked more than capable of stopping tanks in their tracks! I don't really see that they're suited for gobo projection, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Folks, I know you all mean well, but the OP did say in his first post:- And before anybody asks: yes I will be contacting airport and local authorities! :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 To see a batcall type thing in action see here. I'm sure you can find a similar bunch of nutters in the UK..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Folks, I know you all mean well, but the OP did say in his first post:- And before anybody asks: yes I will be contacting airport and local authorities! :P Haha whoops, there was the band wagon and I just jumped on it! I could of course argue that it's so important it needed saying again, but I won't! Your chances of an aircraft mistaking a searchlight for a runway are extremely small what with the number of lamps on a runway, believe me, I have to change them! Probably more likely to dazzle the pilot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenalien Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Actually, the OP said 'I will be contacting airport and local authorities' .... and that his gig was next month - my post was primarily intended to emphasise the need to notify the CAA - which he didn't specifically mention - in good time, it's not just a matter of picking up the phone and saying 'I've got a show tomorrow that you might like to know about'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomasmethner Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I thing it won't work.There was a discussion about such topic here in Germany and the result was, the the surface of clouds isn't able to display clear structures. By the way...even in the night it wasn't that bright..and too fuzzy! So I thing doing it with a laser would be the better idea. tm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norty303 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I'm not sure that the laser would yield any better results than the searchlight, as they both require a medium to project onto. If the cloud is not good enough structure for the searchlight, I doubt it will be good enough for the laser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avdavesound Posted December 20, 2007 Author Share Posted December 20, 2007 To see a batcall type thing in action see here. I'm sure you can find a similar bunch of nutters in the UK.....thanks dave I contacted them and this is what anthony said about the cloud writer It is a fully functioning prototype which works very well with searchlights from 5 kW upwards provided they can be focused on a tight spot about 10 to 15 cm in diameter within five or 10 metres.I'm sure fineline can sort me out with a proper searchlight but I'm based in Ireland and shipping costs would be huge!, the only searchlights I can get my hands on here are diablo's 7kw. here's a link to fineline brochure for the diablo linky. just looking at the DMX Allocation Table and it says something about an image. not much more info on it. DMX Allocation Table Ch 9 Focus 000 - 255 In - Out Res'd for image proj headCh 10 Rotate 000 - 127 Continuous Position Res'd for image proj head 128 - 187 Spin Rev ( f to s )188 - 195 Spin Stop,196 - 239 Spin Fwd ( s to f ),240 - 255 Spin StopCh 11 Zoom 000 - 255 Narrow to Wide I know this effect very much depends on the weather. but the client does want something to happen,I explained to him the factors involved and even then it might not work. and he still wants something.it's for a heineken cup rugby match so it will be televised. the effect is only needed for a few mins when the players come out on the pitch. so it might be possible to light the roof of the stand with the searchlights or hire 2 big cherry pickers and sweep the field with 2 or more searchlights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I think sweeping the field with the searchlights would be more effective, more controlled (no cloud to worry about) and would produce a better effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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