Cyclorama advice!

[tinwater]

Hello,

 

I work at a school and have been given a budget to buy a new cyclorama approx 40ft width by 17ft drop. Our existing cyc is about 15 years old and is made from some sort of plastic material (pvc? vinyl? acrylic?) and we were looking for something similar but am struggling to find much by searching around the net? Any ideas? Would you advise us to get this sort of cyc or would a fabric one be any better? It is mainly used as a lit backdrop for productions although we are now using video projection more and more and it often has to double up as a cinema screen.

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

[WiLL]

I have always used Rex Howard drapes or J&C Joel for my drapery needs, hire and sale respectively. They are both reputable companies and can offer you sound advice. Regarding plastic Vs. Fabric, as far as I know, plastic will probably light better, giving more reflection thus a higher intensity light/colour when lit. Fabric has the flexibility of being able to be used as a 'shadow screen' i.e. backlighting action behind the cyc and projecting the shadows for the audience. I know some acrylic projector screens can do this because they have to be able to rear project, so in theory a plastic cyc with this ability is doable but best to check first. Costwise I would think the plastic will probably be the more expensive, but again, check with the suppliers.

Hope this helps.

[Maddison]

Hello,

 

Would you advise us to get this sort of cyc or would a fabric one be any better?

 

The main problem I can see with getting a plastic one (which sounds awfully like like a BP screen) is if you are lazy or don't have time to light it properly, it looks awful, whereas a cloth looks like dim cloth. Obviously the right thing to do would be to always light it and then that won't be a problem...

 

Additionally, in my (limited) experience of working with plastic 'cloths', I've found that they never show up the light as attractively. This might jsut be the one's I've used.