uhhehhahh Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 I sometimes see some fixture models called moonflowers, what does that mean? What is an animation wheel?
csg Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 moonflowers are typically disco effects designed to project a cone of beams which twist and turn around their axis, usually to the music. some units also change colour etc An animation wheel is simply a unit designed to project an effect ( ie clouds, fire etc) which can move, when combined with an effects projector
greenalien Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 A moonflower will contain a parabolic dish with lots of small mirrors on it - sort of like an inverted part of a mirror ball. The single light source will be split into multiple beams which then are projected out of the fixture. There may be a colour wheel and / or a gobo (shape) wheel between the light and the mirrors, to give more variety in the output, but one thing all moonflowers have in common is that the mirrored dish rotates, either in time with the music, or under DMX control.Classic moonflowers are the NJD Datamoon, the EVL Spin and the Abstract Twister (now on its 4th generation), but there are lots more.
Jamtastic3 Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 Thinking about it, anyone know where the actual term 'moonflower' comes from? When I explain moonflowers to non-techs, it's one of the first questions they ask.... 'Why is it called a moonflower?'
scottmcleod Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 Thinking about it, anyone know where the actual term 'moonflower' comes from? When I explain moonflowers to non-techs, it's one of the first questions they ask.... 'Why is it called a moonflower?' I'm gonna wager it had something to do with drugged out technicians designing lights for the discos in the 60's and 70's... ... and the answer is "Dude... it looks like.. beams... of moonlight... but coming from a flower... man... this thing is trippy... it's like god... is working through our hands..." :) (I think the real answer has something to do with this flower: ... the MOON FLOWER) The way it deploys it's petals is vaguely like the beams move...
uhhehhahh Posted March 24, 2009 Author Posted March 24, 2009 Thanks for all the answers, interesting info about the moonflower. I am though still a confused, about the animation wheel. For example a gobo is a piece that blocks certain areas of light, therefore a pattern can be projected, but how does an animation wheel work?
greenalien Posted March 24, 2009 Posted March 24, 2009 Animation wheels typically work in device pairs, a static gobo and a moving wheel, with the interaction between the two giving the 'animation' effect. The moving wheel is often known as a 'break up'. A popular theatrical effect would be to simulate fire, with the static gobo giving the shape of the flames, and the breakup wheel giving the movement and flicker. Some breakups are also designed for linear rather than rotary motion. DHA and Optikinetics are amoung the well-known names in this field; DHA products are more theatre-oriented, with Optikinetics products being aimed more at the nightclub market. Optikinetics have developed the concept to produce a large range of special cassettes that contains both the static and moving parts to give a wide range of 'psychedelic' patterns.
uhhehhahh Posted March 27, 2009 Author Posted March 27, 2009 Animation wheels typically work in device pairs, a static gobo and a moving wheel, with the interaction between the two giving the 'animation' effect. The moving wheel is often known as a 'break up'. A popular theatrical effect would be to simulate fire, with the static gobo giving the shape of the flames, and the breakup wheel giving the movement and flicker. Some breakups are also designed for linear rather than rotary motion. DHA and Optikinetics are amoung the well-known names in this field; DHA products are more theatre-oriented, with Optikinetics products being aimed more at the nightclub market. Optikinetics have developed the concept to produce a large range of special cassettes that contains both the static and moving parts to give a wide range of 'psychedelic' patterns. Thank you for your answer!
MarkPAman Posted March 27, 2009 Posted March 27, 2009 Follow the link in this post for a rather good Gobo Visualizer
uhhehhahh Posted March 28, 2009 Author Posted March 28, 2009 Follow the link in this post for a rather good Gobo Visualizer ah this was cool, for example I could choose 2 different gobos and use them at the same time, on 2 different gobo wheels and create an animation effect, why would I then need an additional animation wheel? :D
tom_the_LD Posted March 28, 2009 Posted March 28, 2009 Follow the link in this post for a rather good Gobo Visualizer ah this was cool, for example I could choose 2 different gobos and use them at the same time, on 2 different gobo wheels and create an animation effect, why would I then need an additional animation wheel? :DIt's not quite the same. If you had a static gobo of flames and then put the breakup wheel in you could make the flames appear to flciker, as stated. However youw ould not get quite the same effect with two gobos. If you had the static flame gobo, and then a 'dot' gobo (7708 for example) over the top rotating, it's not going to give you quite the same effect, although it gives quite a nice twinkle! Especially with 77053 on the second wheel rotating slowly in the opposite direction just slightly out of focus.
scottmcleod Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 Follow the link in this post for a rather good Gobo Visualizer ah this was cool, for example I could choose 2 different gobos and use them at the same time, on 2 different gobo wheels and create an animation effect, why would I then need an additional animation wheel? :) It's not quite the same. If you had a static gobo of flames and then put the breakup wheel in you could make the flames appear to flciker, as stated. However youw ould not get quite the same effect with two gobos. If you had the static flame gobo, and then a 'dot' gobo (7708 for example) over the top rotating, it's not going to give you quite the same effect, although it gives quite a nice twinkle! Especially with 77053 on the second wheel rotating slowly in the opposite direction just slightly out of focus. Here. Everyone that's confused, watch this. http://www.christielitessales.com/video_gobos_rosco.htm What makes me REALLY angry is that I *paid* for that DVD, and Rosco gave the video to christie to put on their website (what would have saved me 25$!) Grrr... Anyways, enjoy. -S
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