S4 Par XWFL with scroller

[James]

I'm thinking of trying some S4 Pars with XWFL lenses in a show I have in a few weeks.

 

I'd like to use them with Rainbow Scrollers as backlight for a small stage.

 

I'm concerned about the hotspot from the lantern being too wide damaging the scrolls.

 

I don't own any S4 pars to test this with and would be hiring/buying them for this show to work with my scrollers. Hence I would appreciate anyone with experience of this who can say if it works or if I am likely to have problems.

 

Thankyou

 

 

If you want to know why I'm considering using that combination and can sugest an alternative plan then this is the rest of the scenario...

 

The Stage is 20' wide, 15' deep and the rigging height is about 10'.

Last time I worked in this venue I used 4 minuette fresnels to cover this area in two colours. Each pair just about covered the area I wanted.

This time I'm thinking of rigging 3 lanterns with scrollers to improve the coverage.

I had considered using 743s or Par64s for this job but think they will both be too big for the limited space available (I have to fit a bar and the lantern behind a 2' border) and suspect the beam from a CP88 will be far too narrow.

I don't have any small scrollers with plates for minuette fresnels and neither does my usual hire company.

I thought a S4 par with a scroller would be one of the lighter combinations (there are no bars above this stage so it will be rigged with a combination of spit and cobwebs*) ie lighter than a 743 with a scroller and smallest bearing in mind the 2' border.

 

Thanks

 

 

James

 

* nb no prizes for anyone who fails to detect the implied level of Fe in that statement.

[son of lx dad]

Surely if it is an "XWFL" there would be no (or very very little) hotspot? That being the point of the lens in the first place. Or am I misunderstanding you OP? Having a scroller is generally no different to putting a normal piece of gel in a normal frame - its all built with the same stuff If anything the gel would sit further away from the front of the unit and even have a little fan blowing away in some makes of scroller. If you were very worried you could put some heat shield in with the back plate screws or just on the plate itself.

If you wish to minimize the drop of the units maybe spec them with half-couplers rather than hooks.

I'd be more concerned about getting some barn doors on the front of those scrollers being that you have no size control at all with a S4par.

[jonathanhill]

A piece of Heatshield (Lee 269) behind the scroller backplate is fairly common practice. Most hire companies provide scrollers with this fitted as standard. Always powering up the scrollers before using the lights is another way to decrease damage to the scrolls. Be aware that putting a scroller on the front of a lantern has a similar effect to putting a top hat on, i.e. the beam angle is decreased. Using the biggest size scroller that will fit on the light is the way round this.

[Tomo]

S4 Par doesn't really have a hotspot at the gel.

 

The key thing to watch for is that the lens needs to be in the fixture the correct way around.

The lens bows away from the gel, greatly reducing the heat on the gel.

 

(I've seen quite a few S4 Pars with the lens in backwards - it makes it harder to get the lens back out as well!)

 

To maximise gel lifetime, you could use the "MCM" variant, as it ejects the vast majority of the heat out of the back.

(The MCM has a maximum of a 575W lamp, so if you need a 750W then you'll have to use the EA)

 

I would also suggest going to the hire co and testing one with your scroller - the XWFL lens is extremely wide, so you should probably check that your chosen scroller doesn't impinge on the edges of the beam.

[James]

I would also suggest going to the hire co and testing one with your scroller - the XWFL lens is extremely wide, so you should probably check that your chosen scroller doesn't impinge on the edges of the beam.

 

I think this is what I meant when I said 'hotspot'

 

rather than the hottest part of the beam I was talking about any heat in the beam - I'm concerned about the wide beam impinging on the edges of the scroller and melting the scrolls. I must say I like the MCM variant - and 575w will be more than enough for this...

 

If I tried this at the hire co. I suspect I wouldn't get a conclusive answer without protracted testing - hence the question, Has anyone succesfuly done this before?

 

Cheers.

[gareth]

(I've seen quite a few S4 Pars with the lens in backwards - it makes it harder to get the lens back out as well!)

And let's face it, it can be difficult enough as it is! (Unless you've worked out "the technique", or the unit is very new and hasn't yet been subject to the rigours of its first couple of clumsy lens changes .... <_<)

 

I've only used scrollers on S4 Pars once, and I wasn't using the very wide lenses, so I can't answer that aspect of your question, James. What I can tell you, though, is that you'll do well to arm yourself with some blackwrap if you go down that route. I'm not sure whether it was a particular issue with the type of scrollers I was using (ChromaQ CQ1D), but I found there was a horrendous amount of spill coming from in between the lantern and the scroller. If you're using a smaller scroller (Rainbow Pro 6" or something similar), then you might well find it's not so much of a problem.