Lighting a Catwalk

[techstudent]

Hi all

 

I have been asked to do a lighting design for a fashion show catwalk.

 

Ive come to two decisions but dont know which one is best.

 

I have got 24ft of catwalk, per side which makes 48 ft of catwalk all together.

 

The catwalk is 2ft tall.

 

This is a charity project so I have to keep my costs down plus the organisor wants white lighting so that the audience can clearly see the clothes on show.

 

So what is the best way of lighting the catwalk considering that I have only got 13 amp plugs and that the hall's Dimensions are: 65 ft long, 37ft wide and and 10 ft tall.

 

I think my options are either uplighting or lighting on a Tbar or is there a method which I have missed!

 

Feel free to email me on arilevyfam@googlemail.com to let me know how you might possibly be able to help me

 

Thanks

 

Ari

[Jivemaster]

First it's a RUNWAY the catfight comes later!

 

Runway lighting is open white and usually medium angle down light from both sides to show the cut and colours with some flat front light to put a face back onto the model. While you may highlight the runway area (and remember models are TALL ) the front row of clients are there to be seen also.

 

If you have low power thwn you are looking at PAR 56 in 300w or even some good colour rendering discharge lamps. BUT if it is to be filmed or photographed pick one colour white and stick with it. (nothing messes with pictures worse than mixed lighting (Tungsten at 3200, daylight at 5500 and discharge at anything up to 8000K))

[Sound In Gloucestershire]

Feel free to email me on arilevyfam@googlemail.com to let me know how you might possibly be able to help me

 

 

I think you havnt quite grasped the concept of how a forum works, people will happily give advice (you could even search the forum for this same topic which has been done many times before) but they wont email you, you actually have to come back to the forum, and reply, discuss and give thanks etc

[djandydee]

Worsed case senario - No power and no budget.

 

If you have got 13A sockets then you can probably run a maximum of 6x 1000W or 12x 500W parcans before you max out that circuit providing it is on a 32A breaker. If you can get another circuit on a different breaker then thats another 6/12 parcans.

 

For very small runways, I use a stand in each corner with a wide 500W (CP88) for the first half and a 1000W narrow (CP61) for the 2nd half. If plugging directly into supply without dimmers, this gives a low budget fairly even (but far from perfect) light source which lights the costumes and makeup with an even colour temp. Each runway will need 24A.

 

The trick is to not blind the public but get as much of the energy available onto the costumes E.G. car headlights up a road.

 

 

HTH

 

I now await destruction from the pro pros

 

EDIt: poor grammar

[techstudent]

Thankyou all for your comments so far, I have taken them on board.

 

I think I forgot to mention that I dont have any rigging facilities anywhere in the room, not even above the runway.

So using Tbars or uplighting is my only way I think

 

please correct me if I am wrong

 

Thanks

 

Ari

[mark_s]

Uplighting is definitely not the answer. It will cast weird and unattractive shadows and is to be avoided at all costs. You're really going to need to get light above the models to light them with any success.

[Biskit]

Uplighting is definitely not the answer. It will cast weird and unattractive shadows and is to be avoided at all costs. You're really going to need to get light above the models to light them with any success.

 

I think this sums up my thoughts too... I've always done it by lighting from approx 45 degree angle downwards (in practice usually whatever angle is determined by the position I'm forced to use!) right the way along the length of the runway and around the end using as many fixtures as needed (usually pars of one flavour or another, or fresnels), evenly spaced and with suitable beam angle to evenly cover the full length.

 

T-bars would be suitable for this, if you have enough each side to give even coverage. At a push, for very short runways, one stand per 'corner' (behind the audience) might just do it, say with two lights on each. That would be four stands and eight lights per runway. If the runway is longer than about five or six metres you'll really need additional light along the sides.

 

I know what charity events are like - there's low budget, and there's low budget. Exactly what this means to you is determined by what gear you have available (or can get cheaply/borrow) and thus what you will have to sub-hire in at commercial rates. A way of reducing cost without compromising standards could be to persuade the organisers that a single runway would be cheaper (and easier on the power) to light rather than two. Unfortunately, as is common with these things, they have probably choreographed everything now so it's too late to change, and no-one will have thought about the practicalities of lighting at the outset. Always a difficult problem!

[timmeh2]

Hi

 

If you're going to use PARs on stands I strongly suggest getting/blagging a roll of medium frost else you'll be dazzling spectators who are sat either side of the catwalk. This will also even out the hotspots and give you a nice wash of light which I assume is what you're after!

 

All the best

 

Timmeh

[Andrew C]

I'm afraid that you are *******d. The only way to light runways is with high and overlapping white light. Shortish T bars won't do it.

 

Timmeh2's point may save someone's sight though.

[tom_the_LD]

Would it be possible to maybe put one manfrotto at one end of the runway and then another manfrotto at the other for each side and then a piece of scaff between the two - giving you adjustable height rigging positions?

 

Again this depends on budget and space available but just a thought to throw out there rather than using T-bars.

[themadhippy]

A 15 meter span sounds a bit long to support on 2 stands.still with a bit of weight on it it should smile happily

[timmeh2]

Hi

 

Agree with the above, a 15M unsupported span is a big no-no.

 

All the best

Timmeh

[dave1022]

If you're going to use cans on a stand, then make sure you use some sort of masking so there isn't any spill on to the audience. I did a small scale fashion show the other week, where we used two tripods of 4 cans on either side of the catwalk and equidistant from each end of the catwalk. This consequently meant that there was little or no light on the front of the models when they got the end of the walk, so I had a followspot following them up and down. Overall it looked pretty goo, though not amazing.

[timperrett]

Have you checked out this thread as well - might be useful in the more general overview of fashion show lighting:

 

http://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?show...mp;#entry308763

[techstudent]

Thanks all for your comments so far.

 

I have planned to run truss down either edge of the runway and hang lights down at a 45 degree angle (organisor will have to live with the costs).

 

I still have the situation of only having 13 amp sockets.

 

I have looked at the Par 56 Wide with a 300 W bulb - good idea to look more closely in to that type?

 

What dimmers should I use because I can only find one type that suits a 13 amp socket- should I hire a generator so that my power problems will be solved?

 

Looking foreward to your comments

 

techstudent