Making something like this....

[Munro]

Ok, so, I've been watching Britains Got Talent over the past few weeks, and being a student, I watch these kind of programs and see what ideas I can *borrow*.

 

My two favourite at the moment are;

 

this (traditional bulbs around the stage):

http://i40.tinypic.com/25rmhee.jpg

 

and this ('Britains Got Talent' Logo projected onto a wall):

http://i41.tinypic.com/1z65n9u.png

 

 

Q1: The bulbs around the edge. could I make this by just buying some consumer bulb fittings from B&Q and putting standard 60w light bulbs in them?

Q2: How are they producing the blue and white logo? it is a custom Gobo or is it just a VGA projector, projecting a white logo with a black backround, then with a wash of blue light around it?

[Matthew Robinson]

Well, for (1), you'll struggle to find traditional light bulbs! And because the light output from them is pretty unimportant, you could use less than 60W (meaning less power draw, which is generally useful for schools, etc)

[Munro]

Well, for (1), you'll struggle to find traditional light bulbs! And because the light output from them is pretty unimportant, you could use less than 60W (meaning less power draw, which is generally useful for schools, etc)

 

say I ran 20w lamps, how many do you think would be safe on a 13 amp supply? or could I put them down a 15a dimmer?

[pritch]

See here:

http://www.blue-room.org.uk/wiki/Lighting_...a_13A_socket.3F

 

And don't forget... you 15A dimmer may have a 15A socket, but it may only be rated at 10A.

[paulears]

There are some really nice lamps you can use - Golf balls are really popular, and the tungsten 15W ones are far bright enough. The only real drawback to this is expense. As for how many? Just add them up and if your dimmer supply is 2K, or 2.5K divide it by 15 and leave a little spare. Drawbacks are heat - from the point of being close to other things, and the chances of breaking them - which happens - often!

 

It's possible to get LED version now when they are permanently on, but 'real' ones are still the way to go if you want to flash and chase them.

[Munro]

See here:

http://www.blue-room.org.uk/wiki/Lighting_...a_13A_socket.3F

 

And don't forget... you 15A dimmer may have a 15A socket, but it may only be rated at 10A.

 

 

many thanks

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

hmmm, 149.5 20watt bulbs off a 13amp socket!!! (I am right, arn't I?)

[Matthew Robinson]

P=IV

=13 * 240

=3 120W from a 13A socket

 

Working on 20W lamps, 3 120 / 20 = 156 lamps.

[Munro]

P=IV

=13 * 240

=3 120W from a 13A socket

 

Working on 20W lamps, 3 120 / 20 = 156 lamps.

 

 

I was working with 230v.

Any ideas about Q2?

[SoLiEn]

Looks like a glass gobo to me..

[Davethsparky]

Looks like a regular gobo projected onto a wall which has been lit blue.

[zonino]

apart from the star has a blacked out centre and no line as far as I can see, making it most likely to be a glass gobo

[Joe Bleasdale]

Most probably a glass gobo. I don't think it is a projector, too much money for very little purpose. Glass gobo is the easiest and most cost effective. So it probably is. If something can be done with a Gobo instead of a projector, then do it that way. Why spend money when you don't need to?

 

Best Regards,

[Jamtastic3]

Yeah I agree with most people that the logo is most probably a glass gobo in something like a Source 4/Zoom etc, and the surrounding wall is lit with blue lighting.

[Matthew Robinson]

I was working with 230v.

Well, the EU standard voltage is 230v, but UK voltage is generally closer to 240v. Also, it helps add a little extra power on, when you do calculations. Probably not the best thing to do, but I bet almost everyone on here has used 240v rather than 230v at some point!

 

Any ideas about Q2?

Like everyone else has said, probably a gobo of some flavour.

 

If something can be done with a Gobo instead of a projector, then do it that way

If the venue already had a suitable projector, however, you could use that instead of a custom gobo. Although with a touring show (like the X-factor auditions), you probably won't have a 'spare' projector in every venue.

 

(Edited to sort out spacing and quotes)

[James Remo]

Colour temperature looks too high to be a tungsten source, looks more like a discharge source to me. Rather than buying lots of fittings you might find festoon is cheaper to buy as a string, or possibly even rentable. LED colour changing festoon is also available but obviously comes with a high price tag. Just make sure if you do go down the festoon route that the pitch of the lamps is the same across the strings (distance between lamps) as I've had strings from the same supplier that have had differing pitch and it just makes it look odd if the spacing is 8" on stage left and 7" on stage right....