How complicated can shadow effects get?

[MrTea]

Hi everyone, long time lurker, first time poster.

 

 

I'm wanting to project a series of shadows resembling a floor plan using a gel on a single wash, would this be possible? I'm planning to stage a production based entirely in an apartment. This is the stage Cardiff's Gate Theatre we're hoping to use. What I'd be hoping to do is to have the single wash constantly illuminated to a certain level. With spots working in rooms where "active" scenes are taking place.

 

Another option could be to place a number of gels on several spots, and insuring that the "shadow walls" overlap. I should say at this point I'm a complete amateur (which I'm pretty sure is completely obvious) so I guess I'm wondering if this is even feasible.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated. Cheers!

[greenalien]

Wash lights are designed for covering large areas with diffused light, so aren't suitable for projecting images, either slides or gobos. However, you could use a wash as a back-projection source, and make up your floorplan 'framework' from timber battens and put it near the backdrop, so the shadows of the battens are cast on the backdrop from behind. You could then pursue your other idea, of using spots to illuminate the current 'action' room, from the front.

[mac.calder]

Probably better off looking at projection... I mean you could get a gobo made (for a floor-plan type gobo, you are probably looking at glass) and use a profile to project it, then additional profiles for every spot you want to illuminate, but IMO projection would be easier and look neater.

[LX-Dave]

I worked on a production last year where an "interview room was isolated in the centre of the set by using shadows, from profiles with careful shuttering. If you could use a series of profiles (with sharp focussing) to light each "room" and shutter the edges, so that each room is a distinct rectangle of light (with it's own group of sources) and the dark gaps in between create the walls. You will then be able to adjust the illumination of each room respective to each other also :)

 

Dave

[gordontech]

I'd go for making a gobo based on the idea's you have said.

 

 

Draw the shape you want on the back wall in to two sections on asitate or plastic and see if the venue has an OHP projector so you can see it and then work from that. You might find this is adequate or you might go for the gobo option, a little more costly to get them custom made but worth it. Just remember to get the right gobo size!

 

You can always go for contrasting colours to distinguish it from a normal cyc (back wall) wash.

 

 

 

 

G

[paulears]

I understood it like LX-dave - just lots of areas all very tight. If the transition from lit to not lit doesn't need an ultra sharp edge, then maybe even fresnels with the edges barndoor'd would work too. The difficulty is more to do with where they are - so if the lights are to the audience side, barndoors won't work, because they are parallel - shutters in a profile can be non-parallel. Possibly profiles from the front and a vertical fresnel? Sounds fun.

[Just Some Bloke]

Can I suggest some lateral thinking here?

 

Firstly, gels are not the answer as if you draw on them and then place them in front of your lantern the drawing will be so out of focus (because of where the gel goes in the lantern) that you won't see what you've drawn at all. This is why we use gobos instead. The gobo goes where the light is most in focus, but this place is so close to the lamp it will be very hot indeed and that's why gobos are made of steel (or glass if you've got a bigger budget!). If you want to project a gobo to cover the whole floor area of the size you've shown in the photo then it will need to be both very high up and a very wide angle and this will mean that although the centre of the image will be in focus, the outsides will be heading out of focus and you won't get the effect you want. Also, there will be so little light that your facelight will have to be very dim and the audience won't see much at all.

 

So, instead, why don't you just buy a floorcloth and paint the floor-plan on that, then just light it with shuttered and barndoor'd lanterns as suggested above. Job done.

[MrTea]

I was about to ask if you could "focus" the main light (which would be required for the ceiling to floor projection), The relatively low ceiling (for my purposes at least) would be a prohibitive factor. The "barn door" solution seems to be the way to go. The rigging seems to provide the ability to completely top-light the rooms. The floorcloth may be the way to show thresholds into different rooms. If I position furniture correctly it should have the desired effect. Lots of love guys. Thanks!

[alistermorton]

I was about to ask if you could "focus" the main light (which would be required for the ceiling to floor projection), The relatively low ceiling (for my purposes at least) would be a prohibitive factor. The "barn door" solution seems to be the way to go. The rigging seems to provide the ability to completely top-light the rooms. The floorcloth may be the way to show thresholds into different rooms. If I position furniture correctly it should have the desired effect. Lots of love guys. Thanks!

 

I'd think you could do something like what you describe by toplighting and shaping the beam into a rectangle. We recently did this with three cantatas aiming straight down onto three luggage cases, constraining the beam with the barn doors to a rectangle which was the same size as the case (equally you could shutter a profile to get a nice hard edge to the beam if that would work better). We then lit each lantern in sequence with a trivial chase effect and it gave the impression of a moving train with light coming in through the windows. It was quite obvious where the edge of the main down beam was (even with the other lighting for the actors), so that could work for you perhaps.

 

I've been to the Gate Theatre (for "The war is dead, long live the war") and I think there's easily enough height to do this.