Movable lights

[mefju]

My director wants to make performance using only fixtures on the stage, moved by actors. He doesn't want to use hanged fixtures, because performance will be played also outdoor, and both versions of performance (in- and outdoor) should be as similar as possible.

 

What laterns, stands will be the best? What do you think about battery powered fixtures? Any tips will be helpful.

[Stu]

One thing you might want to consider is the heat of the lanterns and how this will effect the movement on stage by actors.

 

With this in mind you might want to use Par 16 'Birdies' - don't get too hot (in comparison), nice and light, aren't mains voltage etc.

 

Anyway these aren't all you need or can use but it's a start.

 

Whatever you do in the end, your actors will have to be bloody well briefed and rehersed into it all so it's A) safe and B) ends up looking the same night in, night out.

 

HTH. Good luck,

Stu

[Jamtastic3]

why not use either handheld battery fairy lights, led bike lights or even strong maglites!

 

(just teasing you, mind you we used handheld fairy lights for 20 dancers in L181 cover - amaizing)

[TomLyall]

Does this lighting have to be functional or just for effect? (As in, when performed indoors, will this be the only lighting?)

 

I would deffinately recommend using parcans (from birdies to 64's, your call) on stands, for a number of reasons. They're conciderably lighter (weight) than fresnels. They'll also take more of a bashing, and even if they do get knocked over (not that the lantern will be first concern) they're relatively cheap.

 

You'll be unlikely to find a fixture that both runs off batteries for the outdoor shows, and provides sufficent output to be the only light source indoors. (Unless anyone else knows otherwise?)

[mikienorth]

I don't know about practicalities of this but you can get some rather bright battery systems.

A job I was on had hand held Parcans, the cylinder bit was inverted, the lamp dropped in upside down, and the space below filled with batteries, with a handy plug on the side for charging the sealed Lead Acid units.

Whole assembly looked like a bucket. Unsure, but I think they were ACL lamps, approx 30V operating voltage?

Also used reflectors for the conversion of a Parcan to T type lamps, with a smaller lampholder holding a 12V projector lamp, run from a leisure battery, as a handy practical on wheels, they were also rather bright, used under a large LX rig, and still effective, large being 600+ Parcans, and around 30 1200W Movers.

But, if the lights are to be re-focused by turns during a show, it will look very stylish, but the turns will have to be well trained, and maybe wear hot gloves (welding gauntlets) etc. Plus, painting large bullseye targets saying point me here on them may disrupt the look of the set, and they still wouldn't hit their marks.

But, at least they'd have no excuse for not finding thier light... :(

[Martin]

I don't know about practicalities of this but you can get some rather bright battery systems.

 

Indeed, there are many different options available. Most probably not ideal but usually adaptable. You could try looking at portable video lighting, certainly bright enough and easy to hire. Other possible sources may be industrial portable site lighting. You might want to look primarily at flourescent light sources, as these won't drain the batteries as fast as tungsten lamps.

 

The main sticking point with any kind of portable lighting is going to be the size and weight of the batteries. It kind of depends if they need to carry the fixtures or they can be wheeled. You can get battery 'belts' that the actors could possibly wear but they are probably too bulky. But hopefully you can find a balance between weight and battery life. Possibly swapping batteries regularly when actors bring the lights and/or batteries off stage.

 

I would still suggest that you may need some fixed lighting for general cover, although this obviously is entirely dependant on the artistic requirements. A couple of wind-up stands with 2 lights on each might be sufficient, and would be easily movable between indoor and outdoor venues.

 

Sounds like an interesting project! Good luck and do let us know how it turns out.

[Grahame]

I did a music theatre piece a few years back that was lit almost entirely by portable industrial site lighting - pairs of 500W floods on stands, fluorescents on stands, and single 500W floods on floor stands. The set was a series of scaffolding platforms though, so the industrial look worked well. There was one performer and several musicians, and the performer moved the lighting around as part of the action.

I would also agree that you need some sort of fixed general cover if the lighting is going to be moved around, as you can't guarantee that all areas are going to be lit at all times.

[the kid]

Just wondering when you say movable by actors do you meen during performance?

 

If it is then all of the above is good.

 

If not then you could use a series of t bars, fesrenls and par's (profiles will take to long to set up.)

[SimonW]

In 1993, there was a production at the Edinburgh International Festival which had a section lit entirely by the actors. Each performer held a Minuette Fresnel. The actors movement was all choreographed, and there was a beautiful interplay of light and motion. Try doing that with a moving head ...

 

(Off topic, but Heiner Goebbel's Eraritjaritjaka in last years EIF had a stunning sequence in which a moving light performed as a nodding dog -)