Pete Alcock Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Dear Blue Room, I've often seen these curtains used in theatres that appear to be a fine gauze or scrim. When you light the cast behind it, it appears almost transparent and when say a lead actor goes in front of it and you light them or the gauze itself, the gauze appears a solid curtain. Whats the proper theatrical name for this and where can you get it? If it's expensive, is there any low-sost high street substitute that works nearly as well (such as white sari fabric for example or something similar - fire-retardent treated first, abviously!). Apologies for the ignorance of what is probably a very common thing in theatres. I don't work in one so haven't a clue. You've guessed, I've been asked to provide something like this for an amateur production. Grateful thanks, Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicktaylor Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 No problem asking. I operate at the amateur level and have done this a few times now. My society has the gauzes so I cannot actually say what they are, a thin muslin I suppose is the best description. The art is to light in front of the gauze and behind the gauze for starters, don't get then overlapping otherwise you will pick up the areas you do not want. Also some lighting fairly vertically down the gauze line will make it more opaque . When you want to see behind the gauze dim downlighters and bring up lighting behine the gauze. He presto. All the lighting books have this sort of description. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicktaylor Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 A bit far from me. You should be able to borrow from local societies. Your name looks familiar. I see you are ex BBC, I'm with them maybe that is where I know you from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Vann Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Hi Pete, The fabric you are looking for is called 'Sharkstooth Gauze', and is available in black and white. You can rent it from most of the drape companies in the UK. The idea is that if you light the gauze from the front, light is reflected by the weave, and so it appears to be solid. If you light it from behind, the light travels through the holes in the weave, and it appears not to be there. If you are lighting the gauze from the front, most of the time, a normal black drape is flown in just upstage of the gauze so that if there is any light upsatge of the gauze it is not obvious. I don't know of any cheaper alternative that will work as well, as to get the right effect the pattern of the weave and the holes is the most imortant thing. Hope that helps you. Neil Neil VannAC Lighting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicktaylor Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Well I won't dispute the answer from a pro, but I found the problem unless you have enough height to get away from the gauze an let the wash flood it is too much leaks through lighting from the front and does catch movement behind. If possible experiment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_s Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 just to note that you can paint onto gauze and light it like a painted backcloth, then "bleed " through to reveal a scene set behind it. A favourite panto trick. another use of a gauze is to hang in front of a normal painted backcloth to get a soft focus effect and a sense of distance. As another poster pointed out, if you need to hide anything happening upstage, it is normal to fly a black cloth immediately upstage of the gauze, as any light spill will show through. Once the scene upstage is set, just before the reveal is supposed to happen, the black is flown out. As the eye of the beholder has got used to looking at nothing, if you don't give them time for the eye to readjust to the new conditions, you won't see anything until the lighting state upstage of the gauze starts to build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Depending on the effect required, it is possible to do a "bleedthrough" effect using normal household curtain netting. You don't get as much transparency as you would do with a proper gauze, but if the effect is silhouettes or shapes of bodies rather than actual characters, it could be a cheap alternative. Seen this done once in a small theatre that didnt have a fly tower (drapes hung on curtain tracks, so they weren't even very "taught") and it worked surprisingly well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Alcock Posted July 21, 2003 Author Share Posted July 21, 2003 Thanks to all! More than I'd hoped for and exactly what I need. Off to research drapes suppliers now for a few yards of sharkstooth. Really appreciate the input guys. Best regards, Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_s Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 I've also seen a reveal effect using string! this was stretched in a kind of "weft" (weaving term) across wooden frames decorated in a sort of baroque style, and wasn't totally opaque, but became much more translucent with the right lighting state. It formed the set for a professional small scale touring production of Amadeus in the late 80s - I can't remember who the designer was, but it was a very nice imaginative use of materials, andcreated holes and corners for the back-stabbing gossiping courtiers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.