Design Issues and Solutions -

[NHStech]

We recently had our ropes changed, and I am resetting the two sets of strip lights and two electrical pipes (one with about 30 fresnels, the other with about 30 etc par cans). My question: When resetting the lights, is there a general rule of how high each of the pipes should be as you work your way upstage? On one hand, I suppose you may want the grand (front) teaser as high as possible so as to maximize space and view, but on the other hand, the throw will affect the brightness. My proscenium is about 25' high, if that helps. I do have a set of teasers before each pipe of lights. Does it matter that much the pipes are hidden by the teasers? Thanks for your input.

[rochem]

Totally depends on your situation. In traditional theatre, yes, the electrics are generally trimmed out so that they cannot be seen from the audience. There's no rule saying you have to do this, however. Many shows, RENT being a good example, intentionally leave their electrics totally unmasked so the audience can see all the lighting equipment in the air. But for a general high school multi-purpose theatre, keeping the electrics trimmed out of sight is probably a good idea.


If you're really not getting enough intensity from your units at those high trim heights, you may need to change some things.. For the fresnels, try spotting them down a bit so they're not set to as wide of a flood. By spotting them down, you will decrease the area covered and increase the intensity of the fixture - so when it's flown to a higher trim height, you should get a brighter coverage. For the PAR cans, you may need to relamp them to a tighter spot. I'd guess that your PARs are probably lamped with WFL lamps right now. By changing the lamp to a MFL or even NSP lamp, you will again get reduced coverage and increased intensity, which will help you at the higher trim heights. While the intensity won't be identical to what it would be with the WFLs at a lower trim, it will be fairly close.


And if switching things around like that isn't really an option, there's no rule that says you need to have the tallest stage possible. Just trim your electrics to the highest height where you can still get usable intensity, then drop the borders in to mask the electrics.

[icewolf08]

Trim heights are totally based on the design and how you want the stage to look. Generally people trim their electrics out of sight lines meaning that when you sit in the front row and look up you can't see the lighting fixtures as they are blocked by the borders. For instance, in our current show, the first border is trimmed at about 23' where the proscenium is about 25' tall. The first electric trims just out of sight lines which probably puts it around 25' off the deck. The next electric upstage doesn't have it's own border, thus it trims even higher to be out of sight lines.

[derekleffew]

Ideally, the height of the electrics would be determined by the Vertical Section. The proscenium opening will determine the height of the first border/teaser/grand valence/house valance. The height of the rear curtain or cyc will determine the height of the border just DS of it, so as not to expose the track or rigging. All of the borders in between are variable.

While many have progressively lower borders as one goes US, I think it's better to have all electrics are nearly the same trim, especially for dance, so that a 6x12 for the first electric casts the same size beam as one from the 4th elex.

Whether or not the borders should fully mask the lighting fixtures is an artistic choice. For some productions they will be a distraction; for others they will be part of the environment.

[shiben]

If you're really not getting enough intensity from your units at those high trim heights, you may need to change some things.. For the fresnels, try spotting them down a bit so they're not set to as wide of a flood. By spotting them down, you will decrease the area covered and increase the intensity of the fixture - so when it's flown to a higher trim height, you should get a brighter coverage. For the PAR cans, you may need to relamp them to a tighter spot. I'd guess that your PARs are probably lamped with WFL lamps right now. By changing the lamp to a MFL or even NSP lamp, you will again get reduced coverage and increased intensity, which will help you at the higher trim heights. While the intensity won't be identical to what it would be with the WFLs at a lower trim, it will be fairly close.

His PARs are lamped at either 575 or 750W, the ETC PARs have lenses that you change. Each PAR comes with the kit at all the places i have seen selling them, so if your having intensity issues with those just experiment, it takes some work to get the lenses out, but once you can its not hard. Also, if they are at 575, you can up them to 750 for like 20 bucks or so.

[rochem]

His PARs are lamped at either 575 or 750W, the ETC PARs have lenses that you change. Each PAR comes with the kit at all the places i have seen selling them, so if your having intensity issues with those just experiment, it takes some work to get the lenses out, but once you can its not hard. Also, if they are at 575, you can up them to 750 for like 20 bucks or so.

Oops, my mistake. I saw "par cans" and assumed he was referring to traditional PARs, I missed the "etc" in there. In that case, Shiben is right - you can just swap out your lenses for no extra cost. Try going with a MFL lens, or maybe even NSP, depending on how high your electrics end up trimmed. I've seen S4 PARs at 575w put out a great deal of intensity even at trim heights above 35 feet. It's just a matter of choosing the right lens.