Cyc's vs. Fresnels

[Sparticus101]

Ok so, the show were doing has 4 doors that need to have backlight when they open. I was wondering if you guys prefer to use cyc's or fresnels. Also, both lights are reflected up on the traveler and blackdrop. what can i do to stop that reflection.

[zac850]

First off, what effect are you trying to achieve. If your just trying to backlight the doors to give them a bit of lights, I would go with the fresnels. Their easy, and you can zoom them which is always nice.

If your trying to go for a harsh, cool feeling, I would choose a single cell cyc light. In my experience, most cyc lights have cooler color-temp lamps in them (though, of course, this is a not a rule, lots of different lamps with different color temps out there).

If your having problems with spill, use fresnels and zoom them in. You can also get barn-doors for them which are moderately effective at cutting off light. If your using the cyc lights, you can get black-wrap and make your own barn doors.

[cutlunch]

I would probably use a cyc in preference but I would actually use an old floodlight. I don't know if these equate to scoops over there.

If you are having a lot of spill then I would use fresnels with barn doors.

But the most important thing is the positioning. The light should be above the door height pointing down.

Just play around with positioning and you should be able to cut down a lot of spill. Depending on your set you may need to make a little frame to hold the light just above the door. This is instead of having the light hisher on a lighting bar.

[Van]

In accordance with Zac's question I would say it really depends on the "Look" you are going for Are you talking about a backlit "Exorcist" doorway? like when the priest arrives. then you want a low mounted high-intensity par can with the bottle vertical. Or are you talking about the doors leading to outside and you have a Bright sunny world out there ? In that case I'd mount a couple of strips next to the door and bounce them off a light colored drop or white masking so you get mor of the indirect bounce effect. Closing off the exit is the only way you're going to completely get rid of that spill, basically build a box around the doorway. as best you can. Include a ceiling peice. Hope that helps.