Apron Lighting

hhslights

Member
In my school we have what we call the cove which provides lighting for the apron of our stage. We would normally use Par Cans to light the apron and they do just fine. But recently it has been suggested to me that instead of lighting the apron with par cans I should use source four Jr.'s to do the lighting because they can be shuttered to keep the light from spilling off the stage. I have never experienced a problem with light spilling off the stage with the par cans and I feel that the source fours could be better used somewhere else! (We have like a million par cans and 20 source four jr's) I would just like to know what others do with their apron lighting, if they use par cans or ellipsoidal or if it really doesn't matter. I have included a picture of the cove and a picture of the stage from the cove



 
Why S-4 Juniors specifically as opposed to any Leko, or for spill control within reason not barn doors to a PAR or Fresnel or even not GamWrap I call it as black wrap or Tac' Tape - same thing but more narrow but with adhesive?

In the end it is of the lighting designer's choice what is used and per the house equipment and show budget what is available for him or her to choose from in still making art. Sure, if there is budget, go with a Leko... perhaps a proper Leko instead even, but if it's a framing or shuttering question a barn door might help and be sufficient.
 
In general, from FOH I use some kind of ellipsoidal ( IE LEKO).

Why ? Simply because I want the control of the beam that I get with that type of fixture.
With an ellipsoidal, I can evenly light between the edges of the proscenium arch without spilling so much on the wall. With a PAR I cannot. Have I used Fresnels or Par Cans from FOH - sometimes, but not usually.


Why don't you try an experiment. Take a couple of S4's up to the cove and light one side of the apron with them. Shutter the spill off of the proscenium and the lip of the apron. Light the other side of the apron with the PAR cans. Take a look and see which you like better.
 
I personally never light light the apron much. It's rarely used in our shows and it's not the best position to light in our theater. When I do light it, I use ellipsoidals. If I don't, light gets onto the highly reflective wood paneling we have. This is also bad because it means that the light isn't on stage. Lastly, if I were you I'd paint the stage with a matte black.


P.S.: Source4's and Source4 Jr's are not lekos. Strand Lekolites are lekos.
 
As has been eluded to. It totally matters what the production is going to require. If you have a lot of action upstage with set pieces or locations that are going to require shuttering then you'll what your ERS units there. If that need isn't there, but theres a lot of action on the apron, especially if the actors get all the way to the edge then you might want your ERS units on the apron. It all matters whats going on and what you as a designer are trying to do with.

SIDE NOTE: My old boss called anything with shutters a Leko regardless of what it really was
 
Your cove position is pretty steep for your downstage areas, but if it's worked for you in the past, go with your bliss. I would also go with your S4s if you can spare them -- I just find that you will get a more even wash out of them. If you've managed to get an even wash with PAR cans, you're a better man than I . . .
 
More often than not we have spare source fours lying around but for more in depth things most if not all of the source fours are used up. We do however own some old klieglights. I am a bit nervous to actually rely on them for something though. Few are in good working condition, most have their shutters melted together. If I were to put ellipsoidals in the cove do you think a combination of lights would work? Source Fours and Klieglights or Klieglights and some other ellipsoidal light we have around?
 
If you want an even wash along the apron I wouldn't suggest mixing units, if you were in a pinch it might turn out to be do able, but you seem to have been happy with your par can wash so I don't see you getting into that pinch.
Depending on your budget rebuilding the Klieglights inventory to a working condition might not be just a good idea so you have more ERS fixtures to work with in general, but also just a good way to learn in depth light maintenance.
 

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