Lighting a Cyc in a Black Box under a Tension Wire Grid

Hollie

Member
I do lighting in a theatre that is a black box theatre under a tension wire grid. The production manager has been asking me about the possibility of getting a cyc and what would be needed to use it and light it. I have generally been opposed to the idea of lighting ANY large expanses at a certain height because the grid makes that difficult to do well. I have figured they would need to hang the cyc from a pipe suspended under the grid, and if I had 1 cyc light per grid section, (and a row on the bottom) I could light it. But it all seems altogether unwieldy to me. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with lighting a cyc under a tension wire grid before who could tell me their experience. Thanks.
 
I do lighting in a theatre that is a black box theatre under a tension wire grid. The production manager has been asking me about the possibility of getting a cyc and what would be needed to use it and light it. I have generally been opposed to the idea of lighting ANY large expanses at a certain height because the grid makes that difficult to do well. I have figured they would need to hang the cyc from a pipe suspended under the grid, and if I had 1 cyc light per grid section, (and a row on the bottom) I could light it. But it all seems altogether unwieldy to me. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with lighting a cyc under a tension wire grid before who could tell me their experience. Thanks.
@Hollie
My 1st thought is you poor . . . . . !
2nd thought. A GOOD ground row hidden by suitable ground row masking.
Given the options of bottom or top, bottom wins.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
Hollie, First thought is go w/Ron & light it from the bottom. But let's have some more info first.
What is the height of the ceiling above finished floor (or platforms to be used)?
What is the height of the grid above finished floor (or platforms to be used)??
What is the height of the cyc your PM wants to use?
What is the spacing of the grid wires?
Can you temporarily remove a few wires from the grid if you wanted to?
 
There's lots of generics that need to be specifics for this to work, but it's certainly doable. The "easiest" solution would probably be to hang the cyc and lights from the same 12" box truss suspended below the grid, but you could fake this with pipe as well
 
Havn't cyced under a tension grid, but I have under a dead hung grid at about 18'. We typically bounced it. This was the hang we usually used from upstage to downstage:

White or Reflective surface of some sort
6ish inches or so
Colorforce 72s both in the air and a ground row
6ish inches or so
Rear projection cyc
Black scrim

It worked a treat.
 
I like AFSQ's suggested method. Assuming you have the room and equipment to do it, it sounds like a successful solution.
 
Check out the Chauvet Ovation CYC 1 FC and The ETC Colorsource Cyc . I don't own either personally but I've played around with both in trade show booths. I really like how small and low profile the Chauvet is. I would lean towards the Chauvet for ground row lighting. The ETC Colorsource Cyc is also pretty sweet, I would lean towards it more for hanging purposes, but it's a very close choice. My impression is that the Chauvet is a bit more versatile due to it's shape if that is a priority. Figure out the dimensions of the cyc and your fixture location options and throw distance, then look at the photometric data for both fixtures. Call your dealer and ask for demos, preferably at the same time so you can compare side by side how they look in your space.
 
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After we installed, for us, the first tension grid installed in a proscenium theater, we found that using LED cyc lights above the grid made for grid shadows that wouldn't have been as noticeable with incan cyc lights. It was a surprise to all of us. We tried diffusion over the cyc lights with minor improvement. We ended up putting a pipe for the cyc lights below the grid. The theater teachers were and are happy with it 9 or 10 years later.

For thems that want to know, the grid is 18' AFF with 6'8" clear to the trusses. The cyc and borders are on tracks along with all of the drapery. They don't use the borders much. Over the years, the teachers have told me how much they like it. Unorthodox as it is. We have since used the same solution at another school with similar problems.

T
 
Having a cyc in a black box can be lit as several have already discussed. What hasn’t been discussed is how to handle, treat, and store said cyc. During the last 60 years I have seen some great solutions and some epic fails. Because one of the primary bonus points to a black box is the versatility, one doesn’t want to lock on to a hang and light solution that limits you to a single configuration.
For the rigging, I have seen roll drop solutions, travelers, temporary rigging with blocks mounted above a tension grid or pipe grid, so that the trim height is as absolutely high as possible. Roll drop and temp rigging provide a ridgid surface, both horizontally and vertically, with the least amount of work. A one-way traveler provides the potential for the widest, continuous surface, but presents more work to achieve a taut surface both horizontally and vertically. The traveler and roll drop allow for relatively rapid strike and reset with the roll drop being the fastest due to the time and effort needed to insert and assemble the bottom stiffener in a traveler, wheather internal or external. The traveler is usually the less costly of those two. However, to work properly, the track must be at least medium duty, HD is better, due to the stiffness inherent in the heavier track. If the traveler has 1/4” rope, you will have great difficulty pulling it taut enough to achieve a good, flat surface.

One of the biggest issues with a cyc in a black box, is keeping it clean. Especially if the space is used as a classroom, dance or other rehearsal space while the cyc is in place. Or if the cyc needs to be shifted to allow stage access to or from a scene shop or other storage area. The roll drop has the advantage of being self storing. A one-way traveler must have a dust bag or full height wrap-around cover to have any hope of staying clean. The best solution is to gently fold and store in a hamper with a lid.., but that requires the most hanging time to take out the fold lines and wrinkles when next used.

So, bottom line, no solution is perfect. You just have to weigh the cost, labor time and ease of use, and pick the least problematic for your organization.
 
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