Blowing feathers, dropping a cyc, shadowplay... need advice please

[JerSegal99]

Hey everyone,

I've just discovered this forum. What an amazing resource!

I'm working on a show right now with several tech challenges that I'm hoping you guys can help me with.

1. We're using the Cyc for shadowplay, but there's not a lot of space from behind the Cyc to the US wall. What kind of lights can I use that would be small enough to not take up too much space but still be able to create nice shadows?

2. The theatre is equipped with a Trampoline (Tension Wire Grid) instead of a typical grid system. We have to rig the Cyc to drop down to the floor. Any ideas?

3. After the Cyc drops, we're going to have the doors at the back of the stage open up. There is a fair amount of space in the backroom to place equipment. The idea is to make the doors seem like a 'gateway to Heaven.' We want to create a really great lighting effect.
Either with lights from top to bottom in the back room directed towards the audience, creating a brilliant (but maybe blinding) doorway of light.
Or, I'm thinking I may be able to get an equally interesting effect by having lights inside the back room on either side, facing each other; using a hazer or smoke machine.
Any advice as to which one would be more effective? Or any better ideas?

4. Once the back doors open, we want to have a ton of feathers blow out from within.
We will need a fan to do this. Any ideas on what kind of fan would be powerful enough to blow the feathers onto the stage without blowing them all the way into the audience?
Also would love to have the feathers float around in the air until a specific cue when they would begin drifting to the ground. Would I use fans SR & SL to keep them afloat? Or is there some sort of suction fan I should place in the trampoline?

Any advice on using feathers? Is it just a giant mess that's going to cause a huge headache of problems? Would it make a difference if we used larger feathers?

5. The stage is black linoleum. We want to make it reflective and glossy. What would one use to do this?

I know it's a lot of questions... In the future, should I make separate threads in more specific forums? ie ask about the Cyc dropping in the Rigging Forum, shadows in the Lights forum, etc.? Or is it better to just have it all in one thread?

Thanks in advance for your replies.
Cheers!

 

[lwinters630]

using Haze will help with your blinders.

check out an insulation blower from home depot. use squirrel cage blower to create an updraft.

Search cb for kobuki drop.

 

[derekleffew]

... 1. We're using the Cyc for shadowplay, but there's not a lot of space from behind the Cyc to the US wall. What kind of lights can I use that would be small enough to not take up too much space but still be able to create nice shadows? ...

This one may be unsolvable, at least without defying the laws of physics. A good shadow needs a single point source, and the size is dependent on the distance from the source. How much space between cyc and US wall? Perhaps a Fresnel, the bigger the better, with lens removed.

... 2. The theatre is equipped with a Trampoline (Tension Wire Grid) instead of a typical grid system. We have to rig the Cyc to drop down to the floor. Any ideas?

Kabuki drop.

... 5. The stage is black linoleum. We want to make it reflective and glossy. What would one use to do this? ...

Check with your custodial staff. There may be a product, a wax or MopNGlo type, but, it could ruin the floor, be impossible to remove, or make it too slippery for the dancers to function. See also http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/...28-want-lay-cheap-black-floor.html#post262305 post#20.



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... I know it's a lot of questions... In the future, should I make separate threads in more specific forums? ie ask about the Cyc dropping in the Rigging Forum, shadows in the Lights forum, etc.? Or is it better to just have it all in one thread? ...

Personal preference, really. We're pretty chill here; use your best judgment. You might get better answers starting individual threads, as some members only read the dept. that interests them. OTOH, it's probably easier for you if all the problems associated with your show are in one place.

 

[TheaterEd]

Hey everyone,
1. We're using the Cyc for shadowplay, but there's not a lot of space from behind the Cyc to the US wall. What kind of lights can I use that would be small enough to not take up too much space but still be able to create nice shadows?

Are you able to open the US doors and shine a light from that room, or does the shadow have to be able to cover a larger area? You might be able to use one of the fixtures that you are planning on using for the heaven effect.

#4.... please don't do this. They are going to be a pain to clean up and will get EVERYWHERE! (that's probably just the facility manager in me talking, the director in me thinks it would look cool)

#5. Be careful that whatever you do does not make the floor to slippery to safely perform on. Are your actors wearing shoes, or will there be some in socks or something else?

 

[JerSegal99]

Thanks for the tips, guys!

What are the advantages of an insulation blower and a squirrel cage blower? Where would I place the squirrel cage blower to create the updraft?

There's about 7.5 feet between the cyc and the wall.

TheaterEd, yea-- I thought about opening the US doors for shadows but there's an overhanging balcony that woud be cutting the shadows in half. The theatre is reconfigurable so there's a balcony build there for when the theatre is in the round. ideally, the Cyc would function as a canvas for the shadows from end to end.

I'll be sure to make sure the floor remains a safe performing space with whatever 'glossificiation' I choose to use.

 

[FatherMurphy]

If money's no object, a continuous confetti blower might be of use (warning - they can be very noisy). Confetti, especially the 1/2" x 2" flutter-fetti has a good hang time, with a bit of experimenting, you might be able to get the timing right for the confetti to be dropping on your imagined feather/gravity cue.

Confetti Cannons, Confetti Machines, Equipment Sales and Rentals

Some confetti manufacturers will do custom cut shapes, a feather might well be a standard pattern for one of them.

 

[weissj]

3. After the Cyc drops, we're going to have the doors at the back of the stage open up. There is a fair amount of space in the backroom to place equipment. The idea is to make the doors seem like a 'gateway to Heaven.' We want to create a really great lighting effect.
Either with lights from top to bottom in the back room directed towards the audience, creating a brilliant (but maybe blinding) doorway of light.
Or, I'm thinking I may be able to get an equally interesting effect by having lights inside the back room on either side, facing each other; using a hazer or smoke machine.
Any advice as to which one would be more effective? Or any better ideas?

Using a mixture between a Dry Ice or low lying fog and a cryo could make for an amazing effect! Pair this with Bright White Lights from behind the doors ( 300+ W, especially if the theater is blacked out) and or for a dramatic effect, a single or set of Martin 3000 Strobes which ARE BLINDING. If you need help locating any of these items or understanding them, message me and Id be happy to help you. A million cool things can be done with a scene like this message me if you'd like more ideas or questions of how this would work.

 

[JerSegal99]

If money's no object, a continuous confetti blower might be of use (warning - they can be very noisy). Confetti, especially the 1/2" x 2" flutter-fetti has a good hang time, with a bit of experimenting, you might be able to get the timing right for the confetti to be dropping on your imagined feather/gravity cue.

Confetti Cannons, Confetti Machines, Equipment Sales and Rentals

Some confetti manufacturers will do custom cut shapes, a feather might well be a standard pattern for one of them.

If only money were no object!
We're actually a fairly new indie company, so cheaper is best at this point

Definitely worth looking into, though. Thanks.

Btw-- the quote in your signature speaks the truth.

Would love to hear more, Welssj. Incoming message.

 

[MPowers]

Wow! You've got a lot of irons in this one little fire!
A couple of suggestions, the first you've probably already thought of yourself but here it is any way. Isolate each effect and try to find its solution independently. When they've all been worked out singly, then work on combining them. You may find that some solutions solve more than one problem and that some become mutually exclusive. You may have to make a choice between one or two items.

Fans. General info. Bladed fans can produce high speed and high volume, depending on size and rpm. In open air they tend to produce vortexes. They do not produce high static pressure. Squirrel cage fans can produce very high volume (CFM) at high static pressure with comparatively low HP, they are used for example, to inflate air sculptures, "bounce rooms" etc. Squirrel cage fans lend them selves to ducting (put the fan back stage and duct the air flow to where you want) They are better at moving air from one place to another such as the fans mounted in fog and haze machines. Squirrel cage fans are "usually" quieter for a given volume of air but bladed fans are usually better for a wide coverage and dispersion. There is a lot more to fans and fluid dynamics but that would take several semesters to teach and there's not quite enough time or space here, but, hope this helps a bit.