Cinderella Special Effects

[TechD_Joel]

Hi All,

I am working on R&H Cinderella, and am looking for ideas on a couple special effects.

1: The glowing broom
The godmother is holding the broom and "the end of the broom gleams like a shining star for a few seconds and then goes out." I have thought about leds in the handle, but I don't think they will be bright enough, and there is the power source to consider.

2: The magic appearing flower
"The godmother motions to an empty vase on the kitchen table and flowers appear in it."
I first thought of the old blooming flower bush magic trick, but they are really expensive, and I don't think it is quite the effect I want.

Any and all ideas are welcomed!

 

[sk8rsdad]

LEDs are plenty bright enough for a glowing broom. Power source is any battery although you may need to consider a LiFeP04 or NiCad battery to get the sustained current.

Is 7 dollars for a blooming flower really expensive?

 

[TheaterEd]

Although I like sk8rsdad's blooming flower, if it were me trying to do the flower trick, I would modify it to be a flower box in a window. This way you can just cut the bottom out of it and have a techie behind the set slowly lift the flowers into position. ( I tend towards the low tech options)

 

[TechD_Joel]

Is 7 dollars for a blooming flower really expensive?[/quote]

That is a good price, I was looking at something more like this: http://www.king-magic.com/blooming-rose-bush-remote-control-20-flowers-p-1231.html But what I would really like is to have a totally empty pot and then flowers just appear...

 

[TechD_Joel]

Although I like sk8rsdad's blooming flower, if it were me trying to do the flower trick, I would modify it to be a flower box in a window. This way you can just cut the bottom out of it and have a techie behind the set slowly lift the flowers into position. ( I tend towards the low tech options)

Im with you, but the director wants "magic" (worst descriptive word in the world!) and the pot will be on a table downstage from the nearest set wall. Which means it has to be remote controlled... I was thinking about a spring loaded plate stuck to the bottom of the pot, but then how do I release it to pop the flowers up into view...

 

[sk8rsdad]

In Sammler's Technical Design Solutions for Theatre, Volume 1 there's a diagram that, if memory serves, involves an empty flower pot and full flower pot mounted on a trap that pivots. I think it is spring-loaded but it might just be gravity and an off-center pivot. Use some misdirection to hide the flip.

 

[TheaterEd]

Instead of a spring loaded plate, you could put on top of the plunger end of a syringe under the plate , run hose down the table and off stage to a second syringe and use that as hydraulics.

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[TechD_Joel]

Here is what I have come up with. I will try and post a video once the flowers are all on and everything is decorated.



RC battery pack and motherboard, controls a motor with gearbox, that pulls the pin, which releases the spring loaded plate (which will soon have flowers in it).

 

[islander1]

I had to do this one a cpl of years back. I made a large vase to encase a cheap remote control model car. Ran a canvas belt around all wheels to form a belt and attached the bouquet of flowers to it. Forward, the come up, reverse they go down.