Creating a shooting star w/ lighting

JP12687

Active Member
I am working on a project and would like to create a shooting star within a domed structure.

I am using some floor mounted S4s to create the "star field' and some Irised S4s with Colorizers to do distant "galazies" along with an irised glass moon in a S4.

My question is i want to create an effect for a shooting star. My original plan was to get a "shooting star" gobo in a Gobo Rotator have it rotate and every now and then bring the light up for 2-3sec then fade it out, so you see the light "streak" across the sky.

but i realized htis would not work or look right as i intended, because of the circular motion of the rotator, it owuld not fly straight.

any better ideas?
 
Combining, a rotating gobo behind a static gobo may just be the answer your'e looking for. I'm not saying this is the end - all and Be-all of answers but but it is something I used in Terra Nove once. First cut , or have cut a gobo that has the static "course" that you wish the falling star to take. Next cut, or have cut, a Gobo with a arched line on it. As this line rotates behind the static gobo a single "dot" will appear to streak accross the "sky". By altering the focal depth <whether the rotating gobo or the static gobo is in focus> and playing with the speed of the rotation you can acheive several really cool effects with this setup.
You can also have the static gobo have several different "courses" on it. Using some planning, geometry, Math and elbow grease you could develop a static/dynamic setup that allowed you to move a "field" or burst of shooting stars around an area. you would hve the "courses plotted out on the static and then several different paths of arcs on the rotating gobo. Using a wide angle fixture and rotating the "static" gobo sloooooowly you can alter where the projection hits on the roof. that way the same meteor doesn't always appear in the same place.
Making these kind of SPFX is what I love the most about my job
Just my two cents worth. Let us know what you decide and how you do it. .
 
What Van said.

Or if you have a large budget get a nice moving head and pop a likable gobo in it and streak the gobo across the back wall.

Or even better, get a DL-2, put footage of a real shooting star on it and streak that across the cyc.

But in all seriousness, a static gobo/rotating gobo combination will give the desired effect.

Actually, come to think of it, you could possibly do the right kind of idea with shutters. Cut at least half of the beam of light off (the bottom of the beam) and then you will have the 'shooting star' streak from horizon to horizon. Bring in side cuts to change start and end points.
 
Thank you,

the current idea i am toying with (came to me in the car ride home) is to use an I-Cue on a Source 4 with a gobo of a shooting star...

but i will def look into your idea, as it sounds interesting..and easier...
 
The I-Cue would definitely do the job. Just make sure to put it in sixteen bit mode instead of eight bit mode. That'll probably make a smoother movement.
 
Try combining Van's double gobo rotator trick with an I-cue. That way you can have the shooting star in multiple locations. It could create an arc over the curve of the dome. The "star" can travel farther and faster than just the gobo rotator alone.
 
Ah, I guess the big thing is if you want a gobo of a large shooting star with a circle and tail, or if you were just going to do a circle of light.

My suggestions all kind of relied on using a circle of light for a shooting star on the horizon far away.

An ICue would work, and shouldn't be all that hard to program.

Zac
 
Followspot could work. Especially if you can put a gobo in it. Or just a light operated like a followspot. Put a handle on it, have a guy sweep it, voila!
 
You are not wrong. You are exactly right, which is one thing that really makes this work. Remembering your basic operation over the leko, when you change the focus from hard to soft you are actually varying the point at which the first , or primary lens "picks-up" the light from the reflector. What is a "just past hard" focus for something like a rotater in the acc. slot would be "dead on hard" for a gobo in the gobo slot.
If you wanted to accomplish this effect with a single gobo rotater and a static gobo in the slot, you can use this to your advantgeto vary the look of the "Shooting star". You can accomplish this effect with a double gobo rotater but the ability to focus between the two seperate gobos is greatly reduced as the distance betwen them is negligable.

So the short answer would be, "Yes your'e technically right,but artistic wrong" :grin:
 

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