Creating Northern Lights/Aurora Borealis
- Thread starterrshakespeare
- Start date
ishboo
Active Member
What production are you doing? I just saw a production using a rep plot do a fairly decent job of northern lights using cyc lights, they only had red blue and green but they used the blue to do a nice looking sky and then mixing in the red and green looked good, that could be a good starting point possibly.
shiben
Well-Known Member
We had a production that involved the Northern Lights at Calvin, and used a few FilmFX units on the cyc, along with what if I remember correctly were non-uniform gels incorporating the colors that the designer wanted. It looked fairly good. Just a question, how did you intend to use the haze? It sounds like an interesting idea.
ishboo
Active Member
That sounds like it would work well, I did a wuick search on istockphoto and they have plenty of northern light videos like this one: Northern Lights
Dionysus
Well-Known Member
I really like the idea of projecting video of the Aurora Borealis either with or without haze. Could look really sweet.
Then again you can totally make some amazing effects on a white cyc, with a black scrim in front. Maybe a little haze or fog between. With a combination of cyc lights and some LED pars or some lekos at various angles across the cyc, changing the colours contrasting against the cyc-lights.
Then again you can totally make some amazing effects on a white cyc, with a black scrim in front. Maybe a little haze or fog between. With a combination of cyc lights and some LED pars or some lekos at various angles across the cyc, changing the colours contrasting against the cyc-lights.
IndigoFire
Member
highschooltech
Active Member
midgetgreen11
Active Member
I MEed a production of Almost, Maine. The designer and I worked together to come up with a really cheap solution that I think came out quite well. You need a cyc to start with, unless you can get an extremely thick cover of haze to project on. I used 2 Source4s, each with a color wheel and an I-Cue. Using this combination we were able get the undulation of color and movement. By placing the instruments extremely low shooting up you get the most intensity at the "horizon" and then it dissipates up the cyc. Add some nice deep blue cyc lights and some stars and you have a beautiful night sky. If you have the money I would recommend a dichroic color changer because the shifting will be much smoother and cleaner. I would do some serious research on the Northern Lights to figure out what colors you want. I think you will find some colors in there that you may not have thought of.
Good luck,
-Tim
Good luck,
-Tim
ishboo
Active Member
That's the one! I take it you were there?
For a production of King Island Christmas I had on each side of the cyc 3 or 4, 36dg ERS all with linear breakup gobos, oriented vertical. the focus was a series of vertical streaks across the cyc. each unit had it own color from the palette i was working with.
The cyc was then then gently waved from one end by the deck electrician as an cue effects loop ran.
as the waves rippled across each touched a beam.
the deck elect was the one in real control, as the size and freq. of the waves made the effect. she was able to easly cordnate the effect with the action onstage.
This looked very nice and i receved many positive comments on it
The cyc was then then gently waved from one end by the deck electrician as an cue effects loop ran.
as the waves rippled across each touched a beam.
the deck elect was the one in real control, as the size and freq. of the waves made the effect. she was able to easly cordnate the effect with the action onstage.
This looked very nice and i receved many positive comments on it
Last edited:
midgetgreen11
Active Member
Northern Lights
Here is the video from my version of doing the northern lights that several people have been asking for. This was done by using a scrim-like material (white sport jersey type fabric) and a cyc. Behind the scrim was hung strips of thin painters plastic, the type you get on a roll at your hardware or painting store. Then behind the plastic was hung 24 LED parcans (6 3watt units, and 18 10mm colorkey units.) Fans were placed (on low) in back to move the plastic around
I had issues with the plastic and static cling to both the cyc and the scrim. It was solved by having two crew members (one on each side of the stage) to direct the fans to keep the plastic from sticking. I would have prefered to have more space between the layers so the plastic couldn't stick, but as we all know space is limited.
Kenneth Pogin
Production / Tour Manager
Minnesota Ballet
Here is the video from my version of doing the northern lights that several people have been asking for. This was done by using a scrim-like material (white sport jersey type fabric) and a cyc. Behind the scrim was hung strips of thin painters plastic, the type you get on a roll at your hardware or painting store. Then behind the plastic was hung 24 LED parcans (6 3watt units, and 18 10mm colorkey units.) Fans were placed (on low) in back to move the plastic around
I had issues with the plastic and static cling to both the cyc and the scrim. It was solved by having two crew members (one on each side of the stage) to direct the fans to keep the plastic from sticking. I would have prefered to have more space between the layers so the plastic couldn't stick, but as we all know space is limited.
Kenneth Pogin
Production / Tour Manager
Minnesota Ballet
cvhstech
Member
Hello i am a light designer for my high school, and we a re doing a production of Almost Maine, and we also want to do a northern lights effect. We were planning on using LED light racks that go on the floor, and a fog machine. The racks are controlled by a computerized software that i still have to program. Would you recommended this way to get a good Northern Lights effect? Thank you for your help!
If you have some available pipes, you could take some 20' x 3' panels (or similar cheap fabric) and cut the bottom edge in a gentle, random wavy pattern and hang 3 or 4 of these a few feet apart at center stage. When they are flown in, it would give a 3D layered appearance (you could also add a gentle breeze to give movement) that when light by perhaps several LED bars hanging on the same pipes (with deep colors), give a pretty good simulation of the Northern Lights. Add a few moving heads down stage, one on each wing panning back and forth very slowly on the panels and you could add some more movement (maybe add a gobo), perhaps slowly rotating to hit the panels and allow some light to spill onto the next panel. Assuming you have the lighting, the panels are cheap to make...
Jack
Jack
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