Cyc Lights for a tiny theater

[tubbstep]

Hi Guys,

So I have looked through these forums and I haven't seen a theater as small as mine, so I'm wondering if you can help.
I recently took post in a school with a fairly limited budget. Every year we add something new, this year we are adding an Aqua-effect light (probably a Chauvet Abyss LED 2.0 or an American DJ H20) as we are doing the Little Mermaid and it looks cool.

But we were looking into creating a CYC backdrop.
The theater is really small, we have only got about a 9' height and about 15' width, with a depth of about 10' with a 10' extension (the proscenium splits the stage into 10'/10')

I probably realistically have about 5' of depth to block off for backlighting.

a) Is this doable - I would prefer floor-lit Cyc strips so I can use a variety of colors.
b) what sort of equipment should I be looking at (the actually screen is fine, I've got that sorted, just the lighting, etc.)

- thanks so much!

Ben

- Lighting novice!

 

[DuckJordan]

Actually LED's sound perfect for your space. You then have the option of different colors plus, the small footprint.

 

[tubbstep]

Could you point me in the direction of some decent makes? Also, how many would I need to light it? I'm thinking due to the size one or two, I just don't want it to look too bare!

I've been looking online and I found a few options... Does anyone have any ideas about these?:

American DJ Mega Bar PRO LED Wash

American DJ Mega Tri Bar LED (90-240VAC)

or what about a few of these linked?

ColorKey Stage Par 64 36 x 1 Watt LED Par


- Thanks, Ben

 

[jglodeklights]

I wouldn't recommend PARs, they will need a heavy diffusion to remove scalloping. Ministrip style bars can work due to their low profile, but you will likely need some diffusion taped to them as well. If you can find a way to mask their 9 inch profile, the Altman Spectra Cyc 50, the little brother to the Spectra 100's we have at my theater, may work well for you as three of them could light the full width at about 4' away, while 4 of them would probably work at 2'-6" to 3' away. They would be one of the easier ways to get a very even wash on the fabric. However, unlike bars, they are pretty much limited to being useful as cyc lights, and to some degree strobes and stage washes. They are less effective than bars at being used as downlights as it can be hard to mask their LED from being focused directly into audience members' eyes simply because they have such a wide throw.

 

[FatherMurphy]

Given the extreme shallowness of your stage, if it was me, I wouldn't want to dedicate 40% of the depth to allowing cyc fixtures to spread, plus I'm going to guess that you also have some razor-sharp sightline issues to worry about. My suggestion would be to stick with the striplight/LED bar types of fixtures. Putting a run above as well as below may help with fall-off, and give you a more even result. Front lighting vs backlighting is a toss-up, you lose a bit of intensity if you backlight, but it can be a cleaner look.

If budget is an issue, you might find some old incandescent strip lights that another theater is looking to get rid of, but they can be power-hungry, and if you're short on dimmers or overall capacity, then they might be more trouble than they're worth. LEDs are more likely to be easy to integrate with the existing system.