Fabric Suggestion

[kjones9999]

Hi all.

Working on a backlit unit which will basically be a series of 3 foot blocks made out of 1x4. There will be 80 of these blocks on this unit which will basically be a cyc replacement. In the past, I have had good luck with cellophane on a much smaller scale

http://www.columbus.k12.nc.us/wchstheatre/mattress/DSC01554.JPG

I am thinking this might be easier with fabric. Thoughts? Can anyone suggest a fabric (like at Rose Brand) which will give me a fair amount of saturation but will still spread the light fairly evenly?

 

[BSchend]

For a real cheap version you could try vinyl drop cloth. There is a kind sold at both Lowes and HD that is opaque and has a slight texture. We've used this a few times and does very well at back lighting.

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Is an example of it in use (under the SR and SL platforms). This instance used very old light bar fixtures positioned a little too close. Further back you get and better fixtures (Source 4s with basic scrollers work well, LEDs even better) and the saturation gets way better.

 

[kicknargel]

My favorite material for this is Coroplast (corrugated plastic). It's what political yards signs and tons of other stuff is made of. 4 mil natural diffuses backlight very well. You can get it from a plastic supplier for ~$15 / 4x8 sheet.

Here it is in action on The Magnificent Module, one of my rental sets for corporate production.

 

[kicknargel]

For fabric, though, poly muslin and tendo (spandex) from Rose Brand work well, as do others. I've also used regular muslin, sized with a mix of Flexbond (to fill the weave), with good results.

 

[kjones9999]

Thank you to everyone who gave suggestions -- the drop cloth idea got me thinking --- we ended up using cheap vinyl tablecloths. I was very pleased with the results:

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/13254909_1174836759215136_5331006485578131663_o.jpg

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/13116264_1174834935881985_2140312963387322451_o.jpg