Feel free to point and laugh.
I need to build a collapsible jukebox seven feet tall and five feet wide. It will be roughly based on a late-50s Wurlitzer.
The painful part:
The front is actually a painted scrim with a velcro fly split down the middle so that the actor can emerge in a cloud of smoke and cheesy flashing lights. Got that? Now the fun part: He has to strike a pose while backlit while still inside the jukebox. So I'm looking at a white split curtain close enough to the front so that he is visible through the scrim material. There will be a small space (1' deep) between the white curtain and front scrim so that the fog can be restrained until reveal. The actor is standing in a tent of heavy black material attached to the back of the jukebox to prevent light leakage from the intense backlight. Fan, microphone/stand, and small vocal monitor will also be in this tent.
I'll have to experiment with different lighting instruments to see which one works best for such a short throw.
My biggest worries are heat from the light fixture and the painted scrim not allowing enough backlit actor to show through to be effective. I suppose I could forget the white curtain but it gives sharp definition to the silhouette that I don't think I could get with the scrim.
I'd hate to build the blasted thing only to find it is useless.
Suggestions? Thoughts? Apprehensions?
I mean, realistic ones- I've already considered moving away and changing my name.
The pointing and laughing can start now...
I need to build a collapsible jukebox seven feet tall and five feet wide. It will be roughly based on a late-50s Wurlitzer.
The painful part:
The front is actually a painted scrim with a velcro fly split down the middle so that the actor can emerge in a cloud of smoke and cheesy flashing lights. Got that? Now the fun part: He has to strike a pose while backlit while still inside the jukebox. So I'm looking at a white split curtain close enough to the front so that he is visible through the scrim material. There will be a small space (1' deep) between the white curtain and front scrim so that the fog can be restrained until reveal. The actor is standing in a tent of heavy black material attached to the back of the jukebox to prevent light leakage from the intense backlight. Fan, microphone/stand, and small vocal monitor will also be in this tent.
I'll have to experiment with different lighting instruments to see which one works best for such a short throw.
My biggest worries are heat from the light fixture and the painted scrim not allowing enough backlit actor to show through to be effective. I suppose I could forget the white curtain but it gives sharp definition to the silhouette that I don't think I could get with the scrim.
I'd hate to build the blasted thing only to find it is useless.
Suggestions? Thoughts? Apprehensions?
I mean, realistic ones- I've already considered moving away and changing my name.
The pointing and laughing can start now...