Conventional Fixtures Help for a lighting newbie!

msnuge

Member
Hi, all,

I'm a Theatre teacher who did, literally, one hang-and-focus in college before getting a costume-shop scholarship. When I inherited this theatre program, lighting was all students-teaching-students, which certainly has value, except for when they're teaching incorrectly, and causing damage to instruments. So, here I am, educating myself on lighting beyond the basics that I teach my level one actors. I have a huge stock of ETC Source 4s of varying age and state of repair, and a handful of much newer (within the last 12 years) Strand SLs. The master electrician for the county just told me that he has ordered 36 new instruments for us (no details on brand, degree, whatev). It'll be some time before I get them, and I'd love some help in order to tell my kids the right things now. All of our source 4s are fixed degree, and the SLs are moveable. What's the benefit of each? (BTW - yes, I know that the SLs are done for.) Our stage is 52'x52', with 22' of the depth being DS of the proscenium. We have three overhead electrics, and a 36-channel catwalk. The apron gets the most use: assemblies, meetings, concerts, outside user groups (we're slammed with them because of the size of our facility), one-act festivals, Scripps spelling bees, etc. Our lights are all varying degrees, from 19 up to 50. What's the best to use in the cat? We also have 5 ancient cyc floods that we leave up on the third electric, and a handful of PAR cans and fresnels that we use on the 1st and 2nd electrics. I'm sure we're not using anything to the best of its capability, even our irreplacable SLs. So...help a costumer/director/teacher out? Even just book titles/resource lists would be great.

Thanks!

Meghan
 
It's not much help, but if possible, I'd recruit a pro volunteer. I'm guessing the DC area has a few decent productions companies, and those places have staff. There might be someone who would be interested in donating some time to help a school. I donate time to the local district on occasion. Advertise on Backstage Jobs, etc., if your school district will let you.

If not, I'd do the following:

1. get the existing fixtures cleaned up and working. Contact the various mfg. for tips on the best way to clean them.
2. Get a good inventory, waiting until the new stuff comes in, so you know what you have.
3. Search the internet for rep plots of stages similar in size to what you have.
3a. Ask around your district if anyone else has done any lighting work.
4. Tweak from there.
 
My general rule - I use the lower degree numbers for longer range or tighter areas. I use the higher degree numbers for larger areas or shorter ranges. You may want to consider using the 50 degree instruments as area washes.

Fresnels and PAR cans I use as wash lights - so they would be better used above the stage.
 
The best bit of advice I can give is stick around the booth and read some old threads. Jump in on the discussions to. There allot of great info buried in the archives, it's certainly helped me out quite a bit. Head on over to the new member board and introduce yourself proper!
 
Lighting solutions for Theatre, Film & Television Studios and Architectural spaces : ETC


This might seem a bit odd, But I highly recommend the S4 Users manual and the Assembly guide for a good understanding of how the S4 really works and what all the components are supposed to be doing, as well as how to take them apart and put them back together. If you can clean and repair a S4 than the SL line is pretty easy to understand. Your SL units are called Zooms, because they allow you to "Zoom" between one degree ( 25 deg,) and another (50 deg.) they allow you to get the beam size for every degree in between so they are useful little tools. I also agree with LGNorthGA that the barrel rule of thumb is the best way to go, but remember it's not a hard and fast rule. Part of the Fun of design work is figuring out where you can break those rules a bit.
 
Lighting solutions for Theatre, Film & Television Studios and Architectural spaces : ETC


This might seem a bit odd, But I highly recommend the S4 Users manual and the Assembly guide for a good understanding of how the S4 really works and what all the components are supposed to be doing, as well as how to take them apart and put them back together.

I second this. As for how to use your S4s, My rule of thumb for my auditorium is that the catwalk gets the 26 degree and lower fixtures, and use the rest on the overhead. For theatrical purposes, you can get some use out of the wider angle lenses on the catwalk, but I find that they spread the light out too much to be useful (especially for the wide variety of events you host).

A really easy way to run your catwalk is to find eight fixtures with the same lamp and lens (19 degrees if you have them but 26 degree can work) and divide the front half or your stage into 4 sections (usually around the proscenium line). Cross light each section (one from the left side and one from the right) with different color gels (I like rx60 and rx06 for speakers and assemblies, and rx 65 and rx 02 for theatrical). The idea is to light from the sides with different colors so that you bring out the depth of the person you are lighting instead of flattening them with head on light. This is a good starting point. From here you can (and should) build. Let us know if you have any follow up questions.

Books you may want:
The Backstage Handbook: An Illustrated Almanac of Technical Information: Paul Carter, George Chiang: 9780911747393: Amazon.com: Books
Technical Theater for Nontechnical People: Drew Campbell: 9781581153446: Amazon.com: Books
 
... I second this. As for how to use your S4s, My rule of thumb for my auditorium is that the catwalk gets the 26 degree and lower fixtures, and use the rest on the overhead. ...
Totally dependent on the throw distance and angle of elevation of the catwalk. Use whatever degree provides for an 8'-12' USABLE pool of light at performer eye level (+5'). Too large a pool and it will likely be too dim, too small and it will take too many fixtures, making blending areas difficult.

... A really easy way to run your catwalk is to find eight fixtures with the same lamp and lens (19 degrees if you have them but 26 degree can work) and divide the front half or your stage into 4 sections (usually around the proscenium line). Cross light each section (one from the left side and one from the right) with different color gels (I like rx60 and rx06 for speakers and assemblies, and rx 65 and rx 02 for theatrical). The idea is to light from the sides with different colors so that you bring out the depth of the person you are lighting instead of flattening them with head on light. ...
A fairly practical application of The McCandless Method. One thing to add is, I prefer three (on small stages) or five (on larger stages) areas across. Having an odd number allows one to isolate dead center, which is usually a location preferred by performers.
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Tech theater people are generally nice and willing to help out so getting some pro help may not cost you anything... more than dinner and a nice thank you from the kids that is.

What part of the DC area are you in? There may be someone here willing to help you. I've helped lots of schools in my area.

Do you have a university nearby? Call the tech department and ask if there is a student who might be willing to come volunteer some time teaching you and your students... this could possibly be some sort of special grad student project credit for the student.
 

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