immaculate sky

[Dreadpoet]

Though I have spent a resonable amount of productions puking light up on sets one thing that has alluded me is making a sky worth remembering. The cyc is usually an afterthought and often just recieves a monotone color or mabey a small groundrow up light. I would like to make that my next lighting challange...making a compelling day&night sky. My current production calls for one day look/one night look on the entire cyc. What I have to work with...4cell skycyc's from altman lighting the cyc(4 additional independant cells in storage as well). 3 striplights (old and tired but still servicable). an inventory or source4 ERS's and 6" fresnels, scoops, couple of parcans and a small budget to purchase gels, gobos, and perhaps a small toy or two.

Question...where should I start making a kickbutt looking sky with color variation, clouds, the works...with the inventory I have. (can't project from front or rear...my cyc is a wall actually)

I try to challange myself to grow with every production in set/lighting/sound/props/or makeup. I would really like to be better at making a convincing or at least compelling sky. I have read prior posts on the subject BTW just wanted fresh input.

 

[jglodeklights]

Split Gels from both high and low can help to create a nice gradation (just be sure to use JLAR tape to keep your output high and frost to blend colors nicely). Gobos can help to create skylines, clouds (depending on where you can project from, look at getting one of the distorted versions that will compensate for if you can not shoot directly from in front of the wall) and realistic stars. Glass gobos, while more expensive, can create higher resolution projections. More split, or gridded gels, can create color variations in the clouds and stars.

 

[derekleffew]

... The cyc is usually an afterthought and often just recieves a monotone color or mabey a small groundrow up light. ... My current production calls for one day look/one night look on the entire cyc. ...

A (semi-) famous lighting designer used to say, "A cyc IS NOT a football field," meaning the goal is not to create a uniform, homogeneous wash of light from top to bottom and left to right. He was legendary for adding Fresnels, Lekos, anything that would make light actually, in with the cyc lights. Try some soft- (or hard-) edged fixtures on side booms 2-3' DS of the edges. Focus the fixtures to just scrape or graze the cyc. Cloud gobos usually look dreadful and cartoonish when hard focused and dead on. Move the units to the sides and fuzz them out and they immediately become more interesting.

Just because the script calls for "one day look/one night look" doesn't mean the levels must remain static throughout the entire scene. Even if you're not using the cyc to realistically indicate the passage of time (sunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the days), long, slow fades are your friends. Clouds don't often stay in one place for very long. Perhaps, subconsciously, the skies grow darker as a storm approaches while the characters argue and get with each other. Another LD called these "me cues," as in only he will ever know or realize they are there. Almost like pulling one over on the audience, secretly manipulating their emotions by controlling light! Machiavelli would be proud.

Play with it; experiment. As long as you don't cause a distraction (or burn down the venue), you're doing it right.

 

[mstaylor]

There some good suggestions, wash your cyc as usual, then try differents things to break it up. It can be split gels, softened gobos. fresnels or small PARs from odd angles or even something with a scroller in it. Different instruments with different gels can be faded in and out or blended to make some interesting looks. What you are trying to avoid is a flat color, anything you do it from there is a personal choice and some experimentation. Don't forget side booms may help you.

 

[Les]

The GAM Film FX is a handly device for creating some movement on a cyc, be it rain, clouds, etc. Only problem was that I couldn't get the non-DMX version (whose speed is controlled by running it from a dimmer) to go slow enough for a realistic cloud look. I don't know if the DMX version is more precise... Of course, I was also controlling it via an analog American DJ dimmer board and dimmer pack. That could have been part (or most of) the issue.

 

[rochem]

Take a look at this link from Rosco. That should give you some good ideas for color and texture, and those images look pretty deep. Something that will really help give your sky extra depth is if you can put a black scrim just downstage of the cyc. This really does a great job at diffusing the light a bit, and you can add texture and some color onto the scrim itself to give the sky even more dimension.

I really like to use supplementary light from the sides whenever I can. Generally I'll hang a few source fours immediately downstage and offstage of the cyc on either side with some sort of soft gobo, like clouds or a natural breakup. I throw this almost fully out of focus, and because of the tiny angle it makes with the cyc, it just looks like little blotches of color when you focus and cue it correctly. A few of these run at low intensity will subtly break up a solid wall of color. I've also hung Pars on the same sidelight booms and just focused them across.

There's a large touring broadway show out that, in addition to having two groundrows and two overhead positions for the cyc, also has 30' of vertical S4 MultiPars and a dozen Source Fours with templates on either side of the stage, just to color and texture the cyc. And it looks amazing.

 

[Les]

Generally I'll hang a few source fours immediately downstage and offstage of the cyc on either side with some sort of soft gobo, like clouds or a natural breakup. I throw this almost fully out of focus, and because of the tiny angle it makes with the cyc, it just looks like little blotches of color when you focus and cue it correctly. A few of these run at low intensity will subtly break up a solid wall of color. I've also hung Pars on the same sidelight booms and just focused them across.

I have an LD friend who calls this "scraping" the cyc. I love the effect and use it whenever possible.

 

[kicknargel]

I worked in a theatre that had a deep lavender dichroic glass in one circuit of their ministrips. Makes a great vivid color you can't get from gel. Pricey of course, but lasts forever.

 

[Dreadpoet]

Thank you so much, I'll begin gathering supplies and experimenting in the next few weeks.