Design Input/Ideas on achieving a Door Closing Effect with light

[Joshbaugh]

Hey Guys,
So I am working on a abstract version of A Christmas Carol and want to achieve the effect of a door of light closing by itself. So the we see the spill of light from an open door then we see it close after the actors "pass" through.

I am wresting with how to pull this off correctly. I have played with the idea of possibly a door gobo and dmx iris, Gam Film effects loup, if they make one, or building a rig for barndoors. I just dont know if they will give me the effect i want.

All input would be great

Thanks

-Josh

 

[shiben]

Use a moving head with programmable shutters. Slide the shutter representing the "door" cut on the shadow in while the light is slowly dimming, then as it becomes a sliver, douse it.

 

[chausman]

Or if you don't have a moving head with shutters...

Make a miniature door and wall, that you can actually close, that creates a shadow on the stage floor. Put it backstage and put a fixture behind it, and shutter it so there is no spill.

 

[Joshbaugh]

The Difficulty lies in the fact that i need the fixtures to be in the catwalks over the house, not back stage. I thought about using moving heads, however i need to duplicate the effect three times or so (budget won't allow me to rent three moving heads).

Do you guys think its possible to create a mini door rig in place of the gel frame, that will give me the effect?

 

[kicknargel]

Creating something in front of the light may work, but won't be fully in focus. Best would be an effect in the gobo slot (focal point). Perhaps you could make a custom filmFX loop that did the job, or take the light apart, and build a custom shutter rigged to a servo motor. Or. . .if it's a catwalk could someone just be up there to operate the shutter?

 

[shiben]

The Difficulty lies in the fact that i need the fixtures to be in the catwalks over the house, not back stage. I thought about using moving heads, however i need to duplicate the effect three times or so (budget won't allow me to rent three moving heads).

what do you mean? Just get one and point it different places. thus the "Moving" bit on there. Have it swing to the next spot and tweak the previous cue to make it work again. You need one unless the only spot to mount it is obstructed in some way.

 

[kiwitechgirl]

what do you mean? Just get one and point it different places. thus the "Moving" bit on there. Have it swing to the next spot and tweak the previous cue to make it work again. You need one unless the only spot to mount it is obstructed in some way.

Or, unless the light needs to come from a completely different angle for each door...can you go with chausman's suggestion, but hang the doors from the catwalks and rig something clever with fishing line and pulleys to allow a stagehand somewhere to close the door remotely?

 

[shiben]

Or, unless the light needs to come from a completely different angle for each door...can you go with chausman's suggestion, but hang the doors from the catwalks and rig something clever with fishing line and pulleys to allow a stagehand somewhere to close the door remotely?

And like the tired idiot I am I didnt think of that... I guess the real thing might be KISS?

 

[Les]

If you do, build those shutters out of sheet steel or aluminum .

 

[LiveCommander]

Hey Guys,
So I am working on a abstract version of A Christmas Carol and want to achieve the effect of a door of light closing by itself. So the we see the spill of light from an open door then we see it close after the actors "pass" through.

How about using a DLP or LCD projector to project whatever kind of 'light door' animation you want? Shouldn't cost that much to rent one if you don't have one in your inventory.

Point it to a movable mirror (or a scan perhaps) to project in different places if the projection beam is too narrow to simply display the animation at all the required locations.

 

[chausman]

How about using a DLP or LCD projector to project whatever kind of 'light door' animation you want? Shouldn't cost that much to rent one if you don't have one in your inventory.

That would have to be a very powerful projector. Projector x3 if he needs it in three different places in one show, that cant be reached from one single location.

 

[dgoodmanedberg]

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but I'm curious.
What did you end up going with? I'm attempting to create the same effect on a production right now, but we don't have the budget for renting a mover with shutters. I'd prefer for it to not be a manually operated system since (ideally) the "door" would appear to open and close very smoothly, but if need be we could go with that. Was the film fx idea possible?

 

[jstandfast]

Some kind of gag with an indexing rotator ?

 

[theatricalmatt]

It wouldn't be difficult to handle the effect with a DMX projector dowser. You might need to create a hanging support for it (so it rotates through the proper plane) and a custom shutter for it, but it's an off-the-shelf element that does what you want.

I believe Apollo also makes a fixture accessory that moves a template vertically (or horizontally), which sounds like it might do the trick.