LED costumes

[deselby]

Hi,
I work in lighting and optics and do a bit of amateur dramatics in my spare time and I've been given an opportunity to combine my job and my hobby. The wardrobe mistress in my local amdram group needs to design some angel costumes for our next production and wants them to glow with light. (Think of the bedsheets in the Olympic opening ceremony, although she had the idea before she saw that.) I was thinking of doing this using white LEDs with some sort of diffuser/microlens arrangement. Does anybody have any suggestions for a good LED/diffuser arrangement? The light output has to look smooth and even, it mustn't look like a Christmas tree, and the costume needs to be light enough for someone to move in it.

 

[derekleffew]

Perhaps something from this recent thread: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/special-effects/28553-putting-leds-into-costumes.html .

...The light output has to look smooth and even, it mustn't look like a Christmas tree, and the costume needs to be light enough for someone to move in it.

Maybe EL wire or panels would be better suited than LEDs.

 

[blackisthenewblack]

EL wire is an interesting beast, in that it is lower light output than LEDs, so if the room isn't very dark, or the audience is a distance away, you lose a lot of the spectacle. You also are unable to bend it around a flexible joint, such as knees and elbows without it breaking. If all you want is bright white, you can get some very dense strands of LEDs (think 15-20 mm pixles). If you want, try sliding it in a clear plastic tubing and rough up the surface with some sandpaper and viola, it is more durable as well. Look specifically at the lighting bolts on this costume

 

[deselby]

The LED tubes arrangement isn't quite what I'm after. Think of a traditional angel costume, a long flowing robe but no wings. Underneath the robe you would have a light source of some sort. All those tubes might make the costume a bit heavy and awkward. EL wire or tape looks like a better idea, but we might struggle to accommodate that in our budget. How much does a strip of very dense LEDs cost?

 

[Beans45601]

El wire is great and very cheap, I use it in costumes and in set pieces sometimes. However, you have to keep in mind that all power supplies for EL wire make a high pitched whining noise. In the childrens theater I work in, I am youngest on staff by 30+ years and I am the only one who can hear it. But you can bet all the kids hear it! We ended up stuffing the power supply in several layers of socks, which made it very bulky. Everyone in the theater thought I was insane because I kept complaining about this sound no one else could hear. Other than that, the stuff is great, if not a bit delicate.

 

[blackisthenewblack]

The dense style cost about $25/m, getting cheaper with the more you buy. To get an apparent lightness, you can also try sticking some decent gauge solid wire behind the tape to give it structure.

 

[deselby]

Ok, I'll have a look around for some LEDs. My current thinking is to try some narrow EL tape, with reflective material as the bottom layer of the garment and a diffusing white material on top. Hopefully this will create a diffuse glow, without the expense of using entire EL panels. It doesn't have to be very bright, just a gentle glow.

 

[SanTai]

If you have a tight budget. Take a look at this:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvDxsnZ96wo

Very simple, but a very nice effect.

 

[deselby]

Very impressive. How did they do that? Are they being lit from underneath?