Lighting / set help please!!!

[ryan4023]

Hey everyone! I'm in charge of my alma maters annual fundraiser to help raise money for the fine arts department and need a little help with the set...First question is, what would be a cheap way of reproducing the ceiling in the image below?

And the second question is, what would be a cheap way of reproducing the back wall in the picture below?

 

[MarshallPope]

I'm thinking that your easiest/cheapest method would be to build a frame of 1x3s on end covered in white muslin stapled to the frame, with strips of 1" gaff outlining the boxes and hiding the seams.For a ceiling piece, it should hold square pretty well assuming that the hang points are distributed nicely. For a wall piece, you will want either some angled supports or ply triangles throughout where it won't block light. That's what I would do, at least. You will want muslin that is ifr or treated with fire retardant.

 

[tprewitt]

4X8 sheets of 1/4" plexi, cheap 2X4 florescent light lenses, all of it is going to be way more expensive and heavier to fly than Marshall's idea.

 

[gafftaper]

White Corrugated Plastic would be a great solution. It backlights really nicely. Check with your local plastic dealer for pricing on 4'x8' sheets of the stuff. "Coroplast" is the name brand version of this stuff but any corrugated plastic will do.

Be VERY careful about where you hang anything over the stage like that. IF you don't know what you are doing you can light stuff on fire. Plus you are hanging things over the stage which can fall and injure talent. So be really sure of your rigging. Unfortunately, I think that most solutions that will truly create that look are going to be out of your price range. Muslin is probably the only affordable way to do it but you'll have sag and frame stability issues.

 

[Traitor800]

I know I've suggested this before in another light box thread but my favorite material to use in light boxes is white shower curtain liners. You are a little limited on size because they only come in something like 60"x60" but they are dirt cheap, last time I used them they were $3 a piece from Walmart. The other nice thing about the shower curtain liners is that once stretched you can use a heat gun to remove wrinkles and tighten up the surface.

 

[gafftaper]

Great call Traitor! Shower curtains are a great affordable solution for this look, much better than muslin. Just be VERY careful about their proximity to the lights or you'll have liquid plastic dripping on your actors. Plexi or Corogated plastic will look better, but will cost a lot more. White Walmart shower curtains on a wooden frame is the way to go.

 

[sk8rsdad]

Unprinted Tyvek would work well, if you can find it. Local sign printing companies may have it for sale. It comes with an NFPA Class A fire rating and built-in diffusion.

 

[kicknargel]

As CB's #1 Coroplast evangelist, I'll second that. However, you don't want "white," you want "natural" (some call it "clear") which actually is more-or-less white, but is much more translucent than "white," which is mostly opaque. I get it for around $12/sheet at Piedmont Plastics.

Note that it is fairly flammable. They do make a FR version, which I've never priced out.