I've got some
I-Cue units coming in and I'm wondering how most people mount them. For me, they're going on lekos that sit above the mid
house, I haven't seen examples in this position, just ones mount above the
stage.
Should I
point the lekos toward the side then use the mirrors to bring the beam back toward the
stage, or mount the lekos pointing down or maybe up or...
There is no one and only CORRECT answer, let's just say it depends. If
FOH is an enclosed ceiling
cove with
catwalk, you may not have the clearance to hang the
ellipsoidal facing down and still shoot the beam out over the
edge and towards the
stage. If the
FOH pipes are just that, open pipes suspended from the ceiling with access via lift,
boom or ladder, straight down MAY be an option. If the
FOH pipes are exposed but the ceiling is low, or the raked seating is high, hanging the
ellipsoidal facing down MAY lead to clearance issues with tall patrons &/or annoying teenagers trying to prove they're Mr. Macho as they leap to whack your mirror. Having said all that, facing MOST ellipsoidals straight down often equates to the lamp and
socket being subjected to even more heat.
Moving on. With a single
unit, I've mounted the
fixture facing sideways on an
FOH pipe such that the
center line of the mirror is on the
center line of the
stage /
auditorium placing the apparent
center line of the source on the
center line of the space. When using two units, I've hung them
face to
face on either side of center such that the pair of mirrors are as close to each other, and to the
center line, as possible. I do this in an effort to have them both occupy the exact same space which, of course, is impossible. By doing this, it works quite well for those times when you want a full body shot
in one color, and a half body in a second color, both
tracking the same performer. You can always
play address assignment games to swap pan and tilt, or mirror
image pan &/or tilt to keep the direction movement of the actual beam from 'messing with your mind'.
Optimistically I haven't caused too much confusion.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
