Design Movie theater looking lighting for musical

[curt410]

Hey all! I'm new to CB so bare with me here.
In our current musical the cast is sitting as if they were all in a movie theater watching a scary film. They all face the house and look towards the catwalk at the back. The director has asked for some kind of projector looking beam to reflect off of the mid traveler during the scene. I was thinking a unfocused gobo rotater, but not sure how that would work. Any ideas??

 

[icewolf08]

Hey all! I'm new to CB so bare with me here.
In our current musical the cast is sitting as if they were all in a movie theater watching a scary film. They all face the house and look towards the catwalk at the back. The director has asked for some kind of projector looking beam to reflect off of the mid traveler during the scene. I was thinking a unfocused gobo rotater, but not sure how that would work. Any ideas??

A gobo rotator is certainly not a bad solution. I am pretty sure we have discussed this before, so a search may help you as well.

You may also think about doing a flicker wheel, which is basically a slotted disk on a motor that you put in front of the lens of the fixture to create a flicker effect. It is the kind of thing you could build yourself if you are up to it. Of course the simplest solution is to just write an effect that makes the light change intensities at random rates and fade times. You are just looking to make some kind of abstract look that suggest movie. If the director wants to see the beam in the air, then you will need a haze machine.

 

[derekleffew]

http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/special-effects/28248-movie-theater-projection-effect.html
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting-electrics/9911-pulsing-s4-movie-effect.html
among others.

 

[Lou9x9]

loberster scope bro. or an FX loop. both are so pricy it's unfair but still look into them.

 

[Lou9x9]

THEY ARE TOO EXPENSIVE!!! ARGH!!

 

[Tex]

Ah, 13. Fun show.
Why not just use a projector and make your own FX loop with a video camera? Throw it out of focus and you'll still get the flickering light on faces without seeing what the image is. I've also done a TV effect with an LED by setting the colors at 50% and using bump buttons to create the flicker. It worked very well.

 

[JLicklider]

Here's one option that doesn't require any cue fx programming, might work on a non-dim circuit too.
http://www.faketv.com/
A small led box to mimic the light from a TV in your house while you're away. Might be a possible solution for you. Not sure how real it will look on a stage though.

@joeylicklider

 

[jbilyj]

My HS just did 13 last year and the LD's solution to this as to just use the LED pars they had sitting just in front of the stage from either side and then just create a dimming and flicking effect. Looked pretty good in the end.

 

[BobHealey]

Silly idea, but if the space allows for it, and you have a non-dim circuit available, what about finding an old 16mm movie projector and rigging that up to point where you need?

 

[hobbsies]

Silly idea, but if the space allows for it, and you have a non-dim circuit available, what about finding an old 16mm movie projector and rigging that up to point where you need?

we did this, and it worked extremely well. Also was nice to have as a prop since the audience could "see" the film source (though we used a projector from the grid to display the actual movie, the 16mm projector was at eye level). Replacing the lamp in that thing was a fun project when it went out eventually (over a hundred performances in).