Design Recreating the glow of a television

[LightingPenguin]

How can I go about recreating the glow of a television from inside the set/wood box, if I can't use a real television and I have no dimming options? I have basically no budget (read: none) to do this, so cheap as possible would be nice.

And no, I do not know why we cannot use a real television. That would be far too smart of the director.

Thanks

 

[CBR372]

Place something like a par can or a fresnel in the box with a sheet of diffusion on the screen of the box and the instrument. Then when programming give it a flicker effect. I know Strand has that as one of it's effects on it's Palette series consoles.
What kind of console do you have?

 

[derekleffew]

A real TV would probably not provide a realistic enough effect!

Color or B/W TV? Back in the dark ages, I used a couple of these mixed in with some "always on" 60W bulbs in random colors. I think the "flash buttons" used to be $1.49.

FB2008 Light Socket Continuous Flasher Button 60W Max, 120V Socket

A classic method to create a fire or flicker effect is to wire some of the lamps in series with a fluorescent starter: Simple light bulb flasher (note European instructions given).

 

[NickJones]

If they don't want to run power to the TV due to saftey concerns this option would probably need power too. CBR372 mentioned the lights inside a TV, just create a chase that runs the selected light at varying percentages.
Nick

 

[FatherMurphy]

I had to do this once for a production of 'Buried Child', and just to make it extra fun, the director had a character blocked to roll the set from one side of the stage to the other, so hard wiring it to dimmers wasn't an option. Ended up using a motorcycle battery, some MR16 lamps, the flourescent starters mentioned above, and an RC aircraft servo as an on/off switch.

One reason just using a real TV might not work is that you wouldn't be able to easily cue it, there'd always be a lag time as you faded it up and down, or if just left on, it'd cast a blue glow into your blackouts.

If you've got the dimmers and console capability, using three small fixtures would be one approach, one as a constant on, and two set to separate, slow, on/off chases. Setting the speeds of the two chases at different rates will give you a version of the random flicker of a real TV.