Conventional Fixtures SkyCyc RGB?

Dreadpoet

Active Member
Is there anyone out there that attempts to do something much akin to altmans 4 unit sky-cyc with rgb that is not led or otherwise weak? I want to light my cyc wall (roughly 25'wX16'h) from 8-9' out. Currently in place, which is old and I did not do it :p is a line of scoops with rgb and I am currently thinking to get a few sky-cyc's from altman that I can throw RGB+Frost to attempt most colors...but thought it would be cool to attempt color matching from my console. I know many led strips do color maching, but they will be far to weak for my purposes. so...are there any strips or halogen lamp based instruments that attempt rgb color mixing that are effective?
 
There is no reason why you can not do color mixing with RGB cyc lights. Depending on your console, it is possible to patch the cyc as an generic RGB unit. I have done this with my magic Q, it works, is not great, but it works. I think it is a bit more trouble then its worth. Because the console really has no clue whats connected, the colors it picks are guesses at best.
 
The point of an RGB skycyc is the color mix. Add Amber since it is hard to mix.

Mike
 
perhaps I should be clearer. I am wanting to use the colormix option on my congo Jr. which allows me to point at a color and the cyc light attempt to match that color...much as using any paint program on the computer.
 
perhaps I should be clearer. I am wanting to use the colormix option on my congo Jr. which allows me to point at a color and the cyc light attempt to match that color...much as using any paint program on the computer.

Yes, you can patch your cyc lights as an RGB fixture and control them with the color picker. You then have to gel the fixtures with R, G and B gels. As has been said, when you create fixtures like this, the color matching is only so-so as opposed to real color-mixing fixtures that have defined values.
 
Make your old cyc lights smart?

I was looking at my cyc lights, old 3 cell units, and talking to my TD about led options, and we thought... "If you can put a colorblazer or other simple led strip light up there, patch it into your board (Ion in this case), and then choose the color (approximately of course) from the little color wheel widget... Why can't we do the same thing with our old conventional cyc lights?" Having each set of 3 cyc lights in the board as one instrument would make tons of sense for general wash purposes and really take advantage of the capabilities of the board. Of course the range of color and intensity wouldn't compare with leds... but the point is that we have this equipment already, it's not about the leds so much as making the old instruments more functional and interactive with the Ion. Is there a way to do this right now with the Ion, or does the software just not bend that way? Does this make sense to anyone else, or am I just being delusional?
 
Re: Make your old cyc lights smart?

I imagine you could make your own profile with 3 channels of control and just make sure the channels include the dmx address of your cyc light dimmers. As far as a light console is concerned it just sends out data unless you're using network functionality, it's up to the instrument to determine what to do with that data.

With DMX it sends out a value for 512 addresses every 30th of a second or so, the dimmer or intelligent system take that info and put it to use.
 
Re: Make your old cyc lights smart?

Above two posts have been moved here from another location.

See also
Cyc Programming - Electronic Theatre Controls
Cyc RGB fixture - Electronic Theatre Controls
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting-electrics/23885-palette-color-picker-rgb-cycloramas.html
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting-electrics/21655-rgb-mixing-quick-reference.html

From the thread http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting-electrics/14862-rgb-cyc.html , and worth repeating here, I feel:
... If you are using one of the latest generation consoles (Ion, Palette et al) you can create an RGB(A) fixture that is your cyc. It will behave like a single unit and the console will handle the color mixing for you. This means that you can call up the whole cyc as "Channel 100".
I vehemently oppose this concept, especially for a student.

I often read on other forums (even here: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting/12913-skycyc-rgb.html) where someone is asking how to do this, and it's obvious that the poster doesn't know anything about color mixing in the first place. Lighting Designers have been additively color mixing for over 100 years, and is a skill that should be encouraged through experimentation. The last thing we need is a generation of designers who don't know that red and green make amber. Plus, although I've never done it, I suspect the results will be less than satisfactory, as the (non-manufacturer specific) console has no idea if you're using R27/R80/R91, R26/R68/R90, or some other combination.

When the VL5 first came out, I had quite the argument with an Artisan operator on an IA show, who didn't know how to subtractively mix. Had another programmer been available, he would have been replaced.
 
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Re: Make your old cyc lights smart?

Thank you derekleffew!!! I know what I'm going to be doing tomorrow.
 

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