Design What gels to use?

[Shawncfer]

So I need your opinion on two different gels. One is going to be in a single s4 point at an area. Its a special and will be the only light on at the time. The person in the scene will be standing against an old street lamp. Sorta like this one:

But it will be at night. So i want to give off a sense that only the lamp is producing this light. My idea of doing this is to get a low wattage bulb to put in the lamp and turn it on during the scene and maybe wrap the inside glass with this gel. Then have a s4 hitting that area with the same gel. First, is this a good way of doing it? And what kind of gel should I use.

The second is going to be a new york sky line gobo against a back curtain. I was thinking some kind of Amber, but not sure what kinda to go with.
Any ideas?

 

[thatactorguy]

What is the time period of the show? 1800s? The streetlights back then would've given off a yellowish light, so an amber could work.

We did a show several years ago where a streetlight was just visible to about 1/3 of the house. I mounted a coffee can light on a 10' 2x4 and gaff taped a small translucent Tupperware container to the business end of the can. I put a 100 watt household bulb in it and ran it at around 40%. It was an experiment that worked nicely. People wondered where I got a 10' streetlight until they went on the stage after the show and saw it up close. Fooled a bunch of folks

The point is, if you have time before opening, just get in there and try a few things That's how I learned a lot of what I know, by trying things and finding out what works and what doesn't...

On the NYC skyline- does it have to be a gobo? You might consider doing a luan cutout of a skyline, drill some holes to indicate windows, and put miniature Christmas lights in the holes. Play with levels until the "window lights" look believable, and hit it with a nighttime blue, like R68...

 

[MrsFooter]

If you're using a low wattage bulb, you shouldn't need any gel, as lamps at low intensity already tend to a on the warmer side, but if that's not giving you the look you want, try R99. It's a favorite of mine, because it's a warm color with a cool mood, if that makes sense.

As for the color for the skyline gobo, I'd think you could stick with either no color or a L202. I mean, you're already asking the audience to believe that the gobo against a drop is the New York skyline, so asking them to believe that the New York skyline is monochromatic shouldn't be too much further of a stretch.

 

[thatactorguy]

If you're using a low wattage bulb, you shouldn't need any gel, as lamps at low intensity already tend to a on the warmer side,

Thanks for addressing that, Mrs. Footer. I intended to mention it when I replied, but it was late and my brain had already gone to bed. I've found that running a lamp, whether a 100w incandescent in a coffee can or a 575w through a Source four jr at less than full often gives a more believable effect, as the light is softer and doesn't try to take over the scene with its intensity...

try R99. It's a favorite of mine, because it's a warm color with a cool mood, if that makes sense.

I love that gel! I discovered it a few years ago when I lit It's A Wonderful Life and during the part where George was never born. It looked very nice, and was a good contrast from the R33 used in the rest of the show...

 

[Shawncfer]

On the NYC skyline- does it have to be a gobo? You might consider doing a luan cutout of a skyline, drill some holes to indicate windows, and put miniature Christmas lights in the holes. Play with levels until the "window lights" look believable, and hit it with a nighttime blue, like R68...

I've done it as a cutout before and I like it alot better. My only problem and the reason Im using a gobo is there is no budget for this production. The high school I graduated from has had a couple actors graduate who've gone off and been pretty successful. Well, every summer and winter, they put together a small black box show with $0 budget, and all the money they make goes to fund a scholarship program for the upcomming graduates. All the lead roles being played by the adults and everything. And this year they want to do RENT. Now Im primarily a lighting person (studying lighting design in college and all), But I'm the only person who has some knowledge in the field of technical theatre that they know that will do a show for free. So I was asked to be the technical director of the show. So Im designing set, lights, and sound. Now Im pretty good with sound as well. Especially for what I'm going to do. But set... I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IM DOING. Luckily one of the actors in the shows father is a contractor, and it's rubbed off on his son. So I'm showing him what I want, and hes going to build it in our shop. The lamp post (maybe not in the right time period) I was going to use just to resemble being outside on the street for various parts. What do yall thank of that?

 

[thatactorguy]

I've done it as a cutout before and I like it alot better. My only problem and the reason Im using a gobo is there is no budget for this production. The high school I graduated from has had a couple actors graduate who've gone off and been pretty successful. Well, every summer and winter, they put together a small black box show with $0 budget, and all the money they make goes to fund a scholarship program for the upcomming graduates. All the lead roles being played by the adults and everything. And this year they want to do RENT. Now Im primarily a lighting person (studying lighting design in college and all), But I'm the only person who has some knowledge in the field of technical theatre that they know that will do a show for free. So I was asked to be the technical director of the show. So Im designing set, lights, and sound. Now Im pretty good with sound as well. Especially for what I'm going to do. But set... I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IM DOING. Luckily one of the actors in the shows father is a contractor, and it's rubbed off on his son. So I'm showing him what I want, and hes going to build it in our shop. The lamp post (maybe not in the right time period) I was going to use just to resemble being outside on the street for various parts. What do yall thank of that?

The black box program to raise scholarship money is a fantastic idea! I hope it goes well.

Do you volunteer at local community theatres as well? Great place to learn, and there are probably some people with construction experience volunteering at those very theatres; check them out, and you can start learning construction as well

I can think of a couple of immediate options if you want to go the cutout route: 1) Go to a Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, any place that sells appliances and get a refrigerator box. Paint it black, cut out the skyline, make the window holes, and make a small jack to hold it up so NYC doesn't faceplant in the middle of the show.

2) The father who is a contractor- see if he will donate a sheet of luan and have him make the cutout. Paint it black, etc...

In zero budget shows especially, one bit of advice: borrow, Borrow, BORROW! You can borrow mini Christmas lights, for example.

You haven't said anything about the space in which you're working- size, height, wings or not- but it sounds like you have a good basic crew. If you can recruit actor's siblings, parents, or responsible and not-too-young children, you can round out your crew. You're already the TD, and you might have to take on SM duties as well. Teach someone to run the lights and sound, coordinate the scene changes, and you will have built yourself a heck of a spot on a resume...

Break A Leg!

 

[Shawncfer]

Thanks so much!

I'll actually be running the light board, I have another girl on soundboard, I dont have an open dimmer for christmas lights (which one way or another I'm going to us) so I'll have a person back stage plugging and unplugging the lights, and that should be it.

I don't know the measurments of the space but I'm going tomorrow and I can take some pictures and measure and post all that tomorrow. It has an audience on two sides of the space on risers. And it has curtains all around the other two sides. And a Follow spot in the middle of the risers.

 

[MrsFooter]

I'm sure this is said unnecessarily, but...

I know this sounds like an impossible task: doing scenery in an odd space on zero budget with only volunteers when you don't traditionally do scenery. But really, you've got a golden opportunity here. Some of the best design I've ever seen has come out of found space theatre that was created out of coffee cans, 60w light bulbs, duct tape, and 6' of tie line. Working without a budget in an odd space forces you to work outside what you know, and think about new solutions to problems that never existed before. So don't try to recreate what you've done before; do something new! Have fun with it! Do something totally wild and out there, make the audience go "huh?" Besides, Footer and I both agree that sometimes you learn the most by being thrown head first into who-knows-what and being forced to learn how to swim in what turns out to be butterscotch pudding.

Moral of the story is have fun with it, and we'd love to see some pictures when you're done.