Why do we have 3 different size Ellipsodials?

[CSCTech]

Hello all,

Well, moving lights are done for the next show.
Whilst cleaning the storage room I found a booklet much the same as the other three we have, "Lighting System Operation Manual", "i96 Dimmer Rack Maintenance Guide", "Status 24/48 User Manual", and now to add to the collection one titled "Dimming System". I was flipping through this book and basicly all it is is states what we purchased on instalation of the TV Studio and the Auditorium.
So looking at the first page, It talks about the lighting fixtures bought for the Auditorium,

ex.

Model Qty Name
................4...............8 Inch Theatre Fresnel
.................4...............Safety Cable
.................4...............C-Clamp
.................4................---Watt Lamp

etc etc.

So There is a separate section for our Colortran 5/50 Ellipsoidal.
It has three sub sections after reading it, I found our why in the world the beam of light from one of our ellipsoidal was not the same as the others and so on. Which was getting me quit confused the week earlier when moving said ellipsoidal, all shutters out, focused the same, minuscule different through difference.
Because, we have
10 40 degrees
4 30 degrees
and 2 20 Degrees

I do not know the reasoning behind why we would purchase three different size lights for or FOH Spots, make it quit hard to focus them, plus we need a ladder to do it in the first place!
And they are in no particular order,
I was thinking maybe it was intended to be hung like this?

2 30 30 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 30 30 20

Is there method to this madness?

Maybe over the years former TDs moved these lights for some reason? Kind of like our Electrics, they werent intended to be re-hung, you can tell because, we have three three channel border lights and in three places around the electrics there are three pigtails very close to each other and whatnot, but we got a bit more envolved with it so they get moved around.

Anyways,
If someone could just tell me why someone would do this and if there is any special order the lights should be in that would be great!

And if it helps, we have a Proscenium theatre with the stage coming out a few feet from the opening.

 

[Les]

This is pretty standard. Rarely, if ever, will a theatre have ellipsoidals in only one degree. This is for efficiency and control. For longer throws or tighter specials, why use a shuttered down wide angle ellipsoidal, which will waste light and appear more dim, when you can use a narrower degree and get more punch and control (not to mention fewer shutter cuts)?

There is no specific "order", persay. The wider ellipsoidals (40* in your case) should be focused to the closer areas downstage, while the tighter beam ellipsoidals (20*, 30*) should ideally be focused to the upstage areas. Particular order doesn't matter as long as you have the correct angles and throw distances.

There are also more reasons and uses for different degree ellipsoidals when you throw gobos in to the mix. When working with patterns, choosing the correct degree for your application becomes more critical.

Why they chose ten 40's, four 30's and two 20's is beyond me; all I can tell you is that from experience, the quantity of each degree you end up with is usually seemingly random. After all, they don't know how you plan to design in your space. They probably intended on you using the 30's and 40's for your area plot and threw in the 20's for those instances where you need a tighter beam of light. However, even for the smallest practical area plot of nine areas, two front lights per, this is not enough. Ideally, you would have the ability to have two front lights per fifteen areas (three rows of five) and still have some instruments left over for specials. This adds up to over thirty ellipsoidals though as opposed to your sixteen. Also, they should have purchased more than four fresnels. That's not much to play with (unless you were just paraphrasing the list and you actually have more). I would have spec'd nine for the MINIMUM nine area plot, fifteen if I could, ideally more. You usually want one top light per area and that's not taking in to consideration backlighting, sidelighting, etc. On the topic of front lights, you can do one front light per area, but it is not ideal.

 

[CSCTech]

Maybe I have trouble because I am focusing while the curtain is closed? So I can see what it looks like on the curtain?
My main problem was that I need to make a sub so certain lights are dimmer then another because the tighter beams are like you say, brighter and visibly round onstage while at the same degree as the others. And the huge thing I have with them is that with the 40 degrees it is very hard to keep the beams within the perimeters, so it isn't on the top fringe or off the stage.

 

[Javert]

Because, we have
10 40 degrees
4 30 degrees
and 2 20 Degrees

...

I was thinking maybe it was intended to be hung like this?

20 30 30 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 30 30 20

Is there method to this madness?

http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibcG...=7.kXoQ-SMlIZK5Tcz185CA&label=IBE&appName=IBE

With the Colortran 5/50 line you can change the beamspread. It's a matter of opening up the barrel and moving the lens to the specified slot for your desired field. Thus, what your inventory says are a particular beamspread may or may not actually be that anymore - a previous Lx crew may have changed them.

It all depends on what you want to do for a particular show, and on what your throw distances are. For example, if you just want a general FOH wash, and isolation of areas is not a huge concern (this is probably most of the time, for concerts and the like) you'll probably want to set most or even all of them to 40 degrees. This will make blending areas much easier, and get the job done with fewer instruments. (You may see a slight loss of intensity, but just how bright do you really need your apron?)

Perhaps you could set up a rep plot with a wash composed of 40 degree fixtures, and, say, a center spot and side spots in 20 or 30 degree fixtures. Again, it all depends on what you want it to look like, and how important isolation is compared to blending.

By the way, when you say "border light" do you mean striplight?

 

[Les]

Maybe I have trouble because I am focusing while the curtain is closed?

Usually, the way the light looks on the grand drape will be the least of your concerns, unless you are focusing for some type of presentation. How many shows do you do that take place entirely in front of your grand drape? When you focus your areas, you want to focus them on your stage, not the drape, as it is not an accurate gauge of how well-lit the rest of your stage will be. In a standard McCandless fashion, you will want to focus areas which are about 8-10' diameter in about 3-5 rows left to right, and about 3-4 rows high (upstage). You want to focus them with someone standing in the center of the area (arms up and out, usually a 'jumping jack' pose) so you can get them completely lit. You will most likely need to make shutter cuts, and soften the edges - run the barrel out. This will look ugly on the grand drape, but usually this is countered by removing (lowering the intensities of) the upstage areas for those times when the curtain is closed, so that you have only the downstage row of areas lit. You will likely have a better look that way (the downstage areas probably won't require such extreme shutter cuts, resulting in a rounder, more pleasing edge), if you are concerned with how your drape looks.

 

[CSCTech]

Javert,
Wow thanks, I never knew I could simply open up the fixture and mvoe it back a slot or forward. Is this an easy thing to do? I know our Fresnels have a knob that moves the entire dish and lamp back and forth making the spread larger or smaller.
And know that I know this I might do like you say, When I though all the lights where the same, I was going to have it so One was on the main drape, then the next overlapping a bit of the previous one but mostly on the floor, then the next on the drape overlapping the previous slightly and so on. But when we got to it it didnt work out right with the different angles. So if it is easy to do I will make them all 40 or 30 and do it like described.

Les
Surprisingly a lot and it is our curtain warmer to have the FOH spots on in a nice array, And besides cocnerts we onyl ever use the front half, (downstage?) of the stage, the midway is always closed. My setup right now is the foh spots lined up on the grand drape and the above lighting in sections and then using two Cycs to light the midway traveler, using the traveler for a Cyc in the next production, and might look nice for dance recitals. And even if there is more where it is not just infront of the curtain, there oens there are would look very messy would they not?
We have a fairly large area infront of the opening.

 

[CSCTech]

Javert, Thank you for that link! I am printing it out.

And when I said Border Light, I used to say strip Light as well, but Border Light is what it is called in our booklet. And on the fixture itself, although oddly it has no indication of Lee, Leviton, or Colortran on it. It just says Border Light, but it is in our book.

 

[Les]

Javert, Thank you for that link! I am printing it out.

And when I said Border Light, I used to say strip Light as well, but Border Light is what it is called in our booklet. And on the fixture itself, although oddly it has no indication of Lee, Leviton, or Colortran on it. It just says Border Light, but it is in our book.

Both terms are generally interchangeable, but 'striplights' could mean a lot of things to different people. For example, belt lights, rope lights, etc could all be defined as striplights.

Borderlights are so-called because they are usually hung upstage of borders (teasers, tormenters). When you place a borderlight on the ground to uplight a cyc or use as footlights, they are no longer technically 'borderlights' but both terms are acceptabe.