Library: Tips and Tricks

Library

Tips and tricks

Show control
Hardware
and software
solutions.

DMX world
About DMX,
lamps and
gobos.

T ips&tricks
Some lighting
know how.

Toughts
The impact
of lighting.

LanBox
Just the
facts.

Fixtures
Examples
of modern
fixtures.

Lighting
Some
practical
tips.

The world of light and magic
The world of light magic is enchanting, a wonderful place to visit. Watching a light show it may seem so simple; lots of light, lots of colors and you'll get an amazing spectacle. Sorry to wake you up, it doesn't work that way! Magic is an art of subtilities, details and restraints. Subtile light effects generate more impact than major light chaos. Details like, moving the object you want to light a few inches can have a dramatic effect on the display. Restraint is needed to work with the sheer infinite possibilities presented by the modern lighting devices.

Color
Colors make your world of light come to life. Colors set the mood of a display. Creating the right colors for any setting is among the most difficult aspects of creating a light show. Remember, subtility, detail and restraint will be our guides trough the world of color.

Use white light and add some color
Never use too much color. As stated, color can set the mood, the atmosphere of a display. Use to many colors and you'll end up with a confusing mixture of moods, not what you had in mind, right! Start your lighting with only white lights. White is a neutral color and will mix with any mood. Make sure you have arranged the object you want to light before you add color. Now add some color, start with only onecolor from one light.

Consider the setup displayed in the picture above. Here we have an object lighted by two lights. Always have one light in front of the object and one light behind it. The front light should be kept white, while the back light can be given a color. With the backlight you can set the mood, the front light makes sure everyone can see the object.

Creating underwater effects on an object

The underwater effect is a very strange looking effect. Watching it creates the impression that you are looking at an aquarium. To achieve this effect you need to mount a e.g. Roboscan Pro 518 above the object. Select the gobo with random strokes (see picture on the right) and select the prism effect. Use the color 'cyan light blue' (dual color) for realistic underwater effect.

Lighting rules

Never use to much color. Use white as the base and add subtle colors.
If you use multiple lights on one object, use different positions on your lights.
You have the best results if you put colored lights on the back and white lights on the front.
If you want to avoid having shades on your object, try two lights on the front from a different position.

Creating background colors with your scanner
Scanners in general are not designed to create smooth background colors. The Robocolor Pro 400 is designed to do just that. But what if you have only a scanner to work with? Here are some tricks to solve that problem:

1- If your background is very small, you should try the frost filter (can be found in the effect wheel). This will produce a more smooth beam simulating a flood fill. Make sure that you have selected the open gobo.

2- For a larger background, try the prism effect (also in the effect wheel). This will tripple the light beam, creating a wide beam.