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WELCOME
TO DAVE'S WORLD OF LIGHT & SOUND
AN
ILLUMINATING TALE by Dave Collins
It
was quite simple really. "Now that we have a stage, can you
light it?" This was asked of me quite casually after I had
already spent some time working on the theatre electrics. The challenge
was too good to miss. There were a few problems such as lack of
money to buy much equipment, and a very small area to work in (large
stages are far easier to light?. We did have some lanterns donated
by a member, plus other assorted and old lanterns acquired by various
means, but not much else. So where do we start? First of all, the
design had to be easy to use and adaptable to make the best use
of the limited equipment available. The word lantern is used to
cover all types of theatre lights.
These
can be divided in to six main groups.
The
Flood Light
A
non-focusing lantern giving a wide covering of light. The only adjustment
is angle and masking with a shutter or Barn Door.
Fresnel
Lanterns
Named
after its French inventor these have a thin convex lens giving
a diffused light that can be focussed onto a specific area
by moving the bulb and reflector inside the casing, and shaped
by the Barn Door shutters.
Spotlights
A
lantern that gives a beam of light that can be focussed. On some
models shaped by internal shutters.
Profile
Spots
Similar
to the above but with the ability to project a pattern or words
through a metal cut out or GOBO
Follow
Spot
Larger
version of a Profile with an iris and blackout facility which can
be moved to follow performers on stage.
Cans
Becoming
more popular and consisting of a metal tube housing a sealed
headlight type bulb called a P.A.R giving a bright, non-adjustable
beam.
We
started with 10 assorted lanterns and now have a stock consisting
of 2 triple and 2 single floods, 8 Fresnel, 11 spotlights, 1 follow
spot, and 4 P.A.R. cans, giving us a total of 33 lanterns with a
loading of 183 kw or 80 amps.
Now,
how do we position or rig and control all this?
Each
lantern is plugged into a 15 amp socket which is wired back to the
main board situated on stage right.
I
have so far installed 38 out lets, 19 being above the stage, 5 on
the side walls of the stage, 4 on the floor and 10 front of
stage. 10 of these are paired so that we have 28 plugs to
fit in to the dimmers. we have 2 dimmer packs, giving us 12
pairs of sockets. Each pair is called a channel and all that
needs to be done is decide which lanterns you want to come
on together and plug them in to the same channel. Easy isn't
it? Each channel is fused separately and each dimmer is fed
by its own main circuit breaker, plus a circuit breaker for
the additional outlets on the technician's gallery.
The
dimmers are controlled from the technicians gallery by a 12-way
control deck, each channel having 2 sliders so when one is in use
the other can be preset for the next scene. Each bank of 12 sliders
has a master fader and timer. plus a flash button. We also have
a 3-way independent dimmer pack on the technicians gallery to
operate the follow spot and any other effects spots.
Each
lantern is hung on a special bracket and secured with a safety chain.
They can also accommodate a colour frame into which you can
fix coloured gels for effects. These are made of special material
to withstand the very high temperatures.
We
now have a reasonable working system that should cover a variety
of different productions. Lighting technology is advancing at a
rapid rate and the design/technician can achieve wonders if the
finance is available. Our future developments will be to replace
some of our older stock and maybe buy another dimmer pack.
Well, there's no harm in dreaming!
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