A Case Study: Moving Lights and Changing Colors On A Budget
by Karl Chmielewski

You need to design the moving light show without the money for moving lights, or create rock concert like movement and color that will be consistent every night on a shoe string budget. Sounds familiar? We've all had that challenge and have had to find ways to cut corners or sacrifice equipment for the sake of one idea or look. Such was the case when I was asked to design Disney's "High School Musical" at the Cohoes Music Hall.

For those who aren't familiar with the show, it's Disney's latest TV movie hit. There is such a demand for the show that Disney Theatrical Productions created a theatrical version through MTI. If you still haven't heard of it, go up to any person between the ages of 9-13 and ask them about it. The show is our youngest generation's answer to Grease or Fame. Much like its predecessors, the music of "High School Musical" reflects the modern day music of today's High School teenagers. Regardless of the attempts to give the theatrical release a more musical sounding score through the addition of new songs, "High School Musical" still carries a bubble gum pop sound. With this in mind, the decision was made to incorporate moving lights into the lighting rig.

After considerable debate about what would be in the best interest of the budget, design and ultimately the show the decision was made to go with Rosco's I-cue. Along with the I-cue the Wybron Coloram IT scroller was also chosen to work behind the I-cue giving the whole unit the ability to pan, tilt, and change color as needed.

In the end, ten 26 Degree Source Fours were out fitted with Wybron Coloram IT scrollers and I-cues. The whole rig proved affective. The I-cue is very reliable when it comes to speed and movement, you can program the movement to be as slow or fast as necessary. The smoothness also holds up in long pans and tilts where you'd usually have a steeping effect in other mirrored units. Also, cues that have a time of zero are zero, making bumps and fast transitions possible.

If you want to define the pan and tilt you can choose to operate in 8 bit or 16 bit mode, two channels of 8 bit (pan/tilt coarse) and 4 channels of 16 bit (pan/tilt coarse and fine). Unless you are using gobos that over lap or front projection that requires extreme accuracy, an 8 bit operation will be enough to do so. The difference of 1% for the I-cue is less than inches.

Overall the I-cue with scroller is an excellent option to moving lights. The flexibility of movement, color, and intensity is perfect when designing for any show or small venue and the tech time is extremely quick. Programming sub masters to represent pan, tilt, color and intensity of each unit is the fastest way to achieve this. It's inadvisable to waste time with setting up moving light preferences; these are best controlled on submasters and can just as easily be controlled on the track pads of most ETC boards.

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Karl Chmielewski designed the lighting for C-R Productions' Arts and Education Program's production of The Disney Channel's HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL. This production at the Cohoes Musical Hall in Cohoes, New York, featured over 40 High School Students from schools throughout the Capital Region of New York State.

Notes

Having used this rig on previous shows, I was used to the operation system and what problems to expect, but for those of you who aren't here are a few things to keep in mind:

Lamp choice: 575 vs. 750 Source Four

Though this will not affect the I-cue it will significantly affect the heat build up in the scroller. Because of the I-cue proximity to the scroller heat is reflected off the mirror and reflected back the scroller creating additional heat. It's highly recommended that each scroller receives cuts of heat shield or gold flex regardless of lamp type. With 750w lamps budget for extra scrolls as you will go through them during the course of a run.

Scroller Fan Speed

Again regardless of lamp type, any scroller used with this set up should operate on a normal or high fan speed. In cases where fan noise or light leaks are a consideration, still use the higher speed or be prepared to replace burnt out color scrolls.

General Maintenance

In the event that a color string needs to be replaced the mirror and scroller will need to both be removed from the instrument in order to service. To ensure that your focus will be the same I recommend that during the focus period a paper focus chart be used. A paint marker or grease pen can also be used to mark any yoke adjustments, shutter or focus knobs. The key is to create a system of markings so if the instrument falls out of focus or you need to perform maintenance work, you can easily return the light to its original focus.

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Disclaimer - Solutions offered here are offered as artistic concepts. We can not warrant that these solutions can be safely implemented in all facilities and circumstances. Ultimately, personnel onsite must be responsible for assuring that the solution and execution is appropriate and safe for the facility and persons involved.