Hi guys,
I am working in finland at the moment and am having problems with lighting and positioning with this! I really wanted it in for tommorrows show but its not gonna happen!!!!
I am getting an obvious shadow on the back cloth caused by the light and can't come any further forward due to bad angles!!!
If any of you have used this or any other similar, any solutions to making this look natural would be much apreciated!
Thanks guys

Sean

PS I am only able to be around 12 inches in front of the back cloth due to the poor angles!

If you aren't using one, you need a backmask on the lightbulb. That is, some sort of hood on the bulb end of the cord that only allows light to be thrown forward. If that doesn't work, try using a high-wattage black light. It makes a very cool effect on the white sides and you won't have the problem. Good luck.

Absolutly it has to be a HOODED light, otherwise the illusions is not very angle proof.

http://www.yourmagicman.com/shadow1.jpg

Sean, whereabouts in Finland are you? There might be cheap, suitable lights available here.

Hooded (they are also called Trouble Lights) are a must for this. (The black light is a cool idea too, never thought of that). Also, the higher the wattage, the better. The light also must be sure that it is facing forward. Make sure the cord is tied down to ensure that it does not twist around as your assistant is dropping the side cloths. Lastly, it might help if the Trouble Light is moved forward a little in the cabinet, just an inch or so. That will change the shadows alot.

Thanks guys, any suggestions of how I could hood my current light? A piece of black cloth on the back of the light maybe?

Hi MV I am in Luosto (Lapland) for 6 weeks! Where are you based in Finland? The nearest town is Sodankylä! Do you know where I could get a light near here?

Hey Sean´, I am based in Pori which is 1000-something kilometres south. There´s a great pizza place in Sodankylä, btw.

There could be some places in Sodankylä, but unfortunately I don´t know about them, as I am there only a couple of times a year and so far haven´t been shopping for lights. One place for such lights would certainly be Rovaniemi.

You could try to use black cloth and see if it works. I might have some styrene hoods I made for a film set somewhere in the shop. Now I don´t know what shape your light is so they might not work, but I could look around if you like. Granted, they´re white but that's a quick fix.

I'm not sure how this light is set up in the cabinet, but if it's a standard light bulb, just paint the back half black.

I would use a high temp paint that you would find in auto stores. This way you don't have the paint blowing up the light bulb or have smoke coming off of it.

Michael

If you have an auto parts store, you should be able to find a Trouble Light too. You use these lights to work on cars. You can find them in Hardware stores too, but I'm not sure if you are in a position to access them.

I would be a little worried about painting a light bulb black on one half. It's an interesting idea, but since it is black paint, it will hold the heat. If the bulb is not made for extreme heat, it could burst. I don't know, call me paranoid.

Thanks guys, I am using a trouble light at the moment but it is not of the sort which has a "hood" on one side!
I will play around with it!

MV, do you know of anywhere in finland I could get the 3-way elbow connectors? I had to make mine using gaffer tape cos you cannot get them in the UK! and they are a bit unsteardy!!!

Thanks again guys for your help.

Sean

Sean, I'm going to a plastics supply store tomorrow. I'll check for you. I'll PM you.

With a normal elbow joint and half of a straight connector as well as some PVC glue and a little cutting and sanding you shouldn't have much trouble making your own 3-way connectors...but getting the actual part is always the better option.

Nick Fox