# Tinkerbell



## csilvia9 (Dec 12, 2011)

I am working on Peter Pan and need some help with my Tinkerbell effect. 
Here is my idea so far, Tb is a light on the end of a fishing pole type setup that can be flown around the stage then go behind an object. Then the actor playing Tb just pops up from behind said object.
I am just not sure what the best effect would be. Should I use a cluster of LEDs or just one LED, or flashing lights. I would really love to have more of a fairy dust, twinkly look with a trailing tail of twinkle. LOL does that even make any sense? As usual any suggestions are more that appreciated.


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## Les (Dec 12, 2011)

When I did Peter Pan back in High School, Flying By Foy rented us a green laser (They also did our flying effects). The laser was tripod-mounted and projected a rotating loop pattern. Two knobs on the side of the unit controlled speed and size. It was fairly neat and convincing looking once the operator got the hang of it. Best of all, it was extremely simple. When moved in a "flight" pattern, the laser does almost have a blurry trail to it, since your eyes can't focus on such a small object moving so fast (like the computer cursor effect).

From the Flying By Foy website:
"There are many ways in which Tinkerbell has been portrayed over the years. We can help to advise you on the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods. The Sandy Duncan edition of Peter Pan introduced the LASER method to Broadway audiences and it was a hit.

Flying by Foy® currently offers a three-milliwatt Diode Pump Solid-State Green Laser to achieve this effect. The laser is mounted on a heavy-duty tripod and produces a brilliant green oscillating image (bright enough to be clearly seen in daylight against a black background). The size of the image and the oscillating pattern may be easily adjusted from a tiny point of light to whatever size is necessary. It is also quite simple to operate – very much like a small follow spot. Rental prices, including shipping (via FedEx) are available upon request."




http://www.flybyfoy.com/rentals.htm

I believe Hall, ZFX, etc have similar solutions available to rent.


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## rochem (Dec 12, 2011)

There are a million ways to do tinkerbell, and it really depends on your budget. A common way to do it is to put a green laser on a tripod and have an operator move it around from the back of the house. However, you do need to be careful when blocking certain scenes so that your actors don't just walk through tinkerbell. The current tour starring Cathy Rigby uses a pair of Clay Paky Sharpys with the color wheel spinning on full speed for tinkerbell, and it looks quite good. It's actually a really impressive piece of programming on the Ion - it takes a surprising amount of work to make a light jump around the stage in random-looking patterns while still landing at an exact point.


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## kiwitechgirl (Dec 13, 2011)

I've said it before, I'll say it again....if Tink has lines or music associated with her, set up a small speaker in the wings, close to the stage. Stretch a balloon over the speaker, and glue bits of mirror to the balloon. Route Tink's lines/music to the speaker, focus a shuttered-down profile (gelled however you like) onto the speaker - and then the sound will cause the balloon to vibrate, darting the light around the stage as the mirrors move - but in sync with the lines/music. It may take some trial and error to get the speaker/profile in the right place, but it will work.


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