# underwater lighting effect



## goboleko (Jan 6, 2009)

Greetings and Salutations!

I need to create an underwater look for a scene in an upcoming production of peter pan and was looking for some suggestions to make it look right. 

What Gel? Are there gobos that will get the look I want.. maybe rotating gobo holders? I'm curious to know whatever you've done to create the look aquatic.

thanks,

GOKO


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## CavezziMagnum (Jan 6, 2009)

You can use any type of lined Breakup pattern and fuzz it out. I would recommend an animation wheel instead of a gobo rotator. Any sort of blue will work, I'd go for R64. I know Martin also creates a water effect instrument. I don't know if you have a budget to rent it. Good Luck.


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## goboleko (Jan 6, 2009)

Michael,

I think I might know you.. your name sounds familiar. My name is Jason Sipe, and I worked with Full Circle and some of the other Atlanta companies until I left the ATL in early 2001.

Sound familiar?


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## Les (Jan 6, 2009)

One time I used a GAM Film FX with the cloud pattern in it. I put it in a Source Four Zoom on the FOH catwalk and zoomed it way out, then softened the edges. I turned the speed down pretty low and it created sort of a watery moving texture look. I had a medium blue in it, and the stage was washed in a darker blue with a little face light.


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## gafftaper (Jan 6, 2009)

So many options!!!

If you've got the money a Rosco X-effects will do an awesome job. 

If you don't have quite that much but still have some money then a gobo rotator is the way to go. Try a glass gobo in a rotator combined with a static gobo. There are many options of how to go about this. Which one is a matter of personal taste. 

I recently did a really nice water at night on a lake using Rosco Color Wave: Cyan Ripple, a leaf breakup in the other wheel, take it a little out of focus, and added a gel to adjust to tweak the colors. You can also do similar thing using a clear Rosco Image glass or Apollo Textured Glass in the rotator, combined with a gobo and adding your own color. 

Another option is using a colored glass in the rotator without a particular pattern such as Apollo's Crushed Dicrohics or Rosco's Prismatics. Combine that with a gobo that helps you to establish a pattern. 

Apollo has some really cool looking high definition colored glass. I've never used them but these look like they could be really nice. 

Finally there's the old school approach of a static gobo, gel and an animation wheel like Rosco's Infinity animation system. 

And by the way all this advice works for fire effects as well... just change the color.


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## malex (Jan 11, 2009)

I've seen a great water effect done by simply focusing a floor mounted leko on a pan of water with a fan blowing on it. It takes a lot of focus time and you lose a lot of intensity, since you are relying on the reflection from the pool of water. If you have enough fixtures, fans and pans of water, you can get it done for next to nothing. Also, your entire stage look needs to be relatively dim; could be a good scene for some followspot usage.


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## Esoteric (Jan 11, 2009)

malex said:


> I've seen a great water effect done by simply focusing a floor mounted leko on a pan of water with a fan blowing on it. It takes a lot of focus time and you lose a lot of intensity, since you are relying on the reflection from the pool of water. If you have enough fixtures, fans and pans of water, you can get it done for next to nothing. Also, your entire stage look needs to be relatively dim; could be a good scene for some followspot usage.



Do this only put a mirror in the bottom of the pan.

Mike


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## Esoteric (Jan 12, 2009)

Or you could just get a couple of Cyberlights. I did an entire underwater play with Cyberlights, Studio Colors, and Studio Spot CMYs.

Mike


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## BillESC (Jan 12, 2009)

Or you can get one or more of these:




They are under $ 200.00 to own or about $ 25.00 to rent and do an excellent job.

Here's a movie clip.
Untitled Document


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