# Scrim use in Set



## thelightingmancan (Jan 3, 2008)

I am helping the Very Special Arts program, and we are producing a play with the front of a farmhouse for the main set. In the play, the main character goes off into a dream, and the director wants to project a slideshow of pictures behind her. An idea she had was to paint a scrim with the top of the house, and only build the bottom. When the dream comes, she will then have a rear projection screen show the slideshow behind the scrim. Do you have any ideas that would be fairly easy, but still fairly inexpensive.


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## gafftaper (Jan 4, 2008)

Tricot Van? 

I would be inclined to say build the set solid but have a cyc behind it that is actually rear projection material. (Especially if you want the house to open up.) Scrim is very tricky stuff to work with. I don't think painted scrim is going to light up from behind the way you want it to for the rear projection. It seems to me that you would be better off using a thin material that can be lit from the front to be a blue sky or background and then back lit for projection. I haven't used Tricot much but I think it might be the solution. Van is a big fan of Tricot and I'm sure will be along to confirm if he thinks it's a good material to use. You can also get rear projection screen material and use it, but it's expensive. Tricot is much more reasonably priced.


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## thelightingmancan (Jan 4, 2008)

I was wrong, they do not have rear projection capability, so I don't really know what the director wants to do, we will meet again on Tuesday, and I can probably get more details. Suggestions would be helpful as always.


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## TupeloTechie (Jan 4, 2008)

the scrim doesn't, but mabee if you put a separate RP screen a few feet behind the scrim you could achieve the effect with the proper lighting


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## Van (Jan 4, 2008)

I think I'd have to second TTK on this one. Tricot is a fabulous material, and I would recommend it in a second normally, but not in this case. The "Pores" in the tricot are too small. Once you painted it, the tricot would lose it's translucence. Scrim is also usually not recomended for RP applications as it's "Pores" are too big. Light from a projector, since it's comming at the scrim in a much flatter angle than the stage lights, tends to pass right through it. As a result, you tend to get poor image quality when front projecting, and you poorer image quality when doing RP. Also you tend to get that "hot Spot" of the audience looking straight into the lens of the projector. 

Hmmmmm. Have I said anything posistive or helpful yet ? No not yet. I'm going to wait until thelightingmancan checks back in.


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## gafftaper (Jan 4, 2008)

Van I was thinking about building the house all solid and hanging Tricot as a "cyc" in the background and not painting it. If the stage already has a huge house on it there won't be a lot of overhead space visible so a strip of tricot in the background could be front lit like a cyc and rear projected because it's just white. You wouldn't have to tricot the whole stage just the space visible around the house. What do you think?


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## Van (Jan 4, 2008)

gafftaper said:


> Van I was thinking about building the house all solid and hanging Tricot as a "cyc" in the background and not painting it. If the stage already has a huge house on it there won't be a lot of overhead space visible so a strip of tricot in the background could be front lit like a cyc and rear projected because it's just white. You wouldn't have to tricot the whole stage just the space visible around the house. What do you think?


 
OOOH I get it. Sorry, I'm distracted today, something about how I'm supposed to be concentrating on two shows at once right now. 

Yeah, I think that would be a great idea, Gaff.

Just for the record though, what I posted above should be kept in mind for future reference, it might come in as handy knowledge, to someone, sometime.


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## gafftaper (Jan 4, 2008)

You are the Tricot King for a reason! You should put that in your signature. Now let's wait to hear what the new design ideas are.


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## thelightingmancan (Jan 7, 2008)

These are great ideas, but is is looking like the opening set piece is going to be the one. I can tell you more after our meeting tomorrow. I have a framing diagram for the opening done, and it is probably cheaper to have it open. We just finished reconstruction of the building, it was a barn that burnt, but the framing was still there, so it is a barn turned theatre. There is a challenge with putting in lighting due to the framing of the cieling, and there is no curtains as of yet, and the best part, a concrete floor and back wall. Back to what I was saying, there is wood and such laying around. This is the first show to perform in the building.


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## thelightingmancan (Jan 14, 2008)

I take that back, no concrete floor anymore. We installed a masonite floor, and it is really nice. I like it, and it seems fairly sturdy, and doesn't send out noise from footfalls and dropped props. Thanks for your ideas on the scrim stuff, but we ditched that idea, and are figuring out how to open the set.


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