Shimmer Effects for Theatrical Lighting
- Though there can be little doubting the role and function of light in mankind's development, the first recorded use of mechanical lighting on stage can be found in Greece in the 5th century BCE. Utilizing both metal lanterns and what The History of Light and Lighting called "glass spheres filled with water," early stagecrafters used artificial light to determine a scene taking place at night. Though different techniques of lighting the stage would evolve over the following centuries, such as the Roman use of painted braziers and candles, it wasn't until 1874 that the filament bulb was invented and the craft of theatrical lighting began.
- Modern lighting designers have numerous methods for creating a shimmering effect. One technique, utilizing a "gobo-rotator"--essentially a designed glass surface placed in a mechanized frame--creates most common water effects that one can find onstage. Another method found in modern lighting combines a gobo with a rotating prism effect: splitting the light into three or more patterns, which then shimmer continually.
- Several types of lighting boards offer built-in shimmer effects; the two most common are the ETC and Strand varieties. Regardless of the different keypaths used by each specific brand in their programming, the basic creation of the effect is similar. The most high-end boards, such as the Wholehog II controller, allows for instant, push-button effect programming with a variety of lighting "looks."
Many older and less-funded theatres and production houses still use boards that do not meet modern computerized standards. These boards, however, can still achieve a shimmer effect by utilizing the Chase sequence that involves tapping Chase Frequency Sync button at a fast speed and lowering the Chase Intensity slider. - A common method for generating the shimmer illusion to the eye involves the use of complementary colors. Doing this requires a selection of three different colors of similar shades: a lighter shade, a medium shade and a dark shade. The variation in color is to provide the illusion of a glimmer to the eye, resulting in the rise and fall of varying color tones.
- To create the most convincing shimmer effect on stage, a lighting designer must have enough lights to cover the selected area on stage. If the area is very small, and is meant to cover only a certain number of square feet on stage, the best results involve only three instruments. A larger span requires three instruments for each 8-by-8 feet sphere--so if the intended target is a 30-foot cyclorama, for instance, 12 instruments are needed for the shimmer effect.