Photo Courtesy of Kris Hodge
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In the May 2008 issue, Church Production Magazine took a look at color changer technology. We looked at standard color scrollers, color-mixing scrollers and dichroic color changers. Since that article, there really hasn’t been a lot of innovation with color scrollers other than upgrades and adding feedback systems. In this article, we wanted to investigate different means of providing colored lighting as well as new technologies that are making coloring your lighting design a bit easier to accomplish. There are a variety of ways to get color and color changing into your services and productions. These are just a few, and for a look at some of the other LED options please see the August 2008 CPM story, available at www.churchproduction.com.
From the front light position, using either a lighting position or truss in the sanctuary over the seating, you would normally use an ellipsoidal reflector spotlight (ERS) with a color scroller. With the rise of automation, a number of automated lights could be used at this position, either a spot or wash unit. At this lighting position, you want control over the beam spread. Washlights with a good zoom range allow you to keep control. If your lighting is predominantly lamped with tungsten lamps, you probably want to have color changing units that use a tungsten lamp so the color temperature is consistent. Note, you can use a Color Temperature Orange (CTO) filter to color correct the high color temperature of discharge lamps used in most automated lights, but you will lose light output. It is important to remember that you lose 4% of your output with every air to glass (or filter) transition.
While plastic color filters are the primary and most economical means of getting color into conventional lighting, you can also consider dichroic glass filters. Dichroic filters have been used for years in high tech applications as well as in automated lighting to produce a range of colors. The performance of dichroic filters greatly surpasses plastic color filters. Dichroics transmit light more efficiently and allow more of the desired color to pass while reflecting the unwanted portions of the color spectrum. They last much longer than plastic filters and can withstand much higher temperatures. They do cost more initially, but if it is a color that you always use, it will be more cost-effective in the long run. You can get dichroics from a number of companies, including Apollo Design Technology, Barco/High End Systems, GAM Products, Lee Filters and Rosco Laboratories. (For a more in-depth look at dichroics, please see the sidebar.)
Front Light Options
For color changing front light options, there are a few interesting units. The Wybron Nexera (photo 1) uses a 575W GLA or GLC tungsten lamp for the source with dichroic glass filters to mix that just right color. (There are also CDM versions for a longer lamp life.) The Nexera comes in 19-degree to 26-degree or 25-degree to 40-degree zoom profiles or a wash version with a Fresnel lens. The Elektralite PaintCan 2.0 (photo 2) also uses a CMY dichroic color system paired with a color wheel of five deep colors paired with a tungsten lamp. The unit has a Fresnel lens and has a zoom of 20 degrees to 40 degrees.
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Michael S. Eddy writes about design and technology. He can be reached at mseddy2900@hotmail.com. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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