Added Box-O-Philosophy to sidebar

Just wanted to let everybody know - I ran across a bit of text so profound to me (in the book Street of Crocodiles, that Sven sent out!) that I had to post it permanent-like somewhere on my blog. I tried to put it in my About Me box over there ->


But the stinkin' template wouldn't allow it because it was too freakin' long! So I invented a new feature - the aforementioned Box-O-Philosophy. It's right under my ClusterMap. Take a quick gander folks - this statement by Schulz is manna to my parched brain! And reading it conjures images straight from the twisted mind(s) of the Bros Quay.

The Rubber-Nosed Man Keeps His Face in a Fishbowl

You guys've gotta check out Andrew's blog!!! He's posting all kinds of awesome eastern euro type stuff.... he just posted three videos by a crazy Polish cutout animator named Ryszard Czekala (yeah - say that five times fast!).... well, I'll let the blog speak for itself:

Rubber-nosedman.blogspot.com

Stop by and say "hey".

Upgrading the grid

I just added about 20 pounds of steel to my grid, in the form of extension pipes attached by galvanized elbows. Now I can hang lights a good deal lower than I could before, and farther off the edges of the set. I've been wanting to get some way of putting those edge lights way off in the backfield. You can also see my "early americana" plastic window drapes....


I also whipped up a quick prototype Gobo/flag holder. This is about as simple as it gets - just a corner clamp (used for gluing picture frames together or making mitered cuts), a piece of 3/16" aluminum armature wire, and a small el-cheapo clamp. And I'm sure I could do without the corner clam (either clamp actually) if I bent the wire around the pipe sufficiently and taped the hell out of it!


I hope you can make out in this pic, the kind of corner clamp I have isn't deep enough to get a good solid grip on my 3/4" OD pipe - it only reaches the midpoint. Not secure at all! One slight nudge and it pops off, ruining the entire shot as well as my day.


Once again, gaffer tape to the rescue!!! I'd like to see it pop off now!!!


Here's a detail shot of the other end. Look closely - I've hammered the end of the armature wire flat so it can nestle nicely into the clamp and hold a piece of cardboard or thin plywood or whatever material I end up making gobos from. I'll need to experiment - some materials might tend to warp under the intense heat from my new lights.

Ridin' the Lightwave!!!

Ah, my magic package arrived today.... my Solux Framing Art Light Projector kit!!! First step in assembly is to remove the front glass and retaining ring from my Lamps Plus tracklight (oddly there were no instructions with the framing light kit - but it's not hard to figure out). At this point I need to determine if the snout will fit securely on this light unit. It looks identical to the Solux unit, but you never know.


Here's the snout and its retaining ring. I tried it, but it didn't want to fit right - it kept trying to fall out of the Lamps Plus fixture. So I decided to try it with the Lamps Plus retaining ring instead.


They're designed very differently - the LP design actually looks a lot better to me.


.... But it won't quite fit!!!


So I flattened out the.... um.......... little bendy part.


Which opened up the ring some more, causing the ends to overlap - and making it too thick there.


So I snipped off one of the.... um..... handle pieces (???) and bent the other one a bit flatter same as I did the... um.... bendy thing at the bottom. That worked perfectly!!! Success!!! That means I'm in business. I can now create a Frankenstein Framing Art Light from my Lamps Plus (el-cheapo) track lighting unit!!!


This is an inside view of the framing shutters inside the front assembly. Very simple economical design. You can shift them around to a wide variety of positions, creating all sorts of rectangles and parallelograms (and... um... un-parallelograms).


Here's the screw thread that allows you to adjust the focus. It's stamped from sheet metal, so like all parts of this nifty (but somewhat flimsy) little device, it's a little wonky. But it's service-able, and so small and lightweight!!! Perfect for hanging from the lighting grid (unlike my hefty and extrmeely bulky slide projector!!!)


And see these tiny little (slightly out-of-focus) screws? These are important. It took me a while to figure it out, but you can tighten them to snug up the tension on the framing shutters. At first it was all really loose and they would just flop around - I thought I was going to have to jam something in there to wedge them in place, till I saw the screws. Good screws!!!


Now we start to get to the fun stuff! Just a quick example of what it can do. Or if I was to unfocus it the edges would get fuzzy. The weird part is everything is upside-down and backwards..... when you move the left framing shutter it changes the right edge. Hard to get used to.

This device is not advertised as a gobo projector - but I was hoping I might be able to use it as one anyway. It seems like since the framing shutters will focus so sweetly and give a good crisp image, I should be able to put some kind of slide or gobo in there at the same place and it should work. At first I thought it meant removing a shutter or two, or something equally ill-advised. But then it occurred to me - there's no need for anything so drastic when the whole fixture just slides apart! It's all pressure-fit together! I opened it up and started thinking about what I might be able to use as a gobo/slide.... should prefferably be round, the right size, and made of glass.


Hey!!! How about the glass I removed from the fixture right at the beginning? And sure enough - it fits perfectly! Kind of small, but I could see making designs on it with black tape or something. Or making Photoshop images and printing them on transparencies that I could sandwich between two pieces of the glass. Or something. Anyway, this is starting to get really exciting now!!!


One of the accessories I ordered to try out was the "Neutral Density Screen Kit". It cost $15. What they sent me were three discs cut from a screen door!!! Ripoff!!!


But I noticed they were also the right size to fit in the gobo slot, so rather than mess with making some tape design on the tiny piece of glass, I just popped a screen in there to try it out and see if it will focus properly and give a good image.....


Voila!!! Folks, we have an actual Gobo projector!!! But notice, when it's focused on the screen the shutters that create the outer edge are fuzzy. (not that that's a deal-breaker or anything)


And in fact, I took this close-up detail shot to try to show the weird rainbow/prism effect you get. Can you see the reds and blues along all the edges? I assume it's because the bulb isn't glass - it's made of quartz. If I understand right it's because the halogen gas inside is under too much pressure and heat - glass would shatter. I wonder if anything can be done about that? (meaning the weird prismatic color effect, not shattering light bulbs)


Of course there is another way to use gobos. They don't need to fit inside the projector unit itself - here's just a quick little demonstration of the more traditional way - you just cut out a shape and place it in front of the beam somewhere near the set. This way doesn't seem to cause the rainbow effect, so it might be the way to go.

Actually what I'm using here would more properly be called a flag (or a cutter - I'm not up on all the terminology). Just a straight edge to cut off light where you don't want it. It would be supported by some kind of flexible arm - something I'll be covering soon in my ever-growing Lighting Department upgrade. It's exciting times around the Darkstudio folks..... all my lighting purchases have been golden (and I don't mean color temperature-wise) - it's really a huge thrill to see everything working out better than I had planned or expected. August 2007 will be remembered for a massive heat wave - but I'll remember it for riding the light-wave!!!

Bodgering part troix (um... that's 3 in French)

Nick mentioned on the message board that I could doubtless rig up a snout for my bodgered track lights from a beer can or something. And I know what I said about simple (and inexpensive) solutions. But I just couldn't face the idea of putting something so ugly on my lighting grid, which is loaded with beautiful light fixtures - all black. And yeah - I could get some high-temp black paint.... but he also mentioned that the hard part is rigging up a gel holder for these that sits away from the blistering heat that fades gels fast. And suddenly I had a bizarre thought.

I recently bought a pair of these (very inexpensive) par 16 birdies from Musician's Freind and was a bit disappointed at how dim they are, But looking at one today it ocurred to me that they're very nearly (if not exactly) the same diameter as the track light units. So the rusty wheels started grinding.


This is the snout piece from one of the birdies (and no, I had never thought of it as a snout before, but it seems fitting now). It comes off easily to facilitate changing the light bulb - all you do is loosen the silver screws.


Hmmmm.... interesting. Looks like it would just about fit ~


Yes! Fit it does indeed!!! I didn't have to do anything... just jam it on! It's a nice tight pressure fit. And now I have an attractive black snout with a gel-holder on it!!! I love it when a plan comes together.....

Funny - it looks like the track light/birdie hybrid unit is just as big as the par 46's behind it. Not at all!! Trust me, it's a trick of perspective. That's just one more thing to love about these little units - they're tiny, meaning they fit anywhere (a blessing in limited basement space) and I'm less likely to bang my noggin on one.



... And voila!!! This should be the final bodge required (I hope). I've dug out all the hotglue and replaced with with steel-filled epoxy putty that can definitely take the heat, and I decided to go ahead and hang it from the yoke that came with the birdie - so now I can C-clamp it securely to my grid. The taped-up track pieces just weren't very secure, and the el cheap-o yoke that came on the track lights kept loosening. I like the fact that the (very lightweight) transformer now has some leeway to move around a bit - that further reduces strain on the cord.

I guess that about wraps it up, except for putting the Solux accessories on the third unit when they get here. I'll do a separate demo on that. Man, it's awesome having these Tricked-out Track Lights!!!

Bodgering part deux

Here's installment #2 of my lightbashing adventure. Tonight I cut up the track into sections to attach to my lighting grid (or wherever) so I can pop these awesome little track lights in them. I used a normal sabersaw with a metal cutting blade - it took a bit of doing, but I was able to cut through the track even with all the crazy parts inside it. As you can see above, there's quite a bit of stuff crammed in there too! And one thing I learned the hard way is it's loose and wants to slide out from vibrations as you're sawing.


So I taped it in place. Simple solutions are my favorites! Then I was able to saw away to my heart's content without worries.


I only had two endcaps, so I used them on one piece of track. The rest had to be bodgered as shown below.


Hotglue to the rescue! Not sure if you can see it here, but I gobbed hotglue all over each end to hold the profile pieces in place. I also filed down the sharp edges really well so I can't gash myself on them.


And finally (another simple solution) - I just gaffer taped the pieces of track to my grid. It's a breeze to pop a light in or out in a jiffy.


But wait!!!! A bit of a problem. Look at all that spill light!!! That could really wreak havoc in an intricately lit set.


That must be the reason Solux makes these nifty bulb shields...


And sells these "black-back bulbs" (for twice the price of a normal one!!!).


But not for me - oh no! Remember what I said about simple solutions (applies to inexpensive ones too)? A cone-shaped piece of blackwrap around the bulb does just as good (and costs quite a bit less). It remains to be seen though what kind of heat buildup it might cause - I wonder about heat buildup with the bulb shields and black-back bulbs as well actually. It seems like blackwrap wouldn't be any worse than a bulb shield.

And speaking of heat buildup - I notice after one of these lights is on for a while I start smelling this sort of hot plastic odor. It took a while before I realized.... the heat is softening my hotglue fillets that hold the extension cords in place! Oh man.... I might have to do something about that. Bears thinking about anyway.

I've ordered my Solux Framing Art Light kit (just the necessary parts to convert one of my lights if possible) and can hardly wait for it to come in! It's ridiculous how exciting something like this can be! I'll post the third and (hopefully) final part of this adventure when it comes in. See ya then!

Bodgering bodgering bodgering.....

Hi kids! Tonight I bodgered my track light kit! (It's one of those British words - and yes, it is legal!) The plan is to liberate them from the track, so each unit has its own power and can be placed wherever I want. Above you see what they look like opened up - inside is the transformer itself plus two red wires and a green wire. I happen to know the green wire is the ground, but had to trace the path of electricity to work out which red wire goes to positive and which to negative. You can see in the picture above where I marked them - one with a black sharpie and one with white tape. Then I cut off the wires. Man, that green wire is short!!! I knew that one would give me trouble later on....


Now I've drilled a hole through the side of the plastic casing for the cord to pass through. I picked up some 13 amp grounded utility cords with pre-stripped wires coming out the end, along with a pack of those little orange twist-connector things. It's a tight fit, but the three connectors can be jammed down into the existing space inside the casing. And yes, those little green wires gave me hell!!! But I managed.


After getting everything connected I gobbed hotglue all around the hole I drilled - inside and out, basically to form a solid fillet around the end of the cord to keep it secured in place. If it manages to slide out I don't have any faith in those little connectors holding all the weight of the cord! Finally I replaced the lid, sealing it all together again into its attractive contemporary housing.

I did it this way because I plan to cut short sections of the track and gaffer tape them wherever I want one of the light fixtures - then I can just twist the fixture into place with a satisfying click! Not sure this is the best plan - I thought about cutting the little cord that runs between the transformer and the lighting unit itself so I could separate the fixture from the transformer housing, but if I did that the connections wouldn't be tucked away inside a nifty casing - they'd be right out in the open for all to see. Hmmm.... unless I got myself a soldering iron and tried to do it right at the connection to the printed circuit board itself.... something to consider for the future maybe.

Anyway, it worked like a charm!!! These lights are bright and white as can be! Quite satisfying after the rather dim orangey Par-16 birdies I bought from Musician's Friend recently. Oh sorry - I meant to mention those before now. The price is definitely right - $30 for a pair of these cool-looking little lights (and though the website mistakenly reports that they don't come with filter holders, I can tell you happily that they actually DO). These run on full mains power - 120 volts as opposed to the 12 volt track lights. The Par 16 birdies are a bit dim - they're 50 watt fixtures. Premiere Lighting (which I've recently added to my links on the right) carries 75 watt par 16's that I'd like to try out.

And yeah, I know I'm accumulating quite a stash of lights. That's the point - I want to have enough on hand at any time to supply whatever crazy lighting situation I dream up. I'm thinking about getting 3 more of the track light units at some point - they seem like excellent little powerhouses that can be fully tailored with the accessories found at the Solux site.


I decided to add a bit here to explain how I traced the electric lines. This little widget is the twist lock connector that pops in one end of the track and gets connected to the mains power. It fits into the track the same way the light units do - push it in....


And twist 90 degrees.


Here you can clearly see there are three metal tabs on top. One on the left and two on the right. These tabs make contact inside the track with copper strips that run the full length of the track. If you look closely, you can see the black wire goes to the side with only one tab, while the white wire goes to the side with two tabs.


Here's the "lid" from one of the tracklight units. As you can see, it has the same three metal tabs to fit into the track. I wish I had gotten a pic of marking the wires before i cut them all off, but this will have to do. I'm making a black mark here on the (red) wire that goes into the side with one tab.


See.... takes a lot of explaining, but really pretty simple. I really don't know which is positive and which is negative (not sure those terms even really apply - I've heard one is actually called the hotwire and the other is called the neutral wire). But it's not important to know that - you only need to know which wire to connect where, and now we have that vital info. Once you've marked the black wire, there's no need to mark the other one - just think of it as the *unmarked* wire, and it represents the white one. the wire you just marked with the black marker attaches to the black wire in the power cord - the unmarked one attaches to the white wire, and (simple enough) the green wire attaches to the green wire. - Am I overexplaining now?

Madame Tutli-Putli - the eyes have it

Madame Tutli-Putli @ NFB website

Ok folks, I don't know what's going on these days in the world of stopmotion, but a sea change is ahappenin'. Already we've had the incredible Peter and the Wolf by Suzie Templeton, and now there's the astonishing Madame Tutli-Putli by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski of Clyde Henry Productions in Canada. These guys are basically fledgeling animators - or at least this is their first professional endeavor in the field. Previously they made posters and graphic art by taking pictures of their own bizarre collages featuring highly stylized sculptures of their own making along with found objects. In fact, very much like what Chris Sickels of Red Nose Studios does (this next picture reminds me very strongly of Chris' work, but more fully realized and detailed).



If you're unable to watch the videos on the NFB site, the same videos are also to be found, like everything sooner or later, on YouTube. I highly recommend watching all available videos including the behind the scenes material - I love hearing these guys talk about the creative process!!!

Every aspect of this film is groundbreaking and absolutely stunning to watch, but probably the most groundbreaking effect is the eyes. They're completely alive, like no animated eyes ever have been - in fact they're real human eyes composited in through computer magic to give unprecedented life and character to these puppets.

Well, I could go on and on, but I think it's best to let the videos speak for themselves - I've probably watched each one a dozen times already, and I'm still blown away every time! I can't wait for this one to come out on DVD!!!

Transformer-thon 2007!!!!

No, it's nothing to do with the current mega-smash hit movie Transformers, though it is kind of ironic that it happens to coincide with my own delving into the mysteries and lore of the humble 12-volt transformer.

In case anyone hasn't noticed, all my posts lately have dealt with lighting - I've decided it's time to learn new tricks and to upgrade the lighting department in the Darkstudio. And most recently my questing has led me to low voltage lighting, which requires a transformer to step down household current to 12 volts. I bought this track lighting kit from Lamps Plus


which now sits assembled (mostly) and waiting for the coup-de-grace - I intend to bodger it so I have three separate lighting units rather than all of them on one track. Here's a thread on the message board going into more detail if anyone's interested. It's Nick to the rescue once again!

But wait - It gets even better...

This my friends is the Solux Framing Projector - a thing of great beauty and magnificence!



See, the separate components all fit together on a quite ordinary track lighting fixture, in fact exactly like the ones I have sitting next to me right now! How awesome is that??!! Theoretically (assuming the snout piece fits correctly) I should be able to just buy the accessories and fit them onto one of my existing units and I can *transform* it into a super-sexy micro-gobo projector! A sort of poor-man's ellipsoidal spotlight in a miniaturized size (perfect for my needs!) - AND at a miniaturized price!!

Also note that Solux makes probably the finest bulbs in the world (at the same price as ordinary bulbs) - you can buy them in various color temps including fully-balanced daylight with ultra-low IR and UV emissions. What this means is, no more weird orangey or blueish light - unless that's what you want! Also note - one advantage of low-voltage lighting is that the transformer effectively stabilizes the current (I believe) - so hopefully flicker and surges are a thing of the past.

Probably the biggest difference between this device and a real projector unit is that it isn't made to accept slides or gobos of any kind - and in fact I rather doubt it can be made to project them clearly, since it uses a typical MR-16 bulb, not the single-point projector style bulb with a polished reflector behind it like you find in a slide projector. But it will definitely project a shaped beam of very coherent light, and as Tennessee Reid Norton said in a recent comment, "where you DON'T put light is just as important as where you put it" (or something to that effect - sorry if I screwed it up).

And coming soon on the Transformer-thon 2007 front, I intend to get ahold of a dollhouse style lighting kit to use as onset practicals! Fun stuff!