I need to make a dream state for a few minutes.  How would this best be achieved?  With a strobe light?  Or something else?
Also I need to have a cool effect for the look of water in the front of the stage?
Any ideas?
Thanks
Beth

How about using some scrim in your set.  A section of scrim above the bed (or sleeping location) of the dreaming character looks opaque when lit from the front, but see through when lit from the back.  The more light coming from the back the more "transparent" the scrim becomes.  If you've ever seen a dream sequence in a live play they were probably using a scrim.

Scrim is a material made for theatrical use that is woven especially to achieve such effects.  It's not cheap, but you should be able to get a small piece for a puppet stage from most theatrical supply houses.  There is one in most cities of any size.  If you live near a college or university with a theatre department (or a civic theatre for that matter) they should also be able to direct you to a company that can sell you some.

I can elaborate if you want.

Marty

I just did a Google search for scrim and found this web site:

http://www.iweiss.com/stage/fabric/scrim.html

The top of the page has some photos that show what I was talking about.  I didn't look at what they offer since I was just looking for the photos, but they or any reputable theatrical supply house should be able to sell you some scrim.  Shop around as some places have a minimum order.

Marty

To create a look of water you could use a colour wheel on the front of one of your lights. Basically, a small motor rotates a frame in front of the beam of the light; place a piece of blue theatrical gel in the frame, and you create a nice water effect. You can do a similar thing with any automated light, but obviously getting one of those is more expensive than hiring a colour wheel.

An even cheaper substitute is to cut up a few pieces of blue gel, hang them from strings, and put it in the line of the beam of light, as close as possible. You get a natural water effect just by having gravity work for you - I've seen this done very well for a shadow puppet performance recently, and it could work just as well for other types of puppet shows.

Hey Na and Beth:

I didn't read Beth's entire message earlier so I missed the question about water.  What you say, Na, would work.  The lighting effect could be enhanced with a Disney effect used in the Disney parks.

Simply shine your light with the color wheel onto a pan of water.  The water should be moving a little which can be achieved in a variety of ways.  The reflection of the small waves will hit whatever it falls on making it look like your set and puppets are near the water.

The illusion of real water is very difficult to achieve unless you have the luxury of actually constructing a pool on your set.  This wouldn't have to be very deep, but maintaining it and setting it up/tearing it down is time consuming and can damage stage floors if you don't construct it so that it's leak proof.

Mechanical effects have been built, but they usually look like effects.  This may or may not be acceptable.  One effect I used in a theme park show several years ago involved some rotating cylinders with spray foam waves sculpted onto them.  A film version of this effect can be seen in the Drew Barrymore Cinderella movie Ever After.  It's near the end of the movie in the ball scenes.

In 1903 one of the last great touring melodramas used a water effect.  This was a live version of Ben Hur, yes, complete with chariot race using live horses.  The effect was in the scene after the ship wreck.  Blue cloth in long strips was loosely stretched across the the stage.  Stage hands moved the cloth up and down creating the effect of waves.  This could be set up with a motorized rig so that extra stagehands would not be needed.

Your best bet would be to use lighting and sound effects to suggest water.

Marty

If this hasnt been mentioned.....an old Hollywood trick was to use vasaline on the lens. Its not reccommended, if you put a slab of the goop, but just the slighted bit on your finger and rub a circular ring around the outside of the lens...NOT the whole lens, just around the outside.

Take a few practice shot and see how the effect can work.
I know it works on my cam...but please if your not too sure about this method...DO NOT TRY IT.

Mornin':

I assumed that Beth was doing live work.  I'm no expert on camera work, but shouldn't there be a filter for cameras that would give this fuzzy effect?

Marty

There are a number of video filters that work with various programs that allow you to create a "dream look" while editing. That's usually better than doing it in-camera. Try downloading a trial version of Sony Vegas and check out some of the built-in video effects. You can use it free for 30 days.

Well, there you go.  Doing the effect electronically at the editing stage would be the best for an online video or other digital presentation.

Glad to see puppetbuilding.com is back up Andrew.  Again, great site!

Marty

I just saw the moving cloth water effect I mentioned on Bunnie Town.  They were using an aqua colored satin.  I think they were making it move with a gentle fan, possible a low speed reflected off the floor so it didn't make gale force waves.  This could be enhanced with the water reflection technique I mentioned in an earlier post.

Marty