Don't know if this is the right place for this post.
I was reading Joe's history of the cyc in under "Lighting a Wall" in the lighting category and wondered: if our theatre doesn't have a cyc, is there a reason to install one?

We've used them to good effect recently to add atmosphere or to create a complete backdrop. They can save a lot of creating and shifting of scenery, and they aren;t that expensive.

Our main stage has one built-in but it's not always used - often a set is in front of it ...

I have seen both a white cyc with black half tabs in front and a black back wall with a stretched white back cloth. IMHO the white cyc works best. There is nothing that will give you a better full horizon sky (eg in South Pacific). The blacks are used to cover the cyc for intimate indoor scenes, where the spill would otherwise be distracting. I would suggest that in small to medium theatres a good white cyc is about as important as a double+ height fly tower: you can certainly make do without one, but it opens up so many opportunities.

Key to a good cyc are two things: smoothness and paint finish. An uneven or poorly painted cyc will show up because the light that hits it tends to be at quite an acute angle (ie from the lights on the cyc bar) and this accentuates irregularities.

The main reason for installing a cyc is that your Lighting Designer will love you for ever.

Hope this helps

Dave

I am with Dave 100% on that - opens up so many possibiltys........

This alone is a VERY good reason never to think about
getting one ever again....

*shiver*

Thanks for your explanations everybody. I think it helps.
I wonder about the logistics of doing this in our theatre. What we have is the farthest upstage wall which is a brick wall -- the outside wall of the building. About 30" downstage of that is a permanent plywood wall which we often use for the upstage wall of an interior set. We have cut a door in it before and then patched it up again. So I guess this wall could act as a cyc, but because it has been patched, probably is not smooth enough, right?
So what would our next option be if we wanted to have a cyc? A white cloth hung downstage of the patched up permanent wall?
And .... to be loved forever by our Bitchin'-Bob-the-lighting-slob... well, the thought is overwhelming!

I am detecting a lack of love and harmony in the air here.........

We have one that we can fly in on a light aluminium frame and its sits just in front off the back wall of the theater. You may be able to get away with the patched up wall. I would try lighting this first and you will soon see any inperfections and can then make the decision

For a good cyc, re-plaster the wall, paint it with a high cohesion paint (eg PolyCell Basecoat) and then paint it with a few coats of White Matt Emulsion. Be sure to tell the plasterer what it will be used for. This should ensure that they concentrate on getting it smooth in the vertical plane, rather than straight in the horizontal, which doesn't show so much.

Dave

George now blacked by every LD on this board

Probably literally!

No change there then...

They can never follow a queue anyway...

hehehe

Cue ?

George thinks that's something you play snooker with....*snigger*

I only spelt it so that the techies would know what it sounded like...

They're always playing pool anyway....

"Red blue Red green Red.....
What ya mean it's opening night?
I still got to make up my mind which colour......"

Thank you EvaB, wow your comment makes me feel almost famous, within my own lunch box!
[I hope I had taken my medication that day?]
I agree with Dave & Fishy, of how a Cyclorama will increase your options & add artistically to certain productions mise en scene!
I normallyaptly describes the cyc as the ?line of infinity.
I whole heartily agree with the finish being smooth, as any imperfection will be highlighted & stand out like doodahs!
This is especially pronounced on larger venues, if the is touched or brushed against, the dust is wiped & dislodged from the cloths surface. [with cyc?s that can fly in/out, it?s a good trick to bounce them occasionally to re-distribute the dust evenly!
Also I prefer a ?Hounds tooth? weave in the cloth, as being the way to go for smooth lighting coverage. This also allows the use of a reflector cloth upstage, to bounce the light thru from the top, sides & ground row. This is especially good when the cyc is used as a traveler on a tab track & has to be quickly tensioned, with stretchers & sand bags.
As I believe you don?t have the ability to fly in the venue, use the partition wall, as a substitute Reflector. Using white 70% shadecloth, is a good cheap option for a cyclorama [up to 3.6metre widths available] light upstage of the cloth, this will bounce the light thru! The white does not seem to have as much shine as the Black does! But by reflecting thru in this method, will reduce the light bounce on the front of the cloth anyway.
This may even raise the status of Bob, to that of ?Bob the snob!?

Also the wall will cut out the vortex movement in the cloth, if used for an upstage acess from side to side!

No disharmony whatever. He named himself that!

Thanks for the ideas. We wouldn't want to plaster our partition because we sometimes like to cut a door in it and be able to patch it in again, but perhaps we can smooth the bumps or someday go with fabric that can be lighted.

In that case a stretched cyclorama would be better. At least you will have a consistant affect of the lighting on it, rather than a patch where the bit of cloth is!

Well, I didn't mean quite that...
I wouldn't patch it in with a bit of cloth, but rather use the very thin luaun plywood and patch the "seams" with drywall compound. BUT THEN, we would be constantly cutting it open again and patching it in again depending on the show...
If we used a stretched canvas cloth I assume we would be able to roll it up and store it overhead when not in use?
Sorry, don't mean to belabor a point, it is just that I am unfamiliar with them.

You can roll &/or fold your cyc, when yours not using it.
It is easier if you have eyelets in the head hem & put ties on the them useing a 'larkshead knot & tieing the cloth to the head batten, useing a bow knot, this makes it easy to releasse by just pulling the out the tail of the bow knot.
It?s a good idea to store it, by covering or putting it in a calico bag, not a plastic one! Before rolling or folding, mark the upstage side at the top, with a chemi marker, this will assist in hanging it. Ensure that the upstage side remains on the outside of the fold or roll, this will save the downstage side, from being accidentally marked or scuffed. Also either with a different coloured tie or marker indicate the centre of the cloth at the head, [& have a corresponding centre mark on the battens centre] so it can be easily identified as the centre of the cloth from the outside while it?s stored, Load the batten from the centre to the outside edge, for the cloth to hang properly & in the middle of the stage.
When you use it again, stretch it out flush & if their are any creases or fold marks, these will come out by lightly spraying water mist on the upstage side, allowing it to hang at least over night, & stretch them out!
I hope this helps?

Thanks, Joe and everybody for some great information. I'd really like to try one in our theatre for the next show that I'll be directing -- which isn't until next fall.