How to Make Rain Drops
Back in the early 1990s, automated fixtures were rather straightforward, with not much more than color, gobos, iris, zoom and focus. This meant that we had to be very creative in terms of what we could do with the simple fixtures. The raindrop cue that I had seen on stage was actually created using a combination of the shutter, iris and gobo wheels. What was seen on stage was each fixture opening its shutter and then irising in from a large size to a small size. This was immediately followed by the shutter, which snapped shut so that only the movement of the “raindrop” was seen. With a large selection of fixtures doing this same action at various intervals, the stage was filled with these hits. The use of a creative-looking gobo added to the drop effect.
I still utilize this great trick of programming when appropriate, and now combine it with other effects, such as prisms, color-mixing and framing shutters. It is also an exciting look when seen as an aerial effect in smoke, as opposed to just projecting onto the stage. Modern consoles and fixtures also help with the programming of this effect by providing automated sequences that instantly create the look. However, it is important to understand the various methods to create this sequence, as each has pros and cons.
The “Old Skool” Method
When I first programmed a raindrop effect long ago, effects engines did not exist. Instead, I created a chase that would cause this dynamic look to repeat on the stage. Before programming, I had to think about what was actually happening. For this effect, I needed to have my fixtures ready with their shutters closed and their irises at their largest setting. Then I needed to open the shutter and shrink the iris, one-by-one. Once the iris was fully closed, I would need to close the shutter and instruct another fixture to do the same shrinking action. I also needed the previously-used fixture to prepare its iris for its next appearance as a raindrop.
My method for doing this quickly was as follows: I would select all the fixtures to be used in this chase. Then I would close all the shutters and make all the irises their largest size. I would record this information into the same number of steps as the number of fixtures to be used. For instance, if I were using 12 fixtures, I would store this exact same information into all 12 steps of my chase.
Now I would have a chase with 12 steps of closed shutters and open irises for all fixtures. Next, I would select the first fixture and open its shutter and close its iris. I would merge this information into the first step. Then I would select the second fixture and do the same for the second step. I would proceed with this through all the fixtures. Now I would have a chase where each fixture would open its shutter and close its iris on each step, and then restore to a closed shutter and open iris on any subsequent step. All I had to do next was to set the chase to run in a random order. Usually I would need to also alter the speed of the chase to match that of the fastest iris speed of the fixtures. Now my raindrop chase was complete!
This always worked very well, and has come in handy on many shows over the years. I have modified the principle sometimes by having two fixtures per step, or by having a symmetrical order to the steps, but the basic programming concept has remained true. By the way, the reason I use the shutter instead of the dimmer is because, with some fixtures, the shutter is much faster than the dimmer (although on other fixtures it is the same mechanism and makes no difference).
Automating the Raindrops
Once effect engines became the norm on automated lighting consoles, I was able to re-think how I could create this chase using a simple effect. If I simply created a snap or ramp-down wave effect on the iris channel, then the iris would open and close quickly. Then I needed only to make an intensity or shutter effect to open and close the shutter in the same duration. Often, I would also need to work with the offset of the intensity effect so that only the shrinking action of the iris change was visible. Once the two effects were correctly aligned for all fixtures, then I could just spread or fan the offset of all fixtures and effects to randomize the raindrop look.
By utilizing a console effect engine, I was able to quickly apply this look to multiple fixture types and different configurations of fixtures. With a chase, I would have to build in the various fixture types, but a console effect can be applied to any selection of fixtures. Furthermore, the console effect can be stored and merged into other shows to be used again and again.
Help from the Fixtures
In the early 2000s, an interesting thing started to happen. Automated lighting manufacturers started adding more effects to their DMX protocols. Now it was possible to simply select the “snap/ramp” effect from the iris channel, and the fixture would automatically close its shutter and make its iris large. Then, like magic, the fixture would open its shutter and shrink its iris, only to close it again once the iris was small. This meant that you could simply tell your fixtures to “perform” the raindrop effect, and off they would go. No programming was needed! This was great, because you knew that, no matter what desk you were using, you could quickly command your fixtures to perform this cool look.
However, while this is very useful for a one-off production, it also has its own set of limitations. First, you are limited to the speeds defined by the fixture manufacturer, and they may not match the timing you are working on. Furthermore, these effects only apply to specific fixtures and cannot be synchronized with other fixture types, nor can they be seen accurately on vizualizers. The data of what the fixture is actually doing (and its associated timing) lives within the fixture, thus you are limited within your console. You also cannot copy this same effect to other fixtures, or easily change the fixture type when the rig changes.
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring…
As you have seen, the raindrop effect can be produced via a number of programming methods. A skilled programmer should understand how to create each method and determine which is best used for each production. By applying these skills to various types of programming, your programming repertoire can easily grow. For instance, building the same effect with the irises starting closed and quickly opening will create a “fireworks” type of exploding look instead of a raindrop feel. So the next time you are sitting at a console, take a moment, and make it rain on stage!
