Lynx Aether II info?

[winwin]

Hi,

I'd like to add some aether II this year to my show. I of course read the info available in the wiki. Still a little puzzled though with basic questions such as:
- how far from the wall (house) should the aether be installed?
- does it work well on a brick wall or is the effect limited if the wall is not white?
- which lense to select?
- how far apart should the aethers be located?
you see, basic stuff for the time being!

Configuration also is a little confusing at this time. They are 4 colors to control so using vixen I would need to allocate 4 channels, one for each color, correct?

On a separate note, am I right to believe that they will be a coop for the aether?

thanks!

Bernard

[tbone321]

First the easy answer, yes - you will need to allocate 4 channels for each separately addressed aether.  The colors are red, blue, green, and white.  As a seperte note, if the white channel is set to anything but zero, the other three chanels are ignored.  I am also pretty sure that there will be a coop for them but that depends on demand for the unit as well as availability of the parts it requires.  The rest of the questions, while thy may seem basic, are questions that only you can answer.  I assume that your house is brick but that doesn't say much.  What color brick, how big is the house, what shape, ect.....  Perhaps if you post a picture of the house then we can give you some ideas where to start but even then, personal taste rules here. 

[urthegman]

Just wanted to add to what tbone said and mention that there are different lenses that direct the light depending on your lighting needs.

[arw01]

I my case on a white house with white aluminum sidding, I could only get back about 3-4 feet and kind of at an angle.  On about 15 or so feet I felt like I would like 2 of them and I used no lenses.  I may play with lenses this off season to see if it make a difference.

[meman]

Don't know if this will help you, but heres an old video I did a couple of years ago You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

The bottom half of my house is dark brownish/red brick. The 3 Aethers IIs were about 12ft from the house and I was using lenses (can't remember what degree of spread are in this vid). Since they were facing up to try and light both floors, I had the hotspot of the light directed just above the the brick line. Generally speaking, if you are trying to wash a wall in light, you want to use a  wider lens. If you have to hit something up high or farther away, you need a narrower lens to get the light to that location.   

Have fun and good luck,
Mike E.   

[winwin]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies and info... Yes, I agree that personal taste (and test) will have to rule.

Meman, were you shooting above the brick line on a white wall? the effects look very good. I just do not know if the wash out effect would work as well on my non-white wall. I tried regular incandescent 100 W spot lights (red and green) last year and it was disappointing (pretty much no color!), thus I decided not to incorporate them in my show. I am hoping the Aethers is what will work.
 
I am thinking using 2 Aethers on my brick wall (redhish). I am wondering about locating them 10 ft -15 ft away and shoot above bushes or put the aethers right against the wall and shoot straight up....
 
Anyone else with videos and explanations about setup?

Thanks guys!

[keitha43]

Lenses make a huge difference. I preferred the medium throw. The narrow beam didn't blend as well.

[meman]

Yes, I was targeting the halfway point between floors. The top floor of the house is actually more yellowish than white...what they call "buff".
If you stop the video at the 04 sec mark, you can see the light placement in the grass. You can also tell that the middle light has a narrower lens and creates more of g a hotspot with shadowing around the edges, compared to the lens on the right. The lower brick wall would be lit up further down too if it weren't for the hedge running the entire length of the house.
There was lot of discussion last year about how to get dark surfaces lit up better. About the only sure way I can think of (other than paint), is to cover shrubs or brick with thin fabric scrim.

Mike E.

[winwin]

Lenses make a huge difference. I preferred the medium throw. The narrow beam didn't blend as well.

Keith, that's interesting...what you are saying can actually been seen in Mike's video when looking at his different spots!

Mike, thanks for the additional information. I actually looked at the video again, masking the white wall and just watching at the brick lower section. Doing it this way, I realized that the colors are actually pretty good on brick. 

Any info on dark walls would be great though if anyone has any.

Thanks!