Photo by Todd Collins
For a production of Macbeth set in a post-apocalyptic underground subway system, I helped design a special fire setup for the witches to use in their scenes. It is entirely wireless, being powered by a battery in the drum and utilizing a wireless DMX system.
Inside the barrel were four 37-watt mini ellipsoidal lights, a small DMX dimmer switch, a wireless DMX receiver and a portable charger we used as the power source. The entire thing would last about 30 minutes on full power and up to an hour when running the custom fire effect written for the show. This was more than enough time for the few scenes the barrel was in.
After the system was built, the programmer for the show created a custom effect that would flicker the lights. We found that, due to unknown reasons, if the system was turned on incorrectly the lights would only come on at 80% or higher. I spent a while coming up with the right order of turning on the components to get the lights the full dimmer range.