Designing with UV: A Set Designer’s Perspective

UV/FX’s custom-formulated UV responsive paint, like high-quality conventional scenic paint, uses an acrylic binder and can be applied to a variety of substrates, including backdrops, hard scenic flats, props, costumes, signage, architectural interiors, and more. In addition, UV/FX has developed a line of vinyl UV responsive paints that hold up well in outdoor conditions and bind well to PVC coated materials. In all, UV/FX has developed a paint system that allows for a number of important scenic effects that can be implemented individually or can be used in combination with other scenic and lighting effects to provide for a truly amazing scene.

The signature UV effects include the Complete Invisible, the Single Image, the Dual Image, the Day-to-Night, and the UV3D. Each effect has its advantages and specific uses. A common misconception among designers is that if you want to use UV in your show, then you must have a complete UV set with glowing surfaces everywhere. But in fact, it does not have to be that way; UV can be used sparsely as a special scenic or lighting effect. For example, a full moon that appears magically at the climax of the show can be the only UV element in the show. Furthermore, UV doesn’t have to be used to render a figurative scene; instead, it can be used to make entire surfaces glow with color and texture. I chose this route when designing the UV effects for a Rubbermaid television commercial. We applied an invisible white UV treatment to the advertised product—a white PVC plastic stepstool—so that it glowed brilliantly under UV lighting but remained unaltered under conventional lighting. This allowed the cinematographer to shoot the product in a completely black environment as the product was moved by puppeteers dressed in black. No green screen needed. No postproduction animation required, either. The scene was completed by two actors whose costuming was treated with UV. The actors were dressed in black from head to toe except for pieces of butler costuming that illuminated under UV lighting. The result was glowing clothing hanging from two invisible bodies that twirled and danced with the glowing stepstool, tossing it back and forth between each other. At the end of their routine, the conventional lighting came up in real-time revealing the butlers in an interior home setting, embarrassed as if caught in the act of goofing-off on the job.

When capturing UV on film or video, it is helpful to use a 2A filter, which eliminates some of the purple haze, thereby yielding truer color. Also, it is important to note that you will be using your light meter to measure the amount of light being emitted by the UV treated surface and not the UV light that is emitted from the lamp and bouncing off the surface.

When designing for touring shows, scenery weight and installation time is always a concern. You simply can’t take on the road what you can have in a house. You have to pare down and get the most bang for your buck out of each piece of scenery you take out on the road. UV scenery—in particular, the Dual Image effect—is a great solution to this problem. In essence, you get 2 scenes from one piece of scenery. When The Offspring came to UV/FX looking for a touring set for their European tour, they were especially concerned about weight and decided they just wanted to tour with soft goods. Obviously, the band didn’t want to sacrifice certain visual aspects of their show. They were touring in support of a new album and they wanted that album to be present visually. And they wanted their logo to be present as well. But they didn’t want all this marketing stuff to take away from the theatricality of the show. I solved their dilemma by designing two related scenes for application on a single 30 x 45 muslin backdrop. The design of the first scene borrowed its style from the new album’s artwork. This bleak forest landscape is lit with conventional lighting. The scene changes with ultraviolet lighting as the band’s logo is introduced into the scene. The logo burns like a moon, illuminating the forest. For this backdrop, I specified five Wildfire 400 UV fixtures (basic rule of thumb, one fixture for every 10 feet) hung approximately 15 feet from the backdrop.

When designing for themed attractions, you always seem to be competing for the audiences’ attention. How do you “wow” an audience that has such a short attention span? One way to do it is to put them in an environment that changes right before their eyes! The UV Day-to-Night is a cost-effective and magical technique to achieve this goal. Like the Dual Image, the Day-to-Night effect allows for a change in scene with the introduction of ultraviolet lighting, but like the name implies, the scene changes from daytime to nighttime, or visa versa. When working with Dollywood’s Show Designer in the development of a new attraction at Dollywood Theme Park, I chose the Day-to-Night effect when rendering the environment. The environment was modeled after the local Smokey Mountain landscape. To set the scene, we incorporated a scenically painted cyclorama, trees and vegetation, and rock ledges and waterfalls, all of which enveloped the audience. With the help of conventional lighting, we established the scene at sunrise. And then we treated every piece of scenery, both 2D and 3D, with invisible UV paint. We were basically painting the scene with a warm moonlight. The “source” of the light was a moon that was painted in the sky with invisible UV paint. Now you might say, “Well, I can do the same thing with a digitally printed Day/Night translucent backdrop.” True, but not all situations allow for electrics behind the backdrop. And more importantly, you can’t get your foreground props to glow brilliantly with moonlight in a dark environment through the use of conventional instruments like you can with UV. On the three-dimensional props, such as the trees and rocks, we sprayed the “moonlight” with airbrushes and cup guns. This UV application of moonlight emits light and you can vary the intensity over a surface, creating hotspots and cast-shadows. Upon completion, you felt like you were standing in a moonlit forest. And that was what the audience was treated to when they entered the attraction. As they filed in, they meandered around the forest under the moonlight, and then magically the sun rose revealing the majestic Smokey mountain landscape at daybreak! The audience was then treated to a musical performance in this beautiful setting.

UV3D is another great effect that offers audience interaction possibilities when applied to themed attractions, exhibits, and other interactive environments. It’s great for those times when you don’t have a very big budget but you still want to do something eye-catching. It’s also a great way to call attention to visual data in exhibits and interactive displays. For instance, typography, signage and/or images can be treated according to the UV3D format so that they pop out from the rest of the scene when illuminated by ultraviolet lighting. Like a 3D movie, images jump out of the scene when viewed with clear Chromodepth glasses. Haunted mazes truly benefit from this UV effect because the audience can move freely within the environment to experience a virtual reality otherwise non-existent. The relatively dark environments of nightclubs and lounges also lend themselves well to UV3D effects. When designing an outer space themed environment for a club in Japan, I chose to augment the scenery with 3D elements for an added bit of realism. The architecture of the club was designed so that you looked out onto space through plexi-glass portals. Beyond the portals was a wall ready to receive a scenically painted mural. Rather than designing a mural with conventional lighting, I chose UV to allow for glowing planets, stars, and nebulas. In addition, painting the scene with 3D allowed for a very real layering of space, yielding tremendous depth of scene. Patrons felt as if they could literally reach out and touch a passing asteroid!

The Complete Invisible is a great effect that works well in residential or commercial environments that are dual-purposed. Often in these spaces you have large, blank walls. These walls can serve two purposes to reflect the change in the venue’s usage. For example, a community center by day can turn into an eclectic exhibition space by night, facilitated by ultraviolet lighting effects. The normally neutral walls of the community center can be covered with invisible UV treatments that glow brilliantly, transforming the mood and purpose of the space completely. Imagine multicolored walls that strobe and vibrate with the beat of music as gallery patrons mill about the space. Who would believe that this same space was a utilitarian community center just 6 hours prior?

Finally, one of the most misunderstood UV effects is the Single Image. While you don’t receive the excitement of a full scenic change like you do with the other effects, you can use this style to produce light-generating scenic art in areas of moderate ambient lighting. This style does not require total darkness to be effective. Just imagine areas that are low lit and often forgotten receiving the brilliance of a single image treatment. You just light these pieces and forget about them. They bring their own unique qualities to walls, ceiling and floors.

As you can see, UV offers a wealth of possibilities for entertaining your audience. And these options are often affordable, long-lasting solutions. So jump right in and get your hands dirty with UV. And remember, if it gets too messy, our designers are always here ready to assist with bringing your vision to life!