Stage Designs

Throwback: Light Pillars

This was a stage design created for FBC Lafayette‘s Youth DiscipleNow. Using 10′ wide Taipei Silk from Dazian Fabrics, they created an awesome backdrop flown from their 40′ ceiling. Although you cant see it very well in the photos, they used 4’x8’ sheets of white coroplast hung in a random pattern used as an additional projection screen/backdrop.

For the light pillars they used 4’X8′ sheets of natural coroplast scored on one side, every foot and folded into a 1′ square column. Then set atop an LED wash light and voila! an awesome LED column.

Originally from March 22, 2010.

Talk to Noble Mosby if you have questions about the design and post your questions here!
noblemosby.comnoble.mosby@fbclaf.org

Clustered Throwback: The App Wall

30 responses to “Throwback: Light Pillars”

  1. Kevin says:

    Do you have a recommended Coroplast supplier?

    • admin says:

      I’d suggest finding a local supplier…they can provide you with free samples and help you with getting the right sizes.

      I just picked up a free sample of Natural Coroplast this morning. :)

  2. Dave says:

    This site is AMAZING!

    What’s the best way to drape fabric (that is 124″ wide) from a horizontal truss? Not just from one point using griff clips, but from all the way across the width of the fabric?

    Your picture above looks like the fabric is held from multiple places, or all the way across. (stage left)

    Please Help!

    • John Lawson says:

      I have done this before. I had a channel sewn into the fabric along its entire length. Then I slid in a pole onto the channel. I then attached to pole to the truss using c-clamps. I have used this method for many school graduation ceremonies.

  3. Noble Mosby says:

    Hey Dave,

    The Griff Clips are amazing! Thats what we used to attach the fabric in this design. One way is to put griff clips every 1-2 feet, then push the clips closer together letting the fabric sag in-between each clip. Thus, giving some ripples in the fabric. You could also stretch it tight if thats the look you’re going for. If you don’t want to use the Griff Clips, you can either get your fabric pre-finished when you buy it or, you can use duct tape to add stability to the top of your fabric for the grommets.

    One note. In our sanctuary, the bottom of our catwalks is about 8 feet ABOVE the bottom of the cloth “cloud” where you see the fabric starting. So, it starts as a point but there is room there for it to widen before you actually see it. Also, the only fabric in the design that is 10′ wide are the two pieces in the front. The ones in the back, hanging straight down, are regular 60″ bolts you’d buy from your local fabric store.

    Hope this answers your question. If not, let me know.
    Thanks!

  4. Noble Mosby says:

    If you are looking for a Coroplast Distributor. We used Piedmont Plastics for our Christmas Design. They have warehouses all over the US. For this design we only needed white coloplast so, I went to our local sign shop and bought blanks from there. Most sign shops get free shipping on all their coroplast and a lot of times that will be cheaper depending on the quantity of sheets you need.

  5. Jamie says:

    Hey Noble, thank you for this picture! What LED wash lights are you using for the pillars?

  6. Noble Mosby says:

    Jamie,

    The lights we had underneath the columns were Robe LED REDBlinder 2-48. It was really cool because the column actually fit perfectly on these lights. The area around the lights and inside the outer “frame” is exactly 1 foot which, if you have a 4×8 sheet of coroplast.. it works great… Let me know if I can help you in any other way.

  7. Jon says:

    What did you use to attach the pieces of coroplast to create the box’s that high up? Also what is the difference in natural coroplast and normal coroplast?

    Thanks your design looked awesome!

    • Noble Mosby says:

      We used regular clear packing tape. I was in a hurry when making these so I dont recommend that for a long term solution. You could possibly use some type of glue, maybe hot glue or something like that to run down the edge. Also, if you order extra coroplast you need to put a top on the column to keep the light inside or else it will shoot up to the ceiling. It helps it glow better.

      • mark manley says:

        I had the same thought about covering the column – and then I thought: what about putting a mirror in the top (facing in to the column) – you’d get a lot of extra light to brighten the top of the column. Must experiment!
        Well done!

  8. Noble Mosby says:

    Natural coroplast is just the "color" that is Translucent.

  9. Tyler says:

    I know this is an old post, but what thickness of Coroplast do you use for this? The local place that carries it doesn't have 2mm thick, but they have 4mm and 10mm.

    • I tried to recreate it myself…and I used the standard kind that's used for real estate signs. Probably the 4mm. Probably the thinner the material the better it will glow.

  10. bee says:

    what is cheaper lighting that can be uses i realised the Robe LED REDBlinder 2-48. is quite an expensive light way aboove budget.

  11. chad822 says:

    When you say you scored the coroplast on one side are you used a razor blade or are you just creating a crease and bending it? Sorry we plan on making a few of these for a youth event at the end of the month and dont want to mess them up.

  12. Jonathan says:

    how much would the columns cost, about a roundabout figure. Thanks

  13. Nate M says:

    Is the natural color the same as white? Also, what mm did you use?

  14. Steve says:

    I made 4 pillars in one evening. It was quite easy. Used the Natural coroplast, but had to trim the ends of the sheets, which are typically cut back and forth as the sheets move through the machines, so one side is about 1 inch longer than the other. If you don’t trim them square, you will get an unlevel pillar. You only score the one side or the sheet will separate. I used packing tape and hot glue. I just need to find LED lights to go inside. We have never used LED’s so I have to do some research. Have already checked out cheaplights.com, not sure if they ship to Canada.

    • Steve says:

      I found some Chauvet SlimPar 56 lights for the pillars. They fit inside perfectly and produce a really nice glow. Got a ton of compliments on them.

    • Tim Lee says:

      There are cheap 7×10 watt led lights on Ebay that work great for uplighting like this. You can find them for about $40.00 a piece and although they are not made as well as the expensive name brands, they work great in our church. They’ve lasted over 2 years now. Come with DMX and you can daisy chain power.

  15. doug says:

    Hi Noble,
    I was just admiring your handy work here. It looks beautiful!
    Can you tell me more about the fabric used? How do you light it up? Is the fabric expensive? Does it have to be silk?
    Thanks, doug

  16. James Coulter says:

    What type of fabric do you use for lighting like this? BTW, LOVE the light pillars. We’re running to our “local” coroplast dealer this week to build some for youth room.

  17. JR says:

    I made some three-sided ones before I saw this. 18″ front x15″ sides. I then made a 1×2 frame that I velcro’ed the coroplast to. (Made a slit in the coroplast for the velcro to go through). Rather than black out the bottom, I bought a mirror for top and bottom ($10 each from Wal-mart) and mounted the light to a cross-piece on the frame aimed at the bottom mirror (in my case two feet from the bottom). For shorter columns (4ft) one light worked, for taller columns I bounced a second light off the top mirror. This made the colour consistent from top to bottom since it has two feet to blend the LEDs before it hits the mirror.

  18. Lance says:

    Hello!

    This is great! I would like to do something like this in our new youth room being built in 2016. Could I still retain a degree of equivalent ambience in the pillar if I used LED tape instead of an LED can or something? I am looking for the most cost-effective way to do things. I want there to be an equal distribution of light though, so that the individual lines can be seen.

    Any suggestions?

    In Christ,
    Lance

    • Lance says:

      I made an error in my post above. In the last line, it should say, “I want there to be an equal distribution of light, so that the individual LED tape lines CANNOT be seen.”

      :)

  19. Hi, I am wondering how you made/where you purchased the bases for the coroplast towers.

    Thanks!

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