Fig. 31
Type W.O. 20. G.E.C. Cloud Apparatus with 20 projection sytems arranged in two tiers. Designed for sue with 3000 wass Osram gas-filled class A.2 Projector type lamp.

The cloud machine, illustrated in Fig. 31, is the large two-tier Schwabe apparatus which is extensively used in continental opera houses and large theatres. A 3000 watt gas-filled/amp is placed in the centre, and round this are mounted twenty projection attachments, each of which can be fitted with a cloud diapositive. These diapositives are prepared from actual photographs.

Fig. 32.
Type W.O. 10. G.E.C. Cloud Apparatus with 10 projection systems arranged in one tier. Designed for use with 3ooo watt Osram gas-filled class A.2 Projector type lamp.

The clouds are made to move across the cyclorama by slowly rotating the entire apparatus by means of an electric motor. As the images from the objective lenses are reflected on to the cyclorama by means of the plane mirrors shown, it is possible to obtain a vertical movement by tilting the mirrors. The tilting movement of each tier of mirrors is worked by two electric motors. By using all three of the electric motors the clouds may be made to move in any direction, and it is possible to make one bank of clouds move over the other.

My own view of the usefulness of this machine is that it is limited so far as realism goes to spectacular plays. Its realistic use in serious works merely distracts the audience. If, however, the machine is used by the scenic artist for purely imaginative designs which aid the atmosphere of the scene, this type of machine can become a valuable servant in the theatre. The price of £6oo puts this machine out of reach of any but the Largest and richest theatres, and a simpler one-tier model at about £400 is shown in Fig. 32. There are other types of machines which are to be, or have been, placed upon the market, one of which is given in Fig. 33, and costs only about £~35 complete. Naturally it has a more restricted application than the larger machines, and only shows one bank of clouds moving in one direction. Clouds are easier to project than any other form of scenery or background, as the high-lights are clear glass in the diapositive and the shadows not very dense. This accounts for the relatively low candle power required in cloud machines.

Fig. 33.
Type W.O. 5. G.E.C. Cloud Apparatus, small model with 5 projection systems arranged in one tier. Designed for use with moo watt Osram Cinema Clas C Projector type lamp.

reproduced from:
Stage Lighting
by Harrold Ridge, A.R.S.M., D.I.C., etc.
Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc., Boston
The Riverside Press Cambridge
1928






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