www.rosco.com: The National Museum of the U.S. Army (NMUSA) was established to showcase the history of the United States Army. Located on the Fort Belvoir Army Base in Virginia, the 185,000 square foot building includes state-of-the-art exhibits, a multi-sensory theatre experience, and hands-on, educational activities. Designers at Chris Werner Design and The Scenic Route used 140 Miro Cube® LED fixtures and 130m of RoscoLED® Tape to illuminate a variety of exhibits and areas inside the museum.
9 comments:
This is probably naive of me to say but I honestly did not even think of this kind of application for these lights. I really appreciate how flexible technology typically used for expressly theatrical purposes can be utilized for other purposes within the entertainment industry. It certainly helps assuage my grandparent’s fear that I will be pigeonholed and unable to get any work. It is especially exciting when seen being used in such interactive exhibits in museums like this. The kind of interactivity that can be seen in some theatre is what draws people in and keeps theatre alive and thriving. My mother works in education in museums and this is the sort of thing that she always raves about. These lights may be in a different context from the theatre but they are still compelling people to stay engaged and interested in the stories being told.
WOW! They really did an exceptional job at lighting these spaces. I truly want to know where this designer started off. Did they start off in theater or did they come from a more architectural background. I can’t wait for the day to come when I graduate and have more time to apply to be a part of these projects. Love CMU but I really want to get out into the world and just start doing. Still hoping for more things to open up, maybe I just haven’t had enough time to go out to theater, exhibits, and performances but COVID is still putting a damper on a lot of live interaction and entertainment. Before reading this article I didn’t know that ROSCO sold LED Tape, there is a lot I don’t know lol. Anyway, the designer of this project really did a stunning job. I would 100% go visit this, honestly more for the lights than the military side but I have a lot of respect for all who have severed in the armed forces
I love this! I think the lighting creates a super immersive experience for everyone at the museum, but it is implemented in a way that makes you think there is no special lighting at all. It doesn't subtract from any of the exhibits, instead fits so well with the architecture of the building. I was very impressed with the LED Tape in the Room the curved screen and how the LEDs would update to the content on the screen. It fits so well with the room that any unknowing museum goer wouldn't think twice about what's going on. Similarly, the integration of ROSCO LEDs into the inside of exhibits was flawless. They can give such an even spread of light, without being an eye sore. This article was a wonderful way for me to realize how often I am confined to just theatre practices. When I think of Rosco, I think of Gels or special FX built for theater. I often forget that they make products that can fit into any application, as this article shows. Rosco makes things for film and television, Theatre, architecture, or whatever use you find necessary, and I think the application of their products into a museum was a perfect way to showcase this.
I had not heard of the Rosco Miro Cube fixture before, and it seems like a fixture that might have a lot of applications across various industries and tasks. Combining it's small size with high brightness and full color mixing, the Miro Cube should be a powerful combination that could serve as a wash fixture version of something like a source4 mini. I could not immediately find pricing information for the Miro Cube, but if it is not outrageously expensive, I imagine it will become a tool for a variety of organizations, even beyond theaters and museums. Other architectural uses like stadiums or even parks and other public spaces likely have a need for small but powerful and bright fixtures that they can use to add pop or emphasis to areas, objects, or architecture without having intrusive lighting fixtures hanging in awkward places. I imagine this will not be the last museum to use the Miro Cube.
Much like whoever it is up there in the comments chain, I had not considered this type of application for lighting fixtures. Obviously, many, if not all, things get lighted, but museum and exhibit lighting has never been something I paid attention to. I guess, being a theatre person, it's easy to get tunnel vision with any name I am familiar with when doing theatre, such as Rosco; but really, anything could be used for anything! Just because Rosco is well-known throughout the theatre community obviously does not mean that is all that it is used for. Any location used for performance or display will have very intentional lighting, and I think that is something I will definitely start clocking from now on. I have not been to any museums in a long while, but the next time I do, I will surely pay attention to the way lights are used to enhance the experience.
The Rosco LED lighting spotlighted in this article is incredibly fascinating; they were a brilliant and beautiful addition to the visuals and exhibits of the National Museum of the US Army. I was especially interested in the Chinook Helicopter Math Exhibits. I loved how the Rosco LED lighting tape was used creatively in such a unique space (the replica of a Chinook Helicopter) to create even and accurate lighting. And seeing how innovative and successful these designs were in the space of the NMUSA, it’s hard to imagine that this technology and these designs won’t soon branch out to other types of facilities and industries. I look forward to seeing how this kind of lighting can be applied to the space of theater; the lighting designs of the Army Theater in the article, such as the cove lighting under the big screen, definitely seemed like they could be applied to a theater production.
One of the things that first got me interested in theatre was how you can be so experimental with it. The multi-sensory, 300° Army Theater that was mentioned in the article was one of those things that caught my eye because it sort of reminded me of the pandemic style of theatre. I think during the pandemic, the industry often questioned whether theatre can be as immersive an experience as live. However, I believe that new tech like these shows that it is possible. As the landscape of the world changes, there has to be new ways to use theatre to tell these ever changing stories.
Additionally, I want to note the use of lighting in these museums. I think I never really thought about lighting too much when I think about sets, but I think it is something that really pulls everything together when it comes to theatre making. Light really transforms the mood and the space and it is often one of the first things one notices. I think it is cool that there are so many different ways to light something, even though it is such a seemingly natural thing.
Similarly to those above, I had not considered these lights usage outside of theatre, however it makes complete sense. In a way the Museum is a theatre itself, however there is no audience, everyone is just wandering around on stage. The first thing this article caused me to wonder is who maintains these lights? Is there a Master Electrician? I wonder how the fixtures were chosen as well. LED lights don’t produce ultraviolet light so they seem like a natural choice for use in a museum context, which I had never considered before. The use of the LED tape is quite dynamic and I think it has many uses. This article did cause me to think about how often now people put non commercial, far less complex systems into their rooms, such as the LED strips almost everyone has. However, these things are also used on the professional end in a more complex way and it is remarkable.
-I thought that the exhibit was very interestingly done. When one thinks of a military history museum something as futuristic dose not usually come to mind. I really enjoyed how the museum installations include lots of modern military vehicles and aircrafts, along with interesting use of lighting. The immersive theater was particularly interesting as it merges LED lighting with the visuals on screen. Lighting has the power to change a mood and atmosphere completely, and by using lighting alongside footage of military combat it has the ability to create a powerful and moving show for an audience. I also thought the extensive use of LED tape to be very interesting as it was used to illuminate not just from the celling, but also in the upper edges of some of the installations such as a military HUMMVEE. I truly never thought deeply about how much lighting plays a role in museum installations until now, but it amazes me how dramatic of an effect it can have in not only lighting a room, but also highlighting the important exhibits and parts of a museum.
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