Type of Unit Used in Practical Fixture / Late 80's

[Jay Young]

I have a question about the wrap around set practices in Star Trek: The Next Generation, specifically the white bands that flash red during certain scenes.

I noticed recently that the dim time on these fixtures is much faster than the standard tungsten lamp might be dimmed.

These lamps flash red.  This could be fluorescent tubes which could blink on/off quickly, but I highly doubt they were LED which would be used today.

Another option would be Neon, but what about the white?  It could be two different units set outside the flats, but that door leads directly onto a different part of the set, so it has to be small enough to fit in the wall.

So, what fixture was it?  Anyone know?  I could have been a LOT of smaller tungten/halogen bulbs wired up with heavy diffusion to make a continuous source.

[Phil Rhodes]

Got some video of it dimming? Can be quite informative. I think I know what you mean, though.

There would just about have been kino-flos, but I've no idea if they were used. It looks high CT. There are dim points as if it's tubes.

[Jay Young]

I have searched the web to find a clip of this effect, but I have found nothing. I’ll see if I can make my own. 

[David Mullen ASC]

Go to 1:17. Looks like little red bulbs somehow fitted near fluorescent tubes?

[David Mullen ASC]

The hallways seem to be using short fluorescent tubes with the cover gelled red so perhaps they are using thinner fluorescent tubes gelled red stuffed next to a white tube for the Ready Room.

[Phil Rhodes]

Looking at various bits of the set, various red panels go on and off at various rates. Some of it definitely looks like tungsten halogen switching on and off and thus fading rather quickly, some of it looks like fluorescent, as that corridor photo with the obvious red gel. I notice that the red colour matches quite well except on the stuff that's likely fluorescent. It looks like there's fluorescent all over the place in that set, particularly under the console pedestals to either side of the three central seats on the bridge.

As a thought experiment, I suspect it would theoretically have been possible to do all that with red LEDs in mid-to-late 80s, as something of a special project, for a price. Doesn't look like they did.

Oh, and edit - one other thought. It looks like there are breaks in the light in those strips, although not necessarily where it goes around corners. It might be worth considering the idea that at that time they would have been used to having custom neon (well, argon-mercury) tubing made up to illuminate the inside of spaceship models, and that might have been done. That slightly actinic bluey-white is supportive of the idea.

P

[Jay Young]

23 hours ago, David Mullen ASC said:

The hallways seem to be using short fluorescent tubes with the cover gelled red so perhaps they are using thinner fluorescent tubes gelled red stuffed next to a white tube for the Ready Room

David, this was my thought as well, but wanted someone else to give an opinion. 
 

I’ll have to do an experiment with fluorescent drivers to find one that can mimic that on/off action in a timely manner. Kino ballasts seem to have a delay in firing the lamp? Maybe old ballasts... plenty of them on the shelves these days! 

[Phil Rhodes]

If I had to do that now, the obvious choice would be LED tape. With programmable dimming you can have any curve you like.

 

[Jay Young]

I thought I would update this. I actually found the answer in an offhand comment from one of the production designers for Voyager; it’s neon. 
 

the long winded explanation went on to say the Next Generation warp core, and corridors are lit with neon and they wanted a much simpler effect for voyager, which ended up being foil spun on motors for the warp core effect….

 

 

in case anyone else was curious. 

[Phil Rhodes]

16 minutes ago, Jay Young said:

I thought I would update this. I actually found the answer in an offhand comment from one of the production designers for Voyager; it’s neon. 

Called it!

16 minutes ago, Jay Young said:

they wanted a much simpler effect for voyager, which ended up being foil spun on motors for the warp core effect

I always thought that was pretty successful; certainly better than the giant Vegas neon sign in the Next Gen's engine room. It'd have been better if they'd faded it, which neon will do, but which most neon controllers won't.