Scrims are frequently used to make people or scenery appear or disapear, but can also be used as painted /printed scenery, silhuette screen/shadow screens, and for projection either of simple colors or complex projection, and to suggest skies or background or finally to suggest distance.

 

These effects can be used together in some very interesting ways.  For instance in the Wizard of OZ, Kansas can be printed on a scrim.  When you were still in Kansas, the tornado could have been shadow projected on Kansas. And with a light change Kansas can fade away to reveal Munchkinland (behind the scrim). 

 

By far, the reveal effect (appear and disappear) is the most common special effect using a scrim.  Here's how it works...its a what you light is what you see.  So if you light what is behind the scrim you see through the holes in the scrim to see that setting (think screen window)--as long as you don't accidentally light the scrim from the front or behind by accident.  Now if you light the scrim fibers themselves (so light at a steep angle, like from above) while keeping it dark behind the scrim you see whatever is printed/painted on the scrim or you see the scrim color itself.

 

Here's the problem.  With the traditional sharkstooth scrim, its a tricky effect because its darn hard to not let the scrim go transparent.  Its so hard to make it opaque just by light that some people cheat by dropping another drop behind the scrim very fast.  (This may be why you think its up backwards).  On the other hand, sharkstooth has a nearly transparent look when the reveal occurs.  This is because sharktooth is stretchy and must be stretched out when hung; when you stretch it the holes get about as big as those in your home screen window screen.  So looking through a sharkstooth is like looking through a screen window--almost.

 

I work for the company that makes a new type of scrim: CHameleon.  Chameleon (like the lizard name) solves most of the difficulty of sharkstooth.  Its far easier to turn opaque so you don't see through it.  But the reveal is slightly different, when you reveal people or objects behind it, those people/objects are slightly diffused and glow.  So in effect they have a glow or halo around them.

 

Chameleon also is less expensive, a better front and rear projection surface than sharkstooth, hangs square (no hourglassing), can't have a moire effect (interference like pattern when two layers of scrim are used), prints well, paints well, can be hungs as panels and allows secret entrances--sharkstooth doesn't, and is a better shadow screen.  Chameleon can be hung and bent as walls, so you can hang one Chameleon to be both sides of a corner.

 

Chameleon is much less expensive, making many things that people want to do with a scrim possible--example paint it.  Chameleon can also be rented and the rental applied toward the purchase of the same scrim--a try before you buy approach.

 

As far as weakness of the two materials (sharkstooth and Chameleon), I wish that I could tell you that scrims were made of castiron--they aren't.  Sharkstooth is known to run like a stocking if snagged, and can dry rott (the flame retardant holds moisture from the air to a natural fiber).  Chameleon can abrade, and has a lower melting point (as a synthetic), so don't put a smoke machine nozzle against the scrim.  Chameleon is easier to repair--and nearly seamlessly.

 

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