Automated Fixtures - Choosing the right light

[bcronenwett]

Hello, I'm fresh out of high school and will be a design student at a local university. I'm positive that the college at this time doesn't have automated fixtures, so I waned to purchase a couple to get some expierence.

Here's What I'm Looking For:
A) Cheap
B) Quality
C) Possible CMY mixing
D) Cheap w/ quality

If any one could give some direction or suggestions that would be great!
THANKS

[soundlight]

Originally Posted by bcronenwett

D) Cheap w/ quality

The usual answer is: pick one of the two here.

And how cheap do you mean when you say cheap?

[photoatdv]

Kinda like the saying your show can be:
Good
Fast
Cheap

Pick two.

Probably hear that on here...

[mstaylor]

If you just want experience, why not rent instead of buying?

[erico3456]

I would highly recommend not buying a moving light fixture because it is "cheap", our theater bought a couple moving fixtures that were "cheap" and not only do they not react anything like quality fixtures we've rented in the past and now most of them are constantly in and out of the shop being fixed. We have since bought better fixtures that really put on a better show. If you want experience you are certainly not going to get it from a cheap fixture that is nothing like the industry standard. Renting fixtures is a great option because you can get great quality with a low cost and not have to worry about it breaking. If you are determained to buy something you might look at buying a good quality used fixture from a good manufacturer, like maybe a mac 250 from Martin or a studio spot from High End. Hope this helps.

[bcronenwett]

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR RESPONSES!

By cheap i did not mean American DJ or Chauvet even though Chauvet is beginning to make "some" decent equipment. I'm currently looking at a Studio Spot 250 on gearsource.com and there going for about 900 bucks. If you guys know someone or another site who could beat the price please let me know! Also, my budget is about 1700 bucks MAX for two lights.

Thanks again,
bcronenwett

[soundlight]

Originally Posted by bcronenwett

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR RESPONSES!

By cheap i did not mean American DJ or Chauvet even though Chauvet is beginning to make "some" decent equipment. I'm currently looking at a Studio Spot 250 on gearsource.com and there going for about 900 bucks. If you guys know someone or another site who could beat the price please let me know! Also, my budget is about 1700 bucks MAX for two lights.

Thanks again,
bcronenwett

Stage Equipment, Lighting, Audio, and Video
Stage Lighting - Used Lighting, Used Audio, Used Video - Solaris
UsedLighting.com - Stage & Theatrical Lighting Equipment, LED, Trussing
www.lightbroker.com

Don't we have a wiki on used lighting websites somewhere?

[bcronenwett]

Sorry I'm new to this, but thanks for your help!

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by soundlight

...Don't we have a wiki on used lighting websites somewhere?

The Collaborative Article Sources for Used Equipment.


bcronenwett, I strongly suggest also reading the Collaborative Article The Gafftaper Method. BTW, with what console are you planning to console these moving lights?

[MrsFooter]

My question is if you have any previous experience with ANY moving/automated lights? I'm talking real simple stuff, scrollers and Elipscans and the like.
If you haven't, I highly recommend you start there, with smaller accessories, than jumping right to the big guns. It makes grasping a lot of the concepts involved in patching and programming much easier to understand when you're working with a fixture with 2-5 attributes instead of 15+.
(Not to mention that you could get 3 or 4 Elipscans for the price of one mover.)