Mixing brands and wattages - movers

[Daveslights]

currently I have 4 coemar prospot 250's. We're looking to add some more, and are considering getting 4 more, maybe Mac 250's or Technobems. We've also kicked around the idea of gettting 2 575w fixtures.

Has anyone had experience doing this? Will it look weird having 2 fixtures twice as bright as the rest?

and are there certain fixtures that will mix well with Coemar's?

[icewolf08]

Originally Posted by Daveslights

currently I have 4 coemar prospot 250's. We're looking to add some more, and are considering getting 4 more, maybe Mac 250's or Technobems. We've also kicked around the idea of gettting 2 575w fixtures.
Has anyone had experience doing this? Will it look weird having 2 fixtures twice as bright as the rest?
and are there certain fixtures that will mix well with Coemar's?

"Looking weird" is totally subjective. It will look however you design it to look. It doesn't look weird if you use source 4s and 360Qs in the same plot, as long as you know how to work them.

I think you need to tell us a little more about what you use your equipment for and such before we can really give you advice.

[SerraAva]

It all depends on how you plan to use them if different wattages will effect what you are doing. I have in the past used mirror 250 fixtures with 575 moving head fixtures before. As long as you are aware that the 575s are going to be much brighter, everything is fine. For example, I used the 575s with darker colors and with gobos more since they are punchier. The 250s, I would use with brighter colors for more general washes. I would also use the 575s for specials while the 250s still did there thing.

You can also just dim the 575s if you need the intensities to match for any reason. Just be aware that for anything involving video recording, 250s tend to have a higher color temperature then 575s to help make them brighter.

As far as fixture mixing, are you trying to match gobos and colors? Thats the only reason why not to mix fixtures. I have been on any number of shows in which I used Macs, Studio Spots, and/or VLs for the same show for different reasons. Look to see what features attract you the most if you aren't worried about color and gobos matching, more so color because gobos are easily changed.

[JD]

It depends on how you are using them in the show. If you have a truss and run mixed lights across it that are working together, it will look really odd. However if the lights are used for different purposes from different locations, you can get away with a lot. For example, if your 250's are overhead, and your 575's are on the floor, then it won't look bad. If your beam angles are tight on the 250's and wide on the 575's, the intensity will look closer. Remember, lights always look brighter if they're aimed at you, so if some of your locations are aimed at the audience, and some are aimed at the stage (like for a band or dance), the 250's will look brighter to the audience than the 575's hitting the stage. Having a mix is often better than having only one type. There are always going to be positions that eat light, and this gives you the option of cranking things up for those positions.

EDIT:
Wow! Looks like a lot of posts came in at the same time, so some of the info is redundant, but it all looks like we're thinking the same thing!

[SerraAva]

Nah, I just read your minds as I typed .

[Daveslights]

I guess that was a little vague. It's for a rock band. I'm trying to match colors as best as I can.

I would either put the 250s up on t-stands and the 575s on cases or the 575s on two truss sticks and the 250s on cases.

[JD]

Things flown look brighter than things on the floor. This is because to the eye, the device on the floor is competing with the light hitting the floor and background around it, whereas a flown fixture basically competes against the darkness behind it. (Of course if it gets too high, that's another matter!) T stands and movers are a little risky though....

[Daveslights]

Originally Posted by JD

T stands and movers are a little risky though....

I've heard people say that, but I've seen it done a lot. What's the deal, if the stand is rated for 200lbs and you put 100lbs is that still risky?

[SerraAva]

The problem is that a t-stand might be rated for 200lbs vertically, not horizontally. If you have a 50lbs moving head or two swaying back and forth, it might tip over because it isn't rated for 100lbs horizontally (absolute worse case scenario). Moving mirrors have much less horizontal force as its only the mirror moving and not the whole head. This is why putting a moving head on a t-stand is dangerous. If its a stick of truss with two stands, the amount of horizontal force is spread between at least two stands and the truss, not just the stand its self now.

I would agree with putting the 250s on stands/truss and 575s on the floor/cases. The 575s are more then bright enough to punch through 250s at that angle depending on color. I have also used 575s in the past at the side of the stage as side light to great effect with 250 mirrors on a truss in the back. You could also look into CMY fixtures, so color matching isn't as much a problem.

[Raktor]

From what I've read, moving mirrors are fine on t stands, but the moving heads are not.

Not just the horizontal/vertical debate, but the fact that they are rated for a solid load coming down. If a moving head is still, it will only throw the amount of force equivalent to its weight on the bar; but if it's moving quickly it can put a lot of extra pressure down that can go beyond the support the t stand is rated for.

Just what I've heard though, I'm not going to go do an experiment.