Strip Lights As Top Light

[DHSLXOP]

Hi Everyone,

I was allowed in my school's new theatre for the first time today, and while there are many very exciting things in there, I am a little worried about one thing I saw - strip lights for our top light. I am used to being able to isolate my top light by using parnels with a color scroller over individual areas, and I know that the chances of doing this in this now are limited. Are my concerns valid? Are there any positive or negative effects of using strip lights as top lights? If anyone has effectively used them, how would they compare to using either a parnel or fresnel as top light? Let me know, and thanks in advance!!

 

[Grimtheatre]

From a design standpoint it's a quick and easy way to give a general wash to the stage. No you're not going to get the control and versatility that you would from a parnel or S4par with a scroller on it, but there are still ways to effectively use strip lights as top light.

Come to think of it my high school had strip lights with rondels in them and it worked fairly well!

 

[shiben]

Well, as a pro of striplights, the wash will be nice and even for something like an orchestra concert. It will probably be nice and bright too. Now, there are a lot more cons, such as zero isolation except in strips. I have used them for broad washes with toplight, but your not going to get anything near the effect of Parnels or Fresnels with scrollers. You also loose the spot effects. Will you not have electrics to put fresnels and such on for specific uses?

 

[Footer]

I have done it, it works, its a pain, but it works. This is a pretty common thing in older theatres with older gear. You don't get the isolation that you get with individual lights, but you can get a light of light really cheaply. I have hung strips yoked out on pipes before to add color pushes. If its all you have, it can be limiting. Remember though, lights have clamps on them for a reason. If lights were meant to be welded to a pipe, they would be.

 

[shiben]

One more thing I forgot: if your doing the right kind of concert and want to make the stage a nice saturated color, strips make this very easy to do because of how even you can get them. However, I agree with footer's last comment. If they are really terrible for your show, grab a wrench, and make yourself a ground row. Then hang al kinds of whatever on the electrics.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

Strips are old school and while they work and can be used very effectively it annoys me that new facilities are still being built with them as the "primary" source.

Question: Are they continuous strips or "segmented". Also what kind are they? Altman R40's? ETC MultiPAR's? Other?

 

[DHSLXOP]

To answer a couple of the questions here:

(I only did see them from the ground, since they were already hung on their electricals, so I couldn't see all of the details)

I believe that they are segmented (if by this you mean, not running all the way across the stage, but instead being one left, right, and center)

I think that they are the Altman R40's - but again, I couldn't tell from the deck

I will have a few fresnels and some lekos for some uses, but it doesn't seem like enough to entirely do what I would normally like to do.

Anyone have any ideas on the best way to design with them, especially for theatrical uses?? We were thinking of just going RGB with them...would this be the most effective way to use them?

And I think that this was a MAJOR budget cut, since it doesn't seem like many new theatres are built with them.

 

[Esoteric]

RGB will be the best way to go and color mix to whatever else you might need. We used to do that sort of thing for festivals at UT.

I once used a four cell far cyc to light a stage. It lit the stage well. And the house. And the catwalks. And the foyer. *lol*

Mike

 

[DHSLXOP]

RGB will be the best way to go and color mix to whatever else you might need. We used to do that sort of thing for festivals at UT.

I once used a four cell far cyc to light a stage. It lit the stage well. And the house. And the catwalks. And the foyer. *lol*

Mike

I'm glad that color mixing is the best way to go with this. Thanks!!

 

[gafftapegreenia]

When it comes to strip lights, for 3 channel, RGB really is the best way to go. Some variations are RBA (Red, Blue, Amber), or RBW (Red, Blue, White- Which no one does anymore). For four channel strips, the usual options are RGBA or RGBW.

Could you tell if the strips are 3 or 4 circuit?

The nice thing about R40's is they can use gel instead of roundels so you can easily and CHEAPLY change colors should you have a show you wish to get specific on.

 

[DHSLXOP]

When it comes to strip lights, for 3 channel, RGB really is the best way to go. Some variations are RBA (Red, Blue, Amber), or RBW (Red, Blue, White- Which no one does anymore). For four channel strips, the usual options are RGBA or RGBW.

Could you tell if the strips are 3 or 4 circuit?

The nice thing about R40's is they can use gel instead of roundels so you can easily and CHEAPLY change colors should you have a show you wish to get specific on.

Since they were up in the air, I couldn't tell how many circuits. If there were four, is white or amber a better choice?

 

[gafftapegreenia]

I'd personally go with RGBA for 4 circuit but some people like white as it gives an easy way to give plenty of useable work light.

 

[mstaylor]

I always prefered Amber on a four circuit instead of white. It gives you a fourth color, you can do the RBG for your white and add some depth with the amber.

 

[Esoteric]

Yeah, if it is a 4 circuit I would go RGBA unless you have a specific need for some other color (like purple or something).

Mike

 

[mstutzman]

I recently did a production of The Seaferer in a space with an open 25' grid, because the set designer had reduced the feel of the space by using wooden beam, we intern needed to make our shots from closer. We built a grid below the main grid at 15' and used strips as our toplight. It worked suprisingly well.

Nice even wash and not allot of exposed lights to pull the eye.

 

[NevilleLighting]

R40 strips are not a budget consideration, they are the product of some old school architect using what he learned 30 years ago. Like the other posts already said, it's an easy way to get a lot of color coverage. Unfortunately, if the architect of your theatre did ANYTHING to learn about modern lighting technology they would have put in LED PARs. With what they would have saved in dimmers and wiring they could have paid for LED PARs five times over, and you'd still have room on the pipes to hang other stuff. The architects designing a majority of high schools across this country really make me angry and I only have one thing to say to any architect that specs R40 strips, "yes, I would like fries with that."

 

[derekleffew]

...Unfortunately, if the architect of your theatre did ANYTHING to learn about modern lighting technology they would have put in LED PARs. With what they would have saved in dimmers and wiring they could have paid for LED PARs five times over, and you'd still have room on the pipes to hang other stuff. ...

Because every school should have a stage that looks like this :

http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting/8741-l-e-d-i-missed-boat.html#post120381.

Long live the X-Rays! Still a major part of the plots of ballets, and opera houses everywhere.

 

[DHSLXOP]

R40 strips are not a budget consideration, they are the product of some old school architect using what he learned 30 years ago. Like the other posts already said, it's an easy way to get a lot of color coverage. Unfortunately, if the architect of your theatre did ANYTHING to learn about modern lighting technology they would have put in LED PARs. With what they would have saved in dimmers and wiring they could have paid for LED PARs five times over, and you'd still have room on the pipes to hang other stuff. The architects designing a majority of high schools across this country really make me angry and I only have one thing to say to any architect that specs R40 strips, "yes, I would like fries with that."

You know, its interesting though...I'm not sure if its the architect or not. When I (along with the faculty tech director) saw the the original lighting plans, we were originally supposed to be given Strand Fresnels. Because we liked what the ETC fixtures did in our old theatre more than the strand, we asked to be updated to the ETC Parnel. Since I don't think I saw any of those hanging, I think that it actually was a budget cut, because no where in the plans were the R40 strips originally.

 

[NevilleLighting]

Well, that's too bad. The Parnels would have been a nice choice except lamp life is shorter. Fresnels are old school but still useful. I just think that it's an unfortunate choice to chew up pipe space with R40's. I too have used cyc lights as top light and they give a very interesting quality of light. I've also used PAR-56 and PAR-64 strips as top light, but they do have a tight enough beam that they still allow for individual control of areas.

 

[mstutzman]

"A camel, is a horse by commitee."

Ive seen a lot of these upgrades or installs get totally ruined by what the suppliers want to get rid of for what price, what the achitect used 30 years ago, and what the client feels they can afford.

No one ever sits the client down and shows them that they will gain the money back thru energy efficiency, lamp life, and usability.