Advice for Purchasing Moving Lights

[MNicolai]

@gafftaper $100 to buy lamps. "These lights are all broken -- we don't use them any more because they don't turn on." Think what it'll be like in 10 years when nobody remembers the days of arguing which color grease pencil to label gels with and using tracing wheels to try to perforate gels so they'd maybe last a little longer.

Somewhat unrelated. I worked at a roadhouse where the first or second TD after the venue opened 6 years earlier had beaten the snot out of the fixture inventory. There were a number of fixtures on the upstage meat rack in various stages of disrepair. Then came the annual $500/plate gala with a bar and an RC racetrack set up on stage (plus various tents/concerts/art exhibits/etc). One of the stagehands gets the idea to put the bar right in front of the meat rack, and labels like 40 of the fixtures as broken, using 64pt fonts, so right when all the attendees would be a little drunk and have their checkbooks already out they would get a subtle suggestion "Please give us more money."

 

[StradivariusBone]

So you quickly end up with a very expensive mover sitting in the corner that doesn't work and you can't afford to fix it, or no one knows how to use it.

This is a phenomenon not solely limited to movers. I cannot tell you how often I get called out to elementary schools to spec new equipment or repair existing and I find a closet stuffed to the brim with audio gear. Most of the time I'm able to get them set up with whatever equipment I find on site, but the story is always the same:

Something needed fixing -> one staff member was technically gifted and recommended they buy "X" -> that staff member leaves or dies -> audio.exe has stopped working -> gear "X" is banished to the closet zone -> repeat.

 

[gafftaper]

@gafftaper $100 to buy lamps. "These lights are all broken -- we don't use them any more because they don't turn on." Think what it'll be like in 10 years when nobody remembers the days of arguing which color grease pencil to label gels with and using tracing wheels to try to perforate gels so they'd maybe last a little longer.

I ran an entire high school theater program on 1/3 of however much money the school's Coke machine sold in the previous year. I had to choose between lamps and royalties... we did a lot of Shakespeare. These days I work in a gorgeous new high school PAC where I am the tech guy and I have a great budget and all the latest toys.

This is a phenomenom not solely limited to movers. I cannot tell you how often I get called out to elementary schools to spec new equipment or repair existing and I find a closet stuffed to the brim with audio gear. Most of the time I'm able to get them set up with whatever equipment I find on site, but the story is always the same: Something needed fixing -> one staff member was technically gifted and recommended they buy "X" -> that staff member leaves or dies -> audio.exe has stopped working -> gear "X" is banished to the closet zone -> repeat.

So true Strad, I just got a call two weeks ago from one of our feeder elementary schools. They needed lamps and were about to pay a company to send someone out to replace the lamps... at a very expensive hourly rate... but before they could do it they needed help knowing what kind of lamps would work so the guy could bring them with him. Our tech staff was able to interceed and help. It's sad how much trouble schools get in with tech. Fortunately in my district they have the brains to hire a tech staff and we can handle all these little things.

 

[dvsDave]

Well darn, this was discussed HERE. @dvsDave fixed what he could and the blog posts are no longer available.

Working on it. I have the fixed URL's ready, but there's a bug with editing the wiki entries right now that I'm trying to sort out.

 

[jcslighting]

This whole thread reminds me of a quote I worked on for a local school. School was built in the mid-90s, all altman 360qs and the 1KL series as well as 65Q fresnels and 14" scoops to light the sky drop. Console is a EDI minstrel Plus and there is no distributed DMX. This space even has a flyloft but only 16 linesets - all the electrics fly. A couple years back they upgraded the sound system at a cost of over $70k and wanted a 5 year plan to do the lighting system. I started with the console then modern fixtures, dmx networking, LED static washes, and LED cyc fixtures and finally replacing the EDI dimmer rack that is getting harder to find parts to repair. The director was upset that I didn't include movers since I had brought in a dozen of my own for several shows in the past. My answer was - " 1st you don't have the basic infrastructure to easily install them permanently and 2nd your basic inventory is 30+ year old technology finally 3rd The cyc wash has always been weak and inadequate using scoops from the top on a 20' tall cyc. Disappointed he walked away understanding that while the latest toys are fun they aren't that practical when your inventory isn't current at all.

I have an observation about educational theatre in my area -Northern & Central Kentucky. All the high schools around me are constantly updating technology - new classroom projectors, computer labs, printers, laptops, tablets, even sports equipment and stadiums - but none of them want to keep the theatrical equipment updated. Could you imagine a current HS student being asked to use a computer with a monochrome monitor or one running MS-DOS or Windows 3.1 or 95? Yet the theatrical equivalent of that happens every day with lighting and sound consoles that were not even 'state of the art' when they were purchased in the mid-1990s.

The sad part of it all is that some of these schools have multi-million dollar stadiums that even sport artificial turf and video scoreboards! Priorities......

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

This whole thread reminds me of a quote I worked on for a local school. School was built in the mid-90s, all altman 360qs and the 1KL series as well as 65Q fresnels and 14" scoops to light the sky drop. Console is a EDI minstrel Plus and there is no distributed DMX. This space even has a flyloft but only 16 linesets - all the electrics fly. A couple years back they upgraded the sound system at a cost of over $70k and wanted a 5 year plan to do the lighting system. I started with the console then modern fixtures, dmx networking, LED static washes, and LED cyc fixtures and finally replacing the EDI dimmer rack that is getting harder to find parts to repair. The director was upset that I didn't include movers since I had brought in a dozen of my own for several shows in the past. My answer was - " 1st you don't have the basic infrastructure to easily install them permanently and 2nd your basic inventory is 30+ year old technology finally 3rd The cyc wash has always been weak and inadequate using scoops from the top on a 20' tall cyc. Disappointed he walked away understanding that while the latest toys are fun they aren't that practical when your inventory isn't current at all.

I have an observation about educational theatre in my area -Northern & Central Kentucky. All the high schools around me are constantly updating technology - new classroom projectors, computer labs, printers, laptops, tablets, even sports equipment and stadiums - but none of them want to keep the theatrical equipment updated. Could you imagine a current HS student being asked to use a computer with a monochrome monitor or one running MS-DOS or Windows 3.1 or 95? Yet the theatrical equivalent of that happens every day with lighting and sound consoles that were not even 'state of the art' when they were purchased in the mid-1990s.

The sad part of it all is that some of these schools have multi-million dollar stadiums that even sport artificial turf and video scoreboards! Priorities......

Those folks that get are much better at asking then theatre people. When I'm planning new facilities, its most often the users who are willing to give up stuff and do with less. The athletic director is probably not so willing to give in. "We have met the enemy and he is us"

 

[jcslighting]

"We have met the enemy and he is us"

I think you have hit the proverbial nail on the head. At one local school the drama director could be described as a 'never give up' kind of guy when it comes to getting stuff from the administration. His facility got a complete remodel including expanded lighting system and all new digital sound gear, line arrays, etc. All this was done 8 years ago. His district has a '7 year' technology pledge when it comes to student technology so at the 7 year mark he went for a new lighting console as well as ditching the 4 cell quartz cyc fixtures. They purchased a new ION console and all LED cyc fixtures. He is constantly adding new toys at their expense BUT they have a TON of standard inventory, networked DMX, and a console that can easily handle the latest gadgets.

 

[GreyWyvern]

I've been following this thread. I want to jump in and suggest the Apollo Right Arm since the iCue keeps getting mentioned, but not the RA. While the RA is a bit more expensive than the iCue, it is much more versatile, anything can be mounted to it, and doesn't have the limits of the iCue, really only works with 19° and 26° lens tubes. It is mentioned in the Gafftaper Method article, but hasn't been in this thread.
https://www.apollodesign.net/right-arm-1395

 

[ademhayyu1]

I want to thank everyone for their amazing advice and apologize for the delayed reply. I made a good choice coming here for advice.

I now understand that our theater isn't ready for moving lights just yet but I hope to come back after graduation to improve the theater so it is.

Thanks again!

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

Great goal!