Ross,
FWIW, if you have specific questions I think you can see a lot of folks here have the backgrounds to help you out. Concert lighting from a design aspect is opposite a theatrical aspect in that in a theater the lights are there to bring out the actors and set the mood, where in a concert situation the lights are part of that whole experience. You can do some great designs and effects with standard
par cans--so don't feel worried if you can not afford or use moving lights all the time. "Flash & trash" as it is referred to sometimes, is nice and effective, but it has its place and time. I've seen all-conventional rigs of nothing but pars and beam proijectors that can rock a show...and I've seen all-intel rigs that were abominable and horrible in execution. Part of it is the design,m but a bigger part
IMO is the designer and his use of the equipment. If you know how to cook--you can make a great omlette with one egg and a slice of ham...but if you don't know how to cook, it doesn't matter how many eggs or how much ham or cheese you have--you will still make a mess that doesn't mesh. Designing is basically a branch of your imagination and creativity, and knowing how to use the gear to make that imagination happen.. For example: Most
conventional concert rigs use Medium Flood PARS on the front and Narrow PARS on the rear...and the front
truss usually has dual narrow spots at center or a
leko, for each "special" or solo needed..and the rear
truss usually skips a color in favor of an
open white. If your rear
truss height is going to be shallow, use Mediums in the back and accent with some
ACL's for fans... Saturated colors and a complimentary mix are good choices. Primary Blue, Primary Red, Canary Yellow, a good deep Magenta, a bright Teal & bright Purple are all good starter colors of choice...but it depends on the number of fixtures you have and the size of the
stage you
cover. There are about a million different choices here tho..and you can mix some theatrical elements in that work well. I've seen
Cyc lights used for backdrops--and
MR16 ground rows for
uplighting or back lighting and
chase light effects and so on..
Point is--once you have the basic set up for conventionals situated in your mind, Add movers or other lights for effects to a basic
conventional rig for some extra snazz...but know they are there for show and tell--not the main
stage light source. In the case of
MR16's for example--they won't backlight a show no matter how you focus them, but they will be a visable
chase effect or a simple "color strip" that can add a dimension to a plain
stage.
-w