Drape install, and new that lighting package.

ship

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Was on a all week long drape install and the "old lights" were being removed for e-bay sales. I helped identify what they were. (Identified them as the people involved with many more years "esperiance" in replacing them had no idea of PAR verses Fresnel in what they were. Halogen axial verses radial Leko... details. Back in the day... a story.) The former lights were replaced by a lot of LED FOH Leko's and two bars Chauvet focusable LED lights above the stage. Only problem I found out today was each of six per light per two electrics were all on the same channel each per bar... "Light board we provided didn’t have a lot of of channels." So in re-focusing their lights in only having some/most of the light from the electrics spilling on the drapes - and not being able to turn off the outer two lights where needed... No individual control of the LED fixtures installed. Got these "great" LED focusable lights... but all lights on this bar and the only other upstage as similar as down light, are chained to the same DMX channels per bar....

Two pallets of L&E Quartz Leko’s - not great but not as bad as you can in a axial Leko, a bunch of radial Altman 360 series Lekos’s and LEKO, and possibly Hub Lekos’s... but all in long range FOH. Possibly fair enough to replace. Main question for in these pallets of lights replaced, Altman 65 series, Hub 6" series (Fluted Grand Stage/Hub = steam punk) and even some Kliegl 6" studio version Fresnels which were plugged in and probably over the stage. Didn’t see much short lens train Leko, but didn’t go into the pile much.

Such lots Fresnels over the stage at least were plugged into individual and now abandoned circuits. They had control over each fixture once in one per control channel as opposed to an entire bar of light for control but RGB all of them. Was a "really" each electric of new LED fixture 6x of them per bar and two bars is assigned to the same channel per bar? Wow! This is an upgrade to the dozens of individual circuited Fresnels you once had? Dummy down of what is clearly a Hub theater proper for the day design - which would be fine in if upgraded for modern use. A norm in flexibility for needs. A shame in moving forward and looking good for say presentation but not so good in lighting design needs. School is happy in getting something done but knows nothing of what they needed. ACTING AREA'S?

Will have been cheaper perhaps in just providing LED strip lights over the stage in doing what they did. A shame in a really interesting anda potential 50's newerer theater type. Has a sufficient fly system - though counterweight pin rail whthout sand bags in evidence, and non-locking winches for the electrics. Such possibilities for a 50's theater. Could make magic in such a space. A shame.
 
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Seems like they could have used some expertise in the planning.

But they had the espearience Bill, what else do they need.

Curious what board you provided. As generally they are speced with the fixtures in mind to be individually controlled.
 
Could it be that they are confusing board faders or submasters with channels? Most lighting consoles can control a minimum of 512 channels (1 DMX universe), unless it is a rudimentary "DJ" unit. I'll bet some simple address changes on the lights would give them quite a bit more flexibility.
 
I had no role in the lighting other than helping fix what the designer did - somewhat in re-focus of all his placed lights after drapery was done. Designer did not want to move any fixtures because they "did a perfect down wash" for what he wanted to light the stage with in key light. FOH lighting was supplemental to this. Was sub-contractor to a local supplier in doing the lighting project. Just more of a note in rural theater's in doing an "upgrade", but often those "rual" suppliers might be a little less in budget but specifying what they need is limited in result. No idea of why such a company specified such a small light board - but they did. Walked away in fixing the 1950's rigging where possible in making it function - still a lot of dead horses wire rope clipped necessitating full replacement. Also all circuits from three stage electrics and six floor pockets were abandoned as opposed to upgraded.
 

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