Design Drum Tech "promoted" to LD

[whoback]

Hey guys found yall through google search. First let me say I have no clue about lighting. Am living in ATX working as a drum tech and have recently been asked to take on LD duties for this band. They have a weekly gig down here and a pretty small lighting set up of mostly American DJ / Chavuet stuff. Right now everything is run of presets the drummer originally made on the DMX Controller board.

Basically I want to know:
With the equipment we have is this the best way to light the stage?
Should we be investing in any other equipment?
How do I start to move away from my drummers presets and into my own lighting ideas. I specifically want to be able to fade lights in and out as they play some downtempo songs and the instant switching looks horrible.

The setup we use on stage is 4 trees. 2 upstage and 2 downstage. Upstage each as 2 LED pars and 2 colorpalettes. Downstage each as 1 colorpalette and beam thing I cant remember the name of right now.

The venue has an inhouse lighting system which stays on through the gig but we don't actuvey use it.

We also have 2 "Tri Scans" which are brand new that he doesnt know how to use...

I'll take some pictures of the show tomorrow night so yall can see the setup onstage.

Thanks for your time and please dont hesitate to ask questions or give feedback if you need more info! I don't know whats good and whats bad at this point.

-will

 

[mstaylor]

Aside from pictures, the exact controller would be useful.

 

[whoback]

Aside from pictures, the exact controller would be useful.

The controller is an elation Dmx operator. I have 4 colorpalettes and 2 technostrobe rgb. 2 tripleflex from American dj and 4 64b led pro. Also 2 pearl led color and 2 micro galaxian.

Sorry for the lack of info I wasn't in front of it all bit that's what I got!

 

[jglodeklights]

First, read the manuals for each piece of equipment.

Second, read the manuals again.

Third, use the internet/controlbooth wiki to research what you don't know/don't understand/can't operate in the manuals.

Finally, come back here. There is, UNFORTUNATELY, so many questions/issues brought up/asked in your post that, without quite specific questions being asked of us, or further lack thereof, it is difficult to gauge your level of comprehension of your rig's capabilities. We could give specific answers, none of which you might understand, or all of which you could implement perfectly. Newness to equipment doesn't necessarily equate to lack of understanding of. One of my acting interns who has never touched a light was able to hang much of my front of house lighting package without assistance past explaining how to read where the lights go based on the plot and the hanging of the first instrument. Other "technicians" I have worked with couldn't hang a light to save their lives. The more we know and understand about your comprehension level of what you are working with, the better we can help you to use it (more) effectively.

 

[bishopthomas]

I have that console. I needed something for a last minute gig and had to run to Guitar Center. I hate it but you can make it work even with its limitations. First of all, to fade into scenes just use the fader marked as "Fade Time". Play with fade times and leave it set. And I agree with Joe, read the manuals. I got started in audio by reading Mackie manuals and just twisting the knobs. In fact, that's where I got started in lighting as well.

 

[LXPlot]

My primary venue happens to have that console as well, we needed something which could control Elation's LEDs without an adapter. First things first, that console has a lot more power packed into it than you would guess, especially if you're doing simple concerts and/or DJ shows. Secondly, read the manual several times. The manual for this fixture is nice because it lays out some of the programming in basic enough terms that you can pick it up easily, and because it explains some of your most basic DMX control ideas for you. That said, prepare to need to relearn a thing or two, as a few things they try to teach are really only that way on Elation.

The thing I dislike the most about this fixture is programming on it. The fade time changer is my biggest complaint, as it gives tons of times which are considerably longer than anything that should reasonably be needed at the sacrifice of a lot of preciseness around more common time lengths. Also, the fact that many of the buttons are time controlled (IE: hold down this button for 3 seconds in order to activate playback mode) makes programming scenes and chases about equivalent to programming a clock radio or digital watch.

That said, the power for price is great, and the fact that such a small unit can control any of those things at all puts it above some considerably more expensive consoles (IE leprecon 612.)