Even lighting for low ceiling

[John Noah]

Hey guys, got a stage with 9ft ceiling 42ft wide and 20ft wide and was looking for something that can dim and minimize hot spots. Any ideas?

 

[RickR]

You're looking for many many low output sources. Small track lights, Par50s or Par16s fixtures, etc. The ultimate shadowless solution would be banks of strip lights, stage style fixtures or tape.

 

[RonHebbard]

Hey guys, got a stage with 9ft ceiling 42ft wide and 20ft wide and was looking for something that can dim and minimize hot spots. Any ideas?

@John Noah I can neither see your space nor know what you already have available. I dealt with a similar space for a while, the space had a white ceiling which was my saving grace. Shooting 6" 500 Watt Fresnels up and across, bouncing them off the ceiling became my simplest and fastest solution.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[John Noah]

I was thinking of strip lights, I just couldn't think of anything that was dimmable in CFL or LED flavors that could be dimmed by DMX via fixture or dimmer pack. I know there is some Led and CFL direct dimmable t8 style tubes, I'm just afraid of buzzing.... with DMX dimmer packs, it not as simple as just changing a pack to make buzzing go away

 

[Noah Abrams]

All of ETC's Track Lighting solutions might be helpful.
Source 4 Mini LED's and their counterPARt, Desire D22's will provide ample coverage when multiple DMX Data tracks are installed.

https://www.etcconnect.com/Products/Lighting-Fixtures/Track-Lighting/

 

[Chris Pflieger]

I was thinking of strip lights, I just couldn't think of anything that was dimmable in CFL or LED flavors that could be dimmed by DMX via fixture or dimmer pack. I know there is some Led and CFL direct dimmable t8 style tubes, I'm just afraid of buzzing.... with DMX dimmer packs, it not as simple as just changing a pack to make buzzing go away

Get 0-10V models and a use a DMX to 0-10V converter.

 

[macsound]

Are you looking for stage light, like an even color wash, or worklights?

 

[John Noah]

@macsound I've got colors covered, but I was looking for something to light areas evenly though. I'd like the color index to be 85 or higher. I guess 0-10v can work with and that I guess would be the safest route.

 

[macsound]

Still not certain on your usage but there's the Arri Skypanel and dozens of DMX controllable knockoffs like the Elation Softlight.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

The Ex at Yale was like that and 6" fresnels were the go-to for most lighting. A few 4 1/2 X 6 1/2 lekos, a rare 6 X 9. But that was then

I think today I'd support the strip light or similar. A good mini strip full frontal and then wash lights from sides to reveal some form.

 

[RickR]

https://www.chauvetprofessional.eu/products/category/batten-cyclorama-ee/
https://www.elationlighting.com/led-strips-bars

Good gear that won't break the bank - I hope.
Many others make similar gear both more and less expensive.

Or go this way
http://www.citytheatrical.com/depar...&subDept=ffa875fb-b839-6b94-9d71-ff00001a956a

 

[ship]

Made magic with 3" Fresnels, 3.5Q5 and in general wash lights - some architectural. Even put up a wash of pinspots across a bar. Track lights., PAR 56 if the talent cannot or will not find their mark in just plain washing the set so as to help find the "talent"... You can make art in a low ceiling. How many dimmers you have will determine how many small fixtures you can youse as if a main stage. How many fixtures you have will determine in many ways the design in coming up with either other small fixture or large fixture safely out of the way of touch. Even won award in local Chicago Newspapers for doing so. You can make Art' in a 9' ceiling, and that is the goal of course. I did it with no budget and very limited lights. Falls on design much more in knowing what you have for use, studying their characteristics, and making the best of their use. + budget in "my kindom for 1 more Leko" perhaps getting if you figured everything else, figured out and are only asking for one more thing... if within budget that might happen. Or re-configure in how to make magic with something else.

You can make magic with lighting with a 9' ceiling. Study and make art!

 

[John Noah]

@ship pretty cool.
I'd love to see how you incorporated the architectural lights. I figured that some lights spaced evenly would give me a from above wash effect I'd need. Thought also about surface lights. Someone else recommended recessed LEDs but couldn't really give me any further info on them as far how they dim or if get flickering from video. Thanks for all the help, it's really giving me lots of ideas to play with. Is there a special degree I should go with? Glare is also an issue I'm a little concerned about. Thanks again

 

[ship]

Stay McCandless and acting area, only at least in my time you cannot light from the rear. But given the short throws, lighting from the rear at that hight wouldn't work out anyway. At least how I mostly did it. Good talent that could find their mark anywhere on stage, or bad talent I washed over in making him lit in backup and otherwise filler/blending the acting areas.

Architectural track lights, used as track lights or converted to stage ligthing fixture. Remove the track head plug in and you have a place to C-Clamp to. This was back in the day when an encased butt splice to a whip in replacing the attachment to track light head within a fiberglass sleeve was wild and willy not bad. A lot of stuff done back in the day. On the other hand, today I was using my portable solder station road case. For lighting with it, I have a very high power LED Juno wash light and a LED MR-8 wash light attached to it so as to light up the vise and area overhead I'm also working on. Both are attached to the road case by way of 4-pin quick disconnect terminal and 5/8" microphone conduit - kind of like a "Little Lite" on steroids! Track light fixtures can be very useful for little stages as an option. This granted track light is single channel so you would be limited especially in the 12v version to small sections for individual control. More a set of concepts if of help that small fixtures, stage and architectual are options. Keep in mind though you get into problems for control on LED, and even on low voltage halogen small fixtures, get into problems of dimming control. The LED wash light for instance I use on my solder station is not dimmable.

But absolutely, I owned some Macy's PAR 56 track lights I found in a junk yard, and they were converted to and became the bad actor wash lights when he "seeking to be out of the light", two were placed at angles from the rear of the house so as to turn on and just wash the stage when needed. This as opposed to one aircraft landing light (story behind that I find later) which was high power but only like 12 degree beam spread downlight, above a person in a chair. Various help from other fixtures... but mostly the talent could find that light from anywhere on stage in a very threatening way. This in finding his light with supportive lighting for the central beam so as to find the hot spot of them when important - this even if dimmed or washed.

 

[RickR]

Architectural LED recessed lights can be had with DMX drivers. I've found the EldoLED drivers have the best dimmimg and overall reliability. I get nearly incandescent quality dimming in house lights. DMX drivers require a custom order through an electrical distributor, not Home Depot.

 

[DIYLED]

I was thinking of strip lights, I just couldn't think of anything that was dimmable in CFL or LED flavors that could be dimmed by DMX via fixture or dimmer pack. I know there is some Led and CFL direct dimmable t8 style tubes, I'm just afraid of buzzing.... with DMX dimmer packs, it not as simple as just changing a pack to make buzzing go away

A lot of the LED strip distributors sell Klus fixtures that diffuse the LED's. They can be dimmed with DMX decoders. Klus has an economic line with I think polystyrene or acrylic as well as more spendy products with polycarbonate.