Fixture choice advice

[Kendall E]

@Kendall E Throwing another thought into your mix for you to consider. Assuming your ceiling is essentially white, you might consider reflecting light off your ceiling for a softer, less glaring in everyone's eyes [Performers and patrons / parishioners alike] look.
Realize this wouldn't be a first choice for performance lighting but is useful from the perspective of providing general illumination without glaring in anyone's eyes and / or creating harsh shadows.
Are you envisioning using your stage with your main room lighting off or operating at a reduced level?
I'm assuming your gym's basic lighting is from the ceiling rather than the walls.
How is your existing illumination controlled:
All on / all off?
On or off in sections?
What type of lights are they: Incandescent? Fluorescent? Metal halide? High pressure sodium?
Do you have any way of essentially reducing your lighting during a service or performance?
Can you control the lighting already over your stage independently from the remainder of your gym?
Is video projection ever a consideration or will it be in your future?
Reflecting off the ceiling wouldn't be as efficient when it comes to intensity but, with LED's, you COULD be running more units per available circuit as long as you're still within budget. Obviously you'd have to carefully weigh your options for lighting positions and angles along with available mechanical support and access for periodic cleaning and maintenance.
If you're already tight for storage space for a mechanical lift, you MAY not have storage for some of the ground supported towers posters have suggested.
Consider all your options and I suspect many posters will help you narrow your choices.
Keep asking questions and many posters will contribute answers as well as poke holes in various suggestions.
All the best to you.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.

Thanks, Ron

Answering questions:

Unfortunately, the ceiling is dark blue.

We use the stage with low room light. The room lights are hung from the ceiling. We operate half of those. The room is maybe dusk level if that makes sense.

The stage lights are controlled separate from everything else. We have a lot of decorative light on stage. Nothing professional there, just a whole ton of paper lamps with household incandescent lighting.

We do have a floor pocket of about 10 incandescent bulbs in the center of the stage...about 5 feet across. The speaker stand a few feet behind that.

The current (and what I'm looking to replace) stage lights are 8 par64s. Incandescent lamps. Two groups of four, one stage left and one stage right. We mix primary colors from each side. All 8 lamps are turned on via the console and then left alone throughout the event. These are the only means of proper stage lighting we have. Mixed with the kick lights in the floor, it has worked pretty well. Take away those or the kick lights, and things get creepy.

We do use video projection. And that is one reason why we keep house lights low, but perhaps brighter than many other places using projection. Our projectors are fantastic and are mounted on the wall above where the projection is viewed, so the projection light has very little distance to travel. So while a concern, I'm surprised at how clear they work with ambient light. In one image from the original post, you can see the little white rectangles mounted to the wall left and right of the stage. Those are the projectors.

As far as towers, they would likely be placed in the middle of seating areas. We don't have a ton of storage, however there would rarely be an occasion when the stage is being used without the lights, so they could just store on the stage when not in use...as long as I could lift them 4 feet off the ground to get them up there.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

I'm beginning to think the tracked for pipe is your best solution, if you could figure out how to mount track. The neat part us cable management is a piece of cake.

I doubt two people could lift a tower with lights mounted onto the stage. Maybe against wall next to stage?

 

[EdSavoie]

Is this gym used as a gym? If it is, anything left out *will be played with* so I'm not sure leaving towers out is a good idea.

 

[RonHebbard]

Is this gym used as a gym? If it is, anything left out *will be played with* so I'm not sure leaving towers out is a good idea.

@EdSavoie If I'm understanding you correctly, and I believe I am, two people may not be able to repeatably and safely lift a tower c/w fixtures and cables 4' straight up and on to their stage, [And back down too] but
two students would have no trouble at all dumping it over inflicting damage, carnage, death, destruction and maiming.
Am I close to correctly interpreting your thoughts?
And then what if we add casters to those lifts in an attempt to minimize wear and tear on the stage deck and gymnasium floor?
Whooee! Can you just imagine the fun?
Have you ever gone shopping cart joy riding?
Just imagine the "fun" 8 students could have pushing an erect and loaded tower up to terminal velocity then hopping aboard for the ride!
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[JohnD]

Considering the low ceiling of a space that is primarily a gym I have to wonder if creating something like the SSRC cage, but recessing the upper rectangular part in the unused ceiling space wouldn't be the best use. I too share the concern for possible asbestos in the ceiling and wonder about what supports are above that ceiling.
Locally there was an event space that was demolished because of the asbestos laden building materials originally used would have cost too much to abate and replace. The actual demolition was rather spendy considering the issues of waste disposal. It also had the problem of being a really weird space, it was designed with the typical trapezoidal seating space in front of the stage, BUT it was backwards!!