Hello from ATL

[Dragonfire]

Hello everyone!
I put on small-scale EDM events in the Atlanta area, and after always renting out lighting & sound for my stages I'm starting to build my own inventory to own and operate. I've always enjoyed setting up environments for parties/events, and would usually show up a couple of hours early to house parties or get-togethers with an assortment of colored lights & LED strips. My home is decked out with Hue strips/bulbs with a bunch of different scenes for different occasions that have a lot of thoughtful adjusting put into them.
I've been obsessively researching DMX lighting and electro-acoustics every day for the past month, and this site seems to be the best place to get specific answers for things that elude me in online searches.

Right now I have a basic 192ch controller, two Chauvet Wash FX 2's, two mini-spot gobos, a UV Cob Cannon, DragonX UV par, and a knockoff Chauvet Mini Kinta. I also have two Moka MK-E02 flame machines that I'm debating dedicating a separate controller for.
So not much, but it's a start. Hoping to steadily upgrade over time and build on what I have. Right now I'm looking forward and trying to figure out what gear I will want in the future and how to prepare/plan out what steps to take.

Until I can incorporate my own lights to my stages, I plan on mainly using them for my fire performances and personal private events to get use out of them and learn DMX programming more intimately.

 

[Crisp image]

Hello everyone!
I put on small-scale EDM events in the Atlanta area, and after always renting out lighting & sound for my stages I'm starting to build my own inventory to own and operate. I've always enjoyed setting up environments for parties/events, and would usually show up a couple of hours early to house parties or get-togethers with an assortment of colored lights & LED strips. My home is decked out with Hue strips/bulbs with a bunch of different scenes for different occasions that have a lot of thoughtful adjusting put into them.
I've been obsessively researching DMX lighting and electro-acoustics every day for the past month, and this site seems to be the best place to get specific answers for things that elude me in online searches.

Right now I have a basic 192ch controller, two Chauvet Wash FX 2's, two mini-spot gobos, a UV Cob Cannon, DragonX UV par, and a knockoff Chauvet Mini Kinta. I also have two Moka MK-E02 flame machines that I'm debating dedicating a separate controller for.
So not much, but it's a start. Hoping to steadily upgrade over time and build on what I have. Right now I'm looking forward and trying to figure out what gear I will want in the future and how to prepare/plan out what steps to take.

Until I can incorporate my own lights to my stages, I plan on mainly using them for my fire performances and personal private events to get use out of them and learn DMX programming more intimately.

Welcome aboard.....and down the rabbit hole that is technical theater and events.
I would suggest a computer based controller for your lights. There are many to choose from ranging in price from free (Freestyler) to many $$$$.
YouTube will be a great resource for you to learn about this stuff and of course here on CB forums. Remember to use the search function here before asking the questions because most likely someone has already asked the question.
Regards
Geoff
From the land downunder.

 

[Dragonfire]

That's part of why I haven't made any posts yet. I'm still combing through the different threads and looking for answers. Most of the content on here seems oriented towards theatrical lighting more than faster paced dynamic stage lighting, and Youtube keeps trying to direct me to videos about very basic things like "how to program a scene/chase". But I've still found some decent tips and l'm aways happy to go wherever the right information is.

I am also seeing more and more that I will probably need a program instead of just a manual controller. I want to get comfortable with programming DMX on a foundational level before taking the programming shortcuts, but it seems like the kinds of movements and chases I want will necessitate a program. First sign was that most controllers in my budget range only had 5-6 chases. I'll have to save for a short bit for that though cause it seems like the ones I would want are $300-$500 for the hardware, and since I have a Mac there are less "free" options. But as a visual learner, having a 2D or 3D simulation of the stage would be incredibly helpful and give me more options.

Is there a sub-forum or thread with a focus on event lighting meant to captivate an audience?

 

[jonliles]

You'l find we are of all sorts of backgrounds. I use the Chamsys MagicQ program and Dongle on a touch screen to busk a non-theatrical show. I'm right up the street near the Big Chicken.