Just booked a reception with PIN SPOTs...HELP

[DjJay]

Hey guys
im new on the site, so im not sure where to start. My name is Jay, and i own an operate a south asian entertainment company based out of New Jersey. We do alot of weddings, and fundraisers, corporate events, etc.
I just booked a reception where they want PIN SPOTS for every other centerpiece. Ive been doing alot of research and came across many types of pin spots, ranging from the classic halogen bulbs to the new chauvet led pin spots.
Can you guys recommend a unit and also how to hook them up?? I was thinking about rigging them from the ceiling, but the hall does not have the rig points. So ill mount on the T-Truss and shoot them from the sides of the walls.
Any ideas would be helpful.
Thanks guys..

Jay -

 

[Footer]

Is this something you are looking to offer down the line or something just this gig is asking for? If its a one off, you might want to sub this out to a larger event company. Pin spots can be a real pain. There are ways to hang them in spaces that don't have points, but that can change depending on the venue. The big thing when pin spots is you want to hit the centerpiece without hitting people who are sitting at the tables in the eyes. I don't think that putting 10 pinspots on trees on each side of the room is going to have the desired effect.

 

[MNBallet]

Pin spots are dying out. They were used alot because it was the technology at the time. It is a major pain because of the idea of a light rigged over each and every table, and hooking up power spread out like that over the ceiling is a royal pain in the butt too. With new battery operated LED units, wedding decor places are going with glowing vases. Do a quick google search for" battery operated Led centerpiece" and you will find tons of options that will save you both time and money in set up and take down.

Kenneth Pogin
Production / Tour Manager
Minnesota Ballet

Freelance lighting at
www.dulutheventlighting.com

 

[len]

I don't think they're dying out. We still rent them a lot. Underlit centerpieces (and we do those also) don't have the pop if the centerpiece is wide, or the vase is not glass.

I've tried a lot of brands of pinspots. I find the best ones are from Optima. Best build quality for the $$, even better than ADJ, which a lot of people like. I'd also spend the money for GE lamps. Much better quality and tighter beam.

The key to good pinspots is to get the lights as high as possible and as close to directly over the target as possible. That means tall stands.

As for stands, for every other centerpiece, that means 20 tables, and you're going to need at least 4 or maybe 5 stands to cover the room. Maybe even 6. Your choices are a pipe and boom, some sort of ceiling rigging (like airwall hangers, etc.), or a matthews stand. If you go on a tripod 9' in the air and shoot a table 30' away, you're basically shooting the beam horizontally and it will hit someone in the eye. Plus, a tripod will spread out too far and will be in the way. The servers will complain and you'll have problems.

As has been mentioned, if you don't plan on making the investment in equipment to do it right, your best bet is to sub this out.

 

[DjJay]

Hey Guys
Thanks for all the replies. To answer of the questions, Yes i will be investing in the pinspots. I think iam going to buy around 30. lll just add it to my inventory i guess. I already have 8 Elation 250Pros, 36 Color Blast TR 12s, and a full mackie based sound system. My primary events are weddings, but we do all types of events. If anyone wants to see any pics, just ask.

As far as the Pin Spots, can you recommend what kinds i should get? Also what kinda of stands should i get. I have to spot 15 centerpieces. Iam planning on using 2 spots per centerpiece. One from the front and one from the back, or one from the left and the right. Just want to make it look nice for my first pin spot event. FYI Iam dropping 36 colorblast around the room, using 4 moving heads on trusses, and 1 monogram.
So if anyone can recommend brand of pin spot, and a stand that would be great.

--Jay

 

[Wood4321]

I hear optima are nice
As for stand location and brand, ideally you would hang each directly over the table.
And in any case, you want to keep the light as vertical as possible, to keep the light out of the diners eyes.

If all you are putting on each stand is a pinspot, you could get away with something lightweight, but I would suggest you go with the old standard, 50lb boom base and schedule 40 pipe.
I personally love the SSRC boom bases.
http://www.ssrconline.com/pipes.pdf

If you can get the spots directly over each centerpiece, you should be able go get away with 1 per position depending on ambient light.

J.

 

[nquinn2]

Hello Jay,
For the situation you are describing I would use Dazzlers Westron Dazzler. All you have to do is unscrew the venue's light bulbs, screw these in, focus and you are done. You don't have as much control as far as dimming/color changing goes, but you also have less cable to wrap later

Cheers,
Nick

 

[len]

More stuff I thot of: You're going to need fabric to cover the stands, so they blend into the walls. Black, white, ivory, gray, etc. 60" works best. You can find it all over. Make sure its FR or IFR.

Dazzlers are good, but not every venue has can fixtures to use them with. We charge 50% more for dazzlers, since they're more man-hours (each one goes in individually vs. 3 - 6 on one stand). Plus, much more time to remove.

 

[BillESC]

I'd recommend Chauvet's LED pinspot 2. Under a pound and draws only 4 watts. MAP is $ 39.99 but you can find them for less.

 

[BillESC]

Also, since you're from NJ, you could go to Altmans in Yonkers and rent booms and bases.

 

[Cplouf663]

You could also Use Aircraft cable you hang from one side of the room to the other and then simply hang the pin spots over the centerpieces directly. If you do so be sure to have enought tension on the cables, we dont want them to hang low, they have to be as stiff as possible. This also allows you to make the power follow the cables in the air. If proprely installed it will look clean and professional. This also works great if you're stuck outdoor in a tent.

 

[bishopthomas]

Hey, Jay. Welcome to ControlBooth. Good to see another NJ'er here. I would go with pipe and base around the room, as tall as possible, and clamp the pin spots to those. I have the American DJ pinspots (not a fan of ADJ in general, but pinspots are pinspots) and they do a decent job.

If you ever need help/gear, have questions, want to try some things before the gig, etc. let me know. My shop's in Millstone Twp, right off exit 8 and you're welcome to come by anytime, just to hang out and play if you want.

 

[len]

You could also Use Aircraft cable you hang from one side of the room to the other and then simply hang the pin spots over the centerpieces directly. If you do so be sure to have enought tension on the cables, we dont want them to hang low, they have to be as stiff as possible. This also allows you to make the power follow the cables in the air. If proprely installed it will look clean and professional. This also works great if you're stuck outdoor in a tent.

I'd like to see that in actual use. Got any photos?

 

[bishopthomas]

Yeah, me too. I have a similar setup in my living room, lights hanging from their cable from wall to wall. Ikea makes it. It works well for lighting my house, but I wouldn't ever consider stringing it across a ballroom and hanging pinspots from it.

 

[shiben]

You could also Use Aircraft cable you hang from one side of the room to the other and then simply hang the pin spots over the centerpieces directly. If you do so be sure to have enought tension on the cables, we dont want them to hang low, they have to be as stiff as possible. This also allows you to make the power follow the cables in the air. If proprely installed it will look clean and professional. This also works great if you're stuck outdoor in a tent.

How do you get enough tention in the aircraft cable? I cant see that working unless you have some wall anchors or something, and I cant imagine a ballroom being like oh hey, sure you can drill into our wall and insert anchors.