Its not for a theater application. I was going to use them as uplights on a
cyc backdrop. As far as buying goes, we are definatley renting. There isn't a schance the school is going to but fixtures, as we have tried multiple times.
Do you have any other lights on
stage anywhere near this
Cyc? Most
LED's do not have the
power to punch through and be seen if there is other lighting on
stage. They simply get washed out by other lighting on
stage.
As cool as they are,
LED's still have quite limited use on
stage. Typical concert and Broadway/Vegas applications of
LED's are:
-aimed at the audience
-aimed on parts of the set not lit by
conventional lights
-only used when things are relatively dark and no
conventional fixtures are used
-used in MASSIVE quantities to light everything
There are a few products from CK, Pixelrange, and
Selador that do have the
power to be seen on a
cyc over other
stage lights but they have to be used in massive quantities. I was told by a
Selador rep about a year ago you need about 75% coverage top AND bottom to light a
cyc bright enough that it will not be washed out by other
stage lights. In other words you put a 3' wide strip, leave a 1' gap, put another 3' strip. That may not be true with the latest generation of
fixture from them but it will get you started. I don't think any
LED's in existence are powerful enough to light an entire
cyc with only a
ground row you will need top light too. I'm not the expert on
Chroma Q color blocks but they don't seem to have nearly enough punch to be used as a
wash light. Compare them to a CK colorblaze or a
Selador X7-xtra, or one of the Pixelrange
wash lights.
Again, is there a reason you
NEED LED's? We would all LIKE to have them them but for most theater applications they are still too expensive and just not bright enough to be
practical. While they are very cool. It's my opinion no one in their right mind should be buying
LED's just yet. Sure if you are doing a rock tour and they give you the look you want go for it. But for the vast majority of us they make no sense just yet. Give them a few more years to get the
intensity up and the price down. Then the rest of us can start thinking about using them.