LED Strip Light Preferences

T

TGill

Member
Hi All! I'm playing with some options for LED strip lights and I was wondering what the community had to say.

The main thing I'm going to use these strip lights for is getting a front wash across a black scrim that my theatre recently acquired. The scrim is 35 feet wide by 20 feet high and black, which is is where I have my biggest issue.

I've been looking at my options and the ETC Selador Vivids are just too far outside of my price range so I started looking into the Chauvet systems. The Colorado Batten 72 looks like it's right up my alley but I worry about whether it will have enough punch on a black scrim of that size. If that model isn't going to be enough, I thought that the Ovation B-1965FC would work, though I would have to buy the units piecemeal as funds came in because they're more expensive.

So basically my question is this, will the Colorado Batten 72 give me enough punch for a front wash on a black scrim? Or am I going to need to get something stronger? Are there other suggestions anyone has for this type of job?

Thanks for your help!
 
avkid said:
We've been getting Chroma-Q Color Force in rental packages, absolutely killer.
4 Wall turns them around pretty regularly on www.usedlighting.com
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Ditto the ColorForce. The series II units have improved lenses, plus a Cyc optic add on lens that is supposed to do a very good job. Cheaper the the ETC Selador Vivids by a good bit as well.

Just curious, why a black scrim ?. Hard to light with anything. Almost seems a waste to spen the money for very little actual effect
 
Originally the program was supposed to receive a white and a black scrim but the money dried up before the white one was ordered. It's on the list to get eventually. I know that the black is tough to light, but I gotta work with what I've got.

Thanks for the pointer toward the ColorForce!
 
If you go with the original Color Force series, be aware that they don't support RDM. In my experience, they tend to not like receiving RDM and will at times interpret it as DMX...which they shouldn't... So as long as you remember to turn off RDM for that run of data, you'll be good to go. Otherwise I quite enjoyed them, they're very punchy with plenty of modes to get all sorts of levels of control out of the unit. Point 'em at the audience and have blinders at 15% and powers of the sun at 40%*.


*slight exaggeration and size of house dependent.
 
Know that the ETC Selador Classic line doesn't support RDM. You should be fine with RDM on the line, they just can't be programmed via RDM.

Have you looked into the ETC ColorSource Linear line? They are 4 color fixtures and a bit cheaper than the Selador line. They also support RDM configuration.
 
I purchased a set of Chauvet Ovation Batten B2805FC's this summer. I'm very happy with them. Read my review here. Depending on the usual market forces, you should be able to get them for around $2k per 5 1/2' fixture. Yeah that's expensive but a lot cheaper than many other options and they are really well made, high performance fixtures. They are really bright and I probably could have gotten away with a lot less of them. Chauvet demoed them on a black backdrop in their LDI/USITT booth last year and they were quiet impressive. @Ford or @Ben Dickmann do you have any pictures of the booth with the lights on the black background?

I messed around with Chroma-Q ColorForce 2 at LDI and was really impressed with them. But they are almost Double the price of the Chauvets and my impression from going back and forth was that the Colorforces weren't quite as bright. The build quality seemed equal. The advantage of the ColorForce is the individual cell control. But let's face it, you aren't going to program a cyc in 3" sections. I've got my Chauvet's programmed to work in 2 3/4 foot sections but I usually end up using the entire 5 1/2' fixture all together at a minimum.

ETC ColorSource Linear is a fine product as well that you should consider. I haven't spent much time with them but you definitely should at least take a look. The price is a little higher than the Chauvet Battens but not a lot and they looked quite good from the limited time I've spent with them and you are getting an ETC product which means a lot. Nobody beats ETC on customer service (although you should note Chauvet's customer service when I was having trouble getting the Ovation Battens set up was top notch).

Any way, this is a really good example of how you absolutely must insist in getting a demo in your theater in order to know what the lights will do in the real world. If your local dealer can't set it up, post here and I bet one of our CB friends from ETC or Chauvet will be able to help you find a dealer to work with them to get you a demo.
 
gafftaper said:
But let's face it, you aren't going to program a cyc in 3" sections. I've got my Chauvet's programmed to work in 2 3/4 foot sections but I usually end up using the entire 5 1/2' fixture all together at a minimum.
Click to expand...

If the only thing the units are ever going to be used for is a cyc, then I could be inclined to agree. At my university having the ability to run the fixtures as multiple cells was very handy and made the ColorForces that much more usable. We were able to use them as scenic elements on a number of shows because we could run effects and pixel mapping on them. It also served as a great way of teaching and learning how to run pixel mapping on the Eos family consoles. Not to mention the ability to get very smooth gradients from SL to SR in addition to up and down was very handy running them this way. There was also one show where they were used to create an effect similar to an aurora borealis which was pretty awesome which would have been nigh impossible if they were running in 6' chunks. But I guess it really comes down to how you want to utilize the units.

Getting a demo is always the best option. If you can setup a shootout between different fixtures at the same time, that's even more ideal. Then you can compare them in real time instead of trying to remember what that one from last week looked like.
 
If like @CrazyTechie you are concerned about really small cells, especially for color mapping, then you should be looking at ETC Colorsource Linear vs Chroma Q.

On the other hand, the Chauvet Ovations can be configured to 10 cells per fixture (around 6" per cell). So if you can get by without the clean single LED cell look and are okay with larger multi LED look, you can save a lot of money.
 
These are Colorblasts 72. On a white backdrop.

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gafftaper said:
If like @CrazyTechie you are concerned about really small cells, especially for color mapping, then you should be looking at ETC Colorsource Linear vs Chroma Q
Click to expand...

Actually, the ColorSource Linear does not offer individual cell control, only control per half meter section. The Chauvet Ovation battens can be controlled in about 7" segments and the Chauvet COLORado 72 Batten can be controlled in approx 13" segments. The Color Force II are the absolute gold standard right now, as far as output, cell control, lensing, and color for a drape scrape light, but they're appropriately expensive and out of most people's price range. For other pixel purposes though where you don't need the output there are all kinds of other products out there for direct view pixel FX that also work okay as drape scrapers.

I use the COLORado 72 battens a bunch at one company I freelance for. They're good fixtures, but I don't know how bright they'd be on a 20' high black drop, I suspect you'd need them top & bottom to get the output. Get a demo and see. We usually put some R132 on top of them to even things out, but a holo spread filter would be even better. I've also used the Elation Color Chorus units and while they provide slightly smaller cells at 6", but I prefer the Chauvet Ovation Battens' RGBA-Lime color mix becuase it really fills out the spectrum nicely.
 
Hi,

I am Looking for something to use as a ground row opposite a set of ColorSource Cyc fixtures. I am lighting a white Cyc that is about 16' tall and occasionally a black traveler that can close in front of it. I have used the Color Force II 72 and like it but was wondering about the ColorSource Linear fixtures and the Vivids. Anyone have any thoughts on these or other recommendations? I want something that looks good but also is relatively user friendly and will balance well with the ColorSource Cyc fixtures I already have.
 
I thought about that and experimented with the fixtures I have but they have to be too far down stage to get a reasonable spread. Also because they are taller than strip lights and get spaced out rather than lined up end to end they look look kind of weird. Like eight little hillocks right though the middle of the stage.
 
You should get a demo of the Colorsource Linear. The Selador Vivids are wonderful, and should be atmore than twice the price of the Colorsource Linear - like $550/ft versus $1150/ft I think? Its expensive to light drops nicely by scraping versus washing.

I am surprised in 16' you miss the ground row that much, but they do give you a lot of design.
 
Illiam_deWulf said:
I thought about that and experimented with the fixtures I have but they have to be too far down stage to get a reasonable spread. Also because they are taller than strip lights and get spaced out rather than lined up end to end they look look kind of weird. Like eight little hillocks right though the middle of the stage.
Click to expand...

This is when you ask your scene shop to build a ground row cover. Simply straightforward black (paint or duvetyne works well) or, if your venue has interesting architecture, something aesthetically ties into with your proscenium. I've also seen ground row covers with marley, so as to make a seemless transition from the floor for dance shows.

If you want to get really fancy, rim the ground row cover with LED tape and make it a scenic element unto itself.
 
The issues I've encountered with a linear strip such as a ChromaQ CF as well as older incandescent MR16 strips, is the start of the "coverage" - I.E. the distance the light coming out of the fixture needs before it provides an adequate even spread is not as short as those of an open face type design (using the old incandescent fixture term). The row of fixtures, especially 72" strips placed end to end, looks cleaner, but if the spread starts 3 ft up the cyc, you may not like the look. Linear fixtures are easier to mask, I once just unrolled a BlackWrap and used that, but it's a one-off. Best for the carpentry shop build a custom set of black duvetyne faced flats.
 
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