Moving Lights for HS

Tyler Lindsley

Active Member
Good evening,
I am writing up a grant to get some more equipment for our auditorium space. For those of you who have or have used Elation fixtures, what are your thoughts on the Fuze profile and Artiste Picasso units? We would be using them in a FOH position.

Thanks!
 
It depends.... :angryoldman:

A little more information will go a long way here in terms of throw distance, angle, power, dmx capability and budget (low, decent, high) and most of all use. Is your HS a multi use venue, primarily musicals, drama, speaker series.... What else is in your inventory and what's your control console?

Elation's themselves can be a great cost effective solution in the right space and for the right application...
 
Throw is (roughly) 10' up and 10' out from edge of stage. Have brand new dimmers, relays, DMX distribution - just adding new fixtures to further enhance the system. Musicals/plays, choral/band concerts, presentations, awards, you name it. Hoping to not spend more than $9500 per fixture.

Really just looking for opinions on those two specific fixtures.
 
The fuzes are decent, we're looking at those for FOH movers right now, they'd likely be overkill for a 10' throw though, we're looking at them for around 30-40' throws. We've used the new artistes and were generally really unhappy with them. They're ok for a saturated color wash from the front, but dont have the punch for the throw we had and the second you throw one of the gobos in, the output drops by like 80%. Really dim as hell.

My personal favorite right now is Chauvets Maverick. Its more expensive in part because it has framing shutters but its got the best color and punch for the money. If you don't need shutters options open a bit more. We're looking to demo one of the fuses in our space in the next few months so I can drop some images if/when we get around to that.
 
Do you have a dealer that you prefer to work with? If so, contact them to have a rep bring both options to your facility so you can see them in the space. With the budget you have, that is something they should be happy to set up for you, and I know Elation would be happy to provide you with that as well.
My $.02 on the two options; Fuze is a GREAT fixture. Tons of features for the price. It provides over 10k lumens in open white, but where it really shines is in saturated colors. It will blow away any mid ranged CMY mixing fixture in deep saturates (25k lumens and below) I've seen it side by side myself.
The Artiste Picasso is a great fixture as well. 620w but supplies 23k lumens of output; the new Maverick 3 is 820w but only provides that same 23k lumen output so there is a lot of light loss happening there. If being used FOH, a white light engine might work best for you considering you may want that as the primary use for the fixture. If you want it for deep color mixes, than the additive engine might be best.
Again, Please request a demo. Make sure it's going to do what you expect in your space. Bring in multiple manufacturers and see them side by side if you want. If you get any resistance, PM me.
 
I appreciate you're specifically looking at those fixtures, the fixtures are fine. Please don't take me as being an old curmudgeon. As with anywhere on the internet we all have opinions and ... other things, but as a consultant and integration designer it's my annoying habit of asking the questions to make sure I don't provide you misleading information. I inherently trust your purchasing choices, I don't trust a contractor provided by a school district that writes the smallest check to have given you a future fluid system with room expansion for the additions you're looking at.

Before giving an opinion on spending 100k on any amount of fixtures I want to know your power distribution and available DMX control, as should your dealer. New Dimmers and DMX are great, but for the love of Ohms please don't hook your future units up to dimmers and if you have 1 universe of DMX control on an Express you'll be stuck with a pipe full of noisy dust collectors...
 
Our infrastructure is great. While I'm not entirely sure who the consultant was, I appreciate their thought put into the system. We have (more than adequate) data and power distribution (dimmers and relays) at all of our positions. We have 4 universes of DMX spread throughout the venue run on a NEO - while that console wouldn't be my first choice as a designer, I have no complaints with it thus far. Also have used Light Factory (the software NEO runs) for years, so I am familiar with the work flow and quirks.
 
I'd really recommend the Fuze Profile - killer little units for theater, and will do fine 10' up and 10' out. I would't recommend the Picassos for that situation, they're a bit large/overkill there. We just got some Picassos in for our rental stock and while they're awesome lights, I think the Fuze Profile would be more the light you're looking for. The additive LED color mixing also lends itself to very flat color across the field, which is great for theatrical applications.
 
Throw is (roughly) 10' up and 10' out from edge of stage. Have brand new dimmers, relays, DMX distribution - just adding new fixtures to further enhance the system. Musicals/plays, choral/band concerts, presentations, awards, you name it. Hoping to not spend more than $9500 per fixture.

Really just looking for opinions on those two specific fixtures.
10’ isn’t far, I’d suggest verifying that dimension.

At $9500/ea you should be able to get into or close to something as big/nice as the Sola Frame 1000, I’ve got 4 of those in a HOW as far as 60-70’ away.
 
Has anyone used the Martin ERA's. I think they're much cheaper than the Maverick 3s and still have shutters and at your distance, output might better match the rest of your (I assume) Source Four rig.
 
If you're budgetting $9500 per fixture, I would suggest going with the Fuze and getting additional units for active or spare - retail on those should be WAY under that number. The optics on that don't go terribly wide, so your short throw may be an issue if you're looking to get even stage wash out of a smaller number of fixtures. I would stay away from Picasso, though.

If, however, you're interested in other options, might I recommend the Ayrton DIablo? Super-wide zoom, very small, and almost twice as bright as the Fuze Profile. Happy to set up a demo to check it out if you'd be interested.

 
output might better match the rest of your (I assume) Source Four rig.

Our entire rep plot is LED. ColorSource Spots for front/box boom front, Elation Six-Par 300s for high side, VL ShowLine bar 640s for top/back wash. We have a few conventionals for specials (and getting some more in a few months)

I am doing a big rental-heavy show in a different venue soon, so I will actually get to use the units I'm looking at!
 

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