Design Need to add the right lighting

[castlesmith]

Hello All,

I am the venue manager for a new amphitheater in Harrah, Oklahoma. Here is the lighting equipment list.

Lighting
32 James Thomas A6425 Par 64 outdoor fixtures with multicolor gels
Leviton NSI N7024-D00 Control Console
4 Chauvet COLORado 1s Outdoor LED wash
Chauvet COLOR-CON LED Controller 40B
All Lighting Mounted on James Thomas Custom Tower trusses

I will post some pics so you can see the current lighting setting. I am interested in adding fixtures to create more dramatic and exciting settings. Most of the time this is a music venue. Be we are planning some theater and dance events next year. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cdub260]

A little bit more information about your venue would be helpful. For instance, how many seats? What's the throw distance from your lighting positions to the stage? What do you have available in the realm of power and dimming capacity?

 

[thatactorguy]

Nice pics- love the second and fifth pictures. I'm running on about three hours of sleep right now, so my brain isn't functioning completely. Nevertheless, I'd offer that you get some ellisoidals so you can do some gobo fx...

 

[derekleffew]

Followspot?

 

[castlesmith]

A little bit more information about your venue would be helpful. For instance, how many seats? What's the throw distance from your lighting positions to the stage? What do you have available in the realm of power and dimming capacity?

450 seats. Distance from Top towers to stage center Approx 60'. From Bottom towers to stage center approx 25'. There are no power or dimming concerns we will scale to power and equipment needs.

 

[soundlight]

Any particular budget you're looking at here?

You can get some more COLORado 1s to put on the close towers for saturated color washes, and control them via DMX. They're nice fixtures. Or, even better, go for the new COLORado 2s - those are nice fixtures, and they add white to the mix, and it has 2 and 3 watt LEDs. Nice stuff.

Also, get a new console - NSI/Leviton MC7532, ETC Smartfade ML, or an ETC Element if you really want to live it up - but I think the Smartfade ML would be perfect if you'll be busking most of your shows. It'll allow you to control your existing COLORado 1s that you use for uplighting as well, which could be nice.

I agree that you should look in to some ellipsoidals. Some wide units for gobo effects from the close towers, and a few for performer specials. All on their own dimmers, of course, especially the units for specials. Also, what dimmers do you already have, and are you running DMX or the NSI microplex protcol to them?

 

[NickJones]

The problem with looking at ERSs is that need to be weather proof, and I don't know how many waterproof ones there are out there, yes, ERSs would be great, but they can't just be left out in the open.
Nick

 

[thatactorguy]

The problem with looking at ERSs is that need to be weather proof, and I don't know how many waterproof ones there are out there, yes, ERSs would be great, but they can't just be left out in the open.
Nick

I thought about that an hour after I posted. With my luck, I could've asked if anyone made waterproof ERSs, doubtfully confident that there weren't, then twenty of you would respond with 80 kajillion companies that do...

 

[NickJones]

I'm not aware of any but there might be some out there, but your options would be limited to say the least. You might be better to build some kind of sheleter to keep the fixtures in.
Nick

 

[castlesmith]

Any particular budget you're looking at here?

You can get some more COLORado 1s to put on the close towers for saturated color washes, and control them via DMX. They're nice fixtures. Or, even better, go for the new COLORado 2s - those are nice fixtures, and they add white to the mix, and it has 2 and 3 watt LEDs. Nice stuff.

Also, get a new console - NSI/Leviton MC7532, ETC Smartfade ML, or an ETC Element if you really want to live it up - but I think the Smartfade ML would be perfect if you'll be busking most of your shows. It'll allow you to control your existing COLORado 1s that you use for uplighting as well, which could be nice.

I agree that you should look in to some ellipsoidals. Some wide units for gobo effects from the close towers, and a few for performer specials. All on their own dimmers, of course, especially the units for specials. Also, what dimmers do you already have, and are you running DMX or the NSI microplex protcol to them?

Whew...I see I have a lot to learn, seems like I'm in the right place though. Thanks to all of you for your input and responses.

We currently control the 4 COLORado 1's with DMX from the Chauvet Board. We setup and tear down all of the fixtures except the par cans. So they do not have to be weather proof. Weather resistant would be nice in case of a stray shower. Perhaps just resistant enough to allow us to get them down.

I read a bit about ellipsoidals. These are not moving fixtures are they? I do see that you can get them with zoom and gobos and such.

One of the things I have noticed is it is really easy to wash out all the color with very little white light from the towers. I was thinking about some led fixtures that would be at the feet of the performers projecting up toward them at the front of the stage. This would minimize the need for white lighting from the towers.

Thanks for putting up with a noob, but you have to start somewhere!

 

[soundlight]

Whew...I see I have a lot to learn, seems like I'm in the right place though. Thanks to all of you for your input and responses.

We currently control the 4 COLORado 1's with DMX from the Chauvet Board. We setup and tear down all of the fixtures except the par cans. So they do not have to be weather proof. Weather resistant would be nice in case of a stray shower. Perhaps just resistant enough to allow us to get them down.

I read a bit about ellipsoidals. These are not moving fixtures are they? I do see that you can get them with zoom and gobos and such.

One of the things I have noticed is it is really easy to wash out all the color with very little white light from the towers. I was thinking about some led fixtures that would be at the feet of the performers projecting up toward them at the front of the stage. This would minimize the need for white lighting from the towers.

Thanks for putting up with a noob, but you have to start somewhere!

The additional COLORados (1s or 2s) would be used as actual stage lighting, not just lighting your truss towers.

If you'll be striking the fixtures after shows, Source Fours are fine in terms of ellipsoidals. They're used temporarily outside all the time. You just have to maintain them well and make sure the don't get rusty.

The Ellipsoidals can project gobos, and they can be used for tight spots on performers. You'd have to do the photometrics (calculate the angle needed based on beam size desired and throw distance) to figure out what degrees to get for each tower.

Movers get used temporarily outside all the time. They get rained on, they have issues, they have to be repaired, but they get used outside all the time. Last summer the company I was working for had a rig up for a massive outdoor dance party. When we turned on the MAC600s, they would litterally dump water out of their fins when they were homing. This is not a suggestion or recommendation, just a case of use and explanation. I would not use movers unless there was some sort of weather sheild over them. You could put 'em in weather domes if you really want to use them.

In terms of footlighting LEDs, you have to consider how that could look - you get weird shadows on people's faces, and it looks even more 'interesting' when you use saturated colors. If you use some Colorado 2s from the forward towers, you should be able to get some good saturation on the stage. You should be able to get a demo of the fixture through Chauvet from your dealer.

 

[gafftaper]

I believe ETC makes an all weather Source Four... at least I'm 99% sure they used to. I think there are some permanently mounted in a park under a freeway here in Seattle.

ST?

 

[STEVETERRY]

I believe ETC makes an all weather Source Four... at least I'm 99% sure they used to. I think there are some permanently mounted in a park under a freeway here in Seattle.

ST?

We don't currently make a wet-location Source Four ellipsoidal.

ST

 

[NickJones]

But most will stand up to a small shower and you might even be able to put a small tin roof over the top of your truss, just to help protect it a bit. They do make all weather LEDs too, but if you did wan't to do the LED uplighting then you would need LED strip lights not LED PARs, and I'm not sure if they make weatherproof ones. As for movers a lot of them have big bubbles they sit in, it makes them rainproof. But not in Soundlight's case.

As for your weather proof ERS, Steve implied they were once made, so you might be able to find some second hand. The S4's lens barrel would be fine in weather, its the base you would have to worry about as it's on the bottom, not below like the Pacifics one that bends so it faces downwards.

Nick