I'm not very good with introductions, so I'll try my best...
Obviously from the title I'm new here, and I'm hoping to get some direction/advice that will help me with my career goals. I stumbled upon this page while researching lighting fixtures that I would like to use in building my own rig. Names Chris, 27 years old, and I'm hoping to become a successful live concert lighting technician. A little background...
I love music, always have. After graduating from high school I spent 4 years in the Minneapolis area doing concert/cd release promo for Strange Music (Tech N9ne, etc.) I liked doing it, but eventually I ran out of time to do promo work while working full time. After about 2 years not doing anything music related, I started helping my roommates band. Mostly I helped with load in/load out, and ran merch a few times. After roughly 1.5 years, they went their separate ways and he joined a new band. I started helping them in the same way, and eventually it turned into running stage props/fog machines/strobes. At the time I had no problem with the roadie work, but I was really starting to like the idea of making the show look as good as I could. I've never been able to play an instrument, so this would be my way to make the show better. I've been to entirely too many shows that the light guy was terrible... it can easily influence my opinion of seeing a band for the first time (not sure how many other people think this way...) When the band went through a lineup change, I was asked if I wanted to run the stage lights for their last show at the time. Having absolutely no idea what I was doing, or how the house had their stuff setup, I think it actually went pretty **** good. I also realized that day that it was what I wanted to do for a living.
Fast forward about 2 years. I stumbled upon an add on Craigslist by a bar that was looking for someone to come in and be their in-house light guy, no experience needed. This happened to be the same time that I decided to seriously pursue this career option. At the time they were having their sound guy run the lights, who none of really cared about doing it at all. They would pick a few colors and leave it the whole night, and hit the fog machine once in a while. It has now been about 4 months, I've made a little bit of money ($150 give or take in that time, plus food and beer...), but I want to do much more. I've walked into a few venues for a show, walked up to the sound guy and asked if they had an in-house light guy that night. You would be shocked how many of them have said no, just them, and they ask me if I want to do it. I know I was. (Apparently there is a severe shortage of light guys in the Minneapolis area... everyone wants to do sound.)
I have also talked to many of the bands that I have known for years, mentioned that I'm learning how to run lights and if they ever need someone to let me know. First question I get almost everytime? "Oh that's cool, do you have your own stuff?" Well... no... I don't... But I now feel it's time to change that. I ran into a guy at a show that had nothing except his own board. I was surprised how much the club was paying him to come in and run lights for 4 local bands that total drew about 400-500 people... and that was with just owning his own board. What could I make if I had my own light rig...? Well, I now intend to explore that possibility.
First thing you might say is, "Don't expect to make a lot of money at the start, it takes time." I completely agree. I would actually be surprised if I simply make my gas money back when starting out, but I know it can lead to much more with some hard work. Have to start somewhere right? That being said, I have spent the last few weeks doing some serious research trying to learn everything I can about lighting (Bought 5 books on the subject ranging from musical/opera lighting design, all the way to the ins and outs of automated lighting and concert lighting.) I have also been looking at different light fixtures trying to design what I think would be a decent starting rig, that also puts off a professional/I mean business look. That means no Spencer's Gifts fixtures... Yes, I have had friends say, "Well why don't you just go to Spencers and buy your stuff from there...?" Yes, that is good enough for maybe the corner of some bands friends mom's basement for their house party... but not for what I intend to do. I'm going to attempt to get a $5000-$7500 personal loan from a credit union this weekend (Banks hate me... I couldn't get a $5000 car loan with a 725+ credit rating *censored*). Assuming that I can, this is the preliminary rig that I have started to piece together:
American DJ Light Bridge System (American DJ Homepage) - I could go with the $130 cheaper system, but I would rather pay the extra now to double my weight capacity for future expansions.
Chauvet 6spot LED bar (Products » 6SPOT) - Personally I think this would be a nice center of rig fixture, and I can think of many creative things to do with it.
Elation Design LED 36 Tri-Brick (http://www.elationlighting.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ItemNumber=1509&MainId=1&Category=LED Lighting) - I was also looking at this, not sure where I would put it, but it can also be for a future expansion, don't want things to get too out of hand.
6-8 LED pars - Somewhere in the $125-150ish range would suffice. Think along the lines of a Chauvet LEDsplash™ 200B, LEDrain™ 64C, or American DJ Mega Par Profile
2 Strobes - American DJ Mega Flash DMX or Chauvet DMX Mega Strobe™ II. I want it to stand out, not some tiny small wattage strobe...
2 American DJ Flash Rope - (American DJ Homepage) Cheap, and personally I think the truss stands are a little boring... Kinda want something to break that up at times.
Martin Magnum 2500 Hz Hazer - (Product - Magnum 2500 Hz™) 2500 cubic meters a minute should be enough I think... I can always dial it down for smaller venues.
Now, I am aware that this is only going to be a 10' wide fixture, so pretty much just enough to go above the drum riser, but I do intend on my first expansion being 2 5' sections of lights, one stage left and the other stage right, that way I can fill out the rest of the stage. But I think for starting out, and for smaller bars/clubs that do not have very sophisticated light setups, it would get the job done. I also intend on adding a few movers, but at $700+ a pop... yea, they can wait. I also have not done much research into what I want to use for a console. I've been debating between a laptop based one, or a board. I do however want it to be wireless. I feel that the extra $150 or so is worth not having the headache of running a 100' snake across a bar full of drunk people that will be tripping over it every 5 minutes. I have also not looked into powering it all or DMX controllers or anything yet. Want to get an idea of the lights I want, then work from there.
Well, there you have it. like I said, I have approximately 4 months of experience at this point, and I really do not know how to put the lighting images that I have in my head onto a live stage, or even if the above setup is even remotely doable, so that is why I came here with it. I want all the feedback you can give me. Remember, this would be for use in venues in the 500-1500 capacity range, so not for anykind of huge arena type use, that comes later if this experiment works out...
Obviously from the title I'm new here, and I'm hoping to get some direction/advice that will help me with my career goals. I stumbled upon this page while researching lighting fixtures that I would like to use in building my own rig. Names Chris, 27 years old, and I'm hoping to become a successful live concert lighting technician. A little background...
I love music, always have. After graduating from high school I spent 4 years in the Minneapolis area doing concert/cd release promo for Strange Music (Tech N9ne, etc.) I liked doing it, but eventually I ran out of time to do promo work while working full time. After about 2 years not doing anything music related, I started helping my roommates band. Mostly I helped with load in/load out, and ran merch a few times. After roughly 1.5 years, they went their separate ways and he joined a new band. I started helping them in the same way, and eventually it turned into running stage props/fog machines/strobes. At the time I had no problem with the roadie work, but I was really starting to like the idea of making the show look as good as I could. I've never been able to play an instrument, so this would be my way to make the show better. I've been to entirely too many shows that the light guy was terrible... it can easily influence my opinion of seeing a band for the first time (not sure how many other people think this way...) When the band went through a lineup change, I was asked if I wanted to run the stage lights for their last show at the time. Having absolutely no idea what I was doing, or how the house had their stuff setup, I think it actually went pretty **** good. I also realized that day that it was what I wanted to do for a living.
Fast forward about 2 years. I stumbled upon an add on Craigslist by a bar that was looking for someone to come in and be their in-house light guy, no experience needed. This happened to be the same time that I decided to seriously pursue this career option. At the time they were having their sound guy run the lights, who none of really cared about doing it at all. They would pick a few colors and leave it the whole night, and hit the fog machine once in a while. It has now been about 4 months, I've made a little bit of money ($150 give or take in that time, plus food and beer...), but I want to do much more. I've walked into a few venues for a show, walked up to the sound guy and asked if they had an in-house light guy that night. You would be shocked how many of them have said no, just them, and they ask me if I want to do it. I know I was. (Apparently there is a severe shortage of light guys in the Minneapolis area... everyone wants to do sound.)
I have also talked to many of the bands that I have known for years, mentioned that I'm learning how to run lights and if they ever need someone to let me know. First question I get almost everytime? "Oh that's cool, do you have your own stuff?" Well... no... I don't... But I now feel it's time to change that. I ran into a guy at a show that had nothing except his own board. I was surprised how much the club was paying him to come in and run lights for 4 local bands that total drew about 400-500 people... and that was with just owning his own board. What could I make if I had my own light rig...? Well, I now intend to explore that possibility.
First thing you might say is, "Don't expect to make a lot of money at the start, it takes time." I completely agree. I would actually be surprised if I simply make my gas money back when starting out, but I know it can lead to much more with some hard work. Have to start somewhere right? That being said, I have spent the last few weeks doing some serious research trying to learn everything I can about lighting (Bought 5 books on the subject ranging from musical/opera lighting design, all the way to the ins and outs of automated lighting and concert lighting.) I have also been looking at different light fixtures trying to design what I think would be a decent starting rig, that also puts off a professional/I mean business look. That means no Spencer's Gifts fixtures... Yes, I have had friends say, "Well why don't you just go to Spencers and buy your stuff from there...?" Yes, that is good enough for maybe the corner of some bands friends mom's basement for their house party... but not for what I intend to do. I'm going to attempt to get a $5000-$7500 personal loan from a credit union this weekend (Banks hate me... I couldn't get a $5000 car loan with a 725+ credit rating *censored*). Assuming that I can, this is the preliminary rig that I have started to piece together:
American DJ Light Bridge System (American DJ Homepage) - I could go with the $130 cheaper system, but I would rather pay the extra now to double my weight capacity for future expansions.
Chauvet 6spot LED bar (Products » 6SPOT) - Personally I think this would be a nice center of rig fixture, and I can think of many creative things to do with it.
Elation Design LED 36 Tri-Brick (http://www.elationlighting.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ItemNumber=1509&MainId=1&Category=LED Lighting) - I was also looking at this, not sure where I would put it, but it can also be for a future expansion, don't want things to get too out of hand.
6-8 LED pars - Somewhere in the $125-150ish range would suffice. Think along the lines of a Chauvet LEDsplash™ 200B, LEDrain™ 64C, or American DJ Mega Par Profile
2 Strobes - American DJ Mega Flash DMX or Chauvet DMX Mega Strobe™ II. I want it to stand out, not some tiny small wattage strobe...
2 American DJ Flash Rope - (American DJ Homepage) Cheap, and personally I think the truss stands are a little boring... Kinda want something to break that up at times.
Martin Magnum 2500 Hz Hazer - (Product - Magnum 2500 Hz™) 2500 cubic meters a minute should be enough I think... I can always dial it down for smaller venues.
Now, I am aware that this is only going to be a 10' wide fixture, so pretty much just enough to go above the drum riser, but I do intend on my first expansion being 2 5' sections of lights, one stage left and the other stage right, that way I can fill out the rest of the stage. But I think for starting out, and for smaller bars/clubs that do not have very sophisticated light setups, it would get the job done. I also intend on adding a few movers, but at $700+ a pop... yea, they can wait. I also have not done much research into what I want to use for a console. I've been debating between a laptop based one, or a board. I do however want it to be wireless. I feel that the extra $150 or so is worth not having the headache of running a 100' snake across a bar full of drunk people that will be tripping over it every 5 minutes. I have also not looked into powering it all or DMX controllers or anything yet. Want to get an idea of the lights I want, then work from there.
Well, there you have it. like I said, I have approximately 4 months of experience at this point, and I really do not know how to put the lighting images that I have in my head onto a live stage, or even if the above setup is even remotely doable, so that is why I came here with it. I want all the feedback you can give me. Remember, this would be for use in venues in the 500-1500 capacity range, so not for anykind of huge arena type use, that comes later if this experiment works out...
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I do want to reply to what Victor had to say, though. Owning a business is about finding a balance between "doing lighting" and sales. I'm at the 
