Small outdoor show - sanity check

flamingo

Member
Hi folks!

Working on a small show as LD for the theater I work at. This is very different from our normal process. (Inside, weeks of rehearsal/load in, tech, weeks of shows, etc) It's a special event that was born from the need of covid shutdown / fundraising. Now, it's morphed into something like a community gathering with a theater-esque main event. I'm enjoying being involved, especially as I don't often get to design. Normally the head elec.

The local rental/event houses (of which there are few) don't seem to keep any IP gear on hand. I mean, I'm getting a hard "No." when I ask about them..... But these are companies that regularly do (stage/lights/sound) for all kinds of events and companies locally, with musical acts that don't always have a cover/roof for the stage or people on it. And - I'm specifically talking about LEDs / movers / etc. here... I've done a summerstock outdoors, but that was a 100% source four rig to my memory.

Our whole affair will be up & down within a week, and rain will cancel our performances... but still. Isn't this a pretty big risk to take?

Do any of y'all do or have you done this type of stuff enough to know the typical methods?

Am I crazy? Are people really just putting indoor fixtures outside and crossing their fingers?
 
If there is a roof and or cover then I'd bag fixtures at night. Bag/wrap all connections. If there is no cover, then I'd drop fixtures at night...just in case. If it is safe to leave fixtures powered up, then that will help prevent condensation...but can become a lightning risk.
 
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While it is risky to use non IP rated fixtures outside, it is also not uncommon.
Risk management should be part of the plan.
Is plastic/visqueen available and ready?
Tarps?
Do trusses need to be lowered or pre wrapped with plastic to make a rain hood, etc.
When and who makes the call to turn off and cover fixtures.

Story time:
Back in the late 1900's some co-workers were doing a gig lighting a bridge for the Kentuky Derby. Several miles of bridge was lit by several hundred Vari-Lite VL-4 wash luminaires.
looked amazing. And then it started to rain. The on-site crew proceeded to bag all the vari-lites... but they didn't douse the lamps. Blocked fans and heat from the lamp melted over 150 color mechanisms. Took months and thousands of dollars to repair all of the damage.
 
Having a good weather plan, with good placement of the movers and covering them appropriately when not in use can be a good solution. You *shouldn't* have much trouble finding at the very least LED IP rated pars. I carry hundreds in inventory, and I'd expect other companies do as well.

Spots and Movers are more rare, which is why you have to come up with good weather plans for them.
 
where abouts are you, flamingo? (don't say Florida, pleahz ..)
 
where abouts are you, flamingo? (don't say Florida, pleahz ..)
LOL nope! "hey boss, i went to get more sandbags like you asked. they were all out!"

What this thread is making me realize is that we need to decide WHO is in charge of monitoring weather, making a call on site, how we proceed in different scenarios (or not).... Things I was thinking about, but the liability is a bit too much for my pay grade, IMO
 
I'm the tech person / sound engineer at a outdoor concert venue. I make sure that the people who sign the checks and book the bands and the band management understand that I am happy to let them call a show due to weather on their desires. I also make sure that they understand that if I call the show there is no discussion. If you are putting electrical devices into a situation where someone can get hurt by them, you have to know when to remove of mediate that threat. Also if you are using temporary mounting locations, knowing when wind becomes a factor is a needed skill. We finally this year replace all of lights with IP rated LEDs which makes part of the decision easier. All of our lighting and sound locations are very sturdy and should be fine in any but the worst storms. We have roofs over the stage and FOH and will run in a light rain, even a medium rain as long as wind is not a factor. Lightning is a whole other matter. Several of us use a lightning tracker app on our phones during weather events and close strikes will put a show on hold. So to get to the point, if you are going to do shows outside you can let the people above you make weather calls, but you need to also be the responsible person when something under your direction becomes a threat to safety. The show must go on BS is just that, no show is worth someone getting hurt because you thought safety is above your pay grade. You are the hired professional, your are responsible for your end of the production, you have to shut down when the higher ups say to, but, you have to speak up when something becomes dangerous because you know the gear better then they do, that's why they hired you.
 
[...] We finally this year replace all of lights with IP rated LEDs which makes part of the decision easier. ... We have roofs over the stage and FOH and will run in a light rain, even a medium rain as long as wind is not a factor. [...]

We won't have a roof. But the IP / LEDs combos is proving hard to come by.

We have a company that routinely works on outdoor shows providing the stage for us. But no outdoor lighting fixtures... So are they being more cavalier than we would like, or just hedging their bets against the weather?

Scenario: we set up Monday or Tuesday. Show performs Friday & Saturday. Let's say it rains at 3am Saturday morning. If the lights are trashed, I won't have a Saturday night show, even if it's perfectly safe.

So the answer is IP65+ gear, right?
 
Yes IP65+ gear is the way to go. I like Chauvet gear, I have 30 or so fixtures that live outside for 6 months a year. The only thing that has been an issue is the LCD screens don't like sunlight, I'm assuming its a UV thing and die. So I write the address on each fixture is silver Sharpie. For wash lights I use Solo 2s and SPar 1s (the later is discontinued) and E-910FC IP for FOH. The Solos zoom, so they are flexible and while the 910s don't hit every color in the Lee and Rosco books, they hit most anything you need, I am willing to compromise slightly on color for the IP rating. The key to the IP rating is for any IP fixture is that you use IP rated DMX and power connectors.
 
The two are related - safety includes protecting the gear from becoming a hazard.
Aha - my wording was unclear. 'Not the issue I need to solve' I should have said.

Anyhoodle, after all this confusion and mild despair on my end..... the vendor that will install the truss will also install lights, and they said they will take care of any issues that arise from rain outside of the times of our event. *dusts hands*
 
@flamingo what some people have been hinting at is that your show's responsibility for general safety is far more important than the question of if the lights get wet.

Who makes the call to cancel the show? What are the conditions under which it WILL be canceled? What are your severe weather plans? Crowd Management plans? How many MPH before the stage becomes a kite? Who is watching that wind speed? How? Making a decision to cancel 20 minutes before curtain while you look out seeing thousands of dollars walk out the door will make it much harder for the powers that be to make the correct decision. Make sure they have a plan now and they commit to follow those guidelines when conditions are no longer safe. It's not only a good idea, it's an ansi standard. You can be sued for not following industry standards even if you don't know they exist, in fact negligence of not knowing the codes exist can make the lawsuit results even worse.
 
@gafftaper "[...] your show's responsibility for general safety is far more important than the question of if the lights get wet [...]"

Yes, absolutely.

I appreciate everyone chiming in. I know you all have best interests at heart.

I haven't shared all the details of my event, largely because I don't feel like divulging my location to strangers on the internet. The conversations around staff & public safety have been had, and are continuing to be had.. This is not the first time this event has been done by us. It's a major reason why we're subcontracting the staging/rigging.
 
@gafftaper "[...] your show's responsibility for general safety is far more important than the question of if the lights get wet [...]"

Yes, absolutely.

I appreciate everyone chiming in. I know you all have best interests at heart.

I haven't shared all the details of my event, largely because I don't feel like divulging my location to strangers on the internet. The conversations around staff & public safety have been had, and are continuing to be had.. This is not the first time this event has been done by us. It's a major reason why we're subcontracting the staging/rigging.
That's good to hear. We get a lot of people asking questions who are doing dangerous things.

As for the sharing info with strangers on the internet, while I generally agree. If you hang around here you'll find this is a great community and we won't be strangers for long.
 
We won't have a roof. But the IP / LEDs combos is proving hard to come by.

We have a company that routinely works on outdoor shows providing the stage for us. But no outdoor lighting fixtures... So are they being more cavalier than we would like, or just hedging their bets against the weather?

Scenario: we set up Monday or Tuesday. Show performs Friday & Saturday. Let's say it rains at 3am Saturday morning. If the lights are trashed, I won't have a Saturday night show, even if it's perfectly safe.

So the answer is IP65+ gear, right?
Just spit balling here but, maybe knowingly obtain trash/used/ excessed equipment that's disposable, a lot of "ADJ Par Cans" And lamp them with 250 watt pars, or LED adaptions equivalent to 1000 watts, etc... consider them disposable. Most of the electrical connections are brass on brass so, no real issues there. Open pars can get wet, but will easily dry out too. That's what you want. Sprat them with extra rattle can stove paint. Use the good stuff only when absolutely necessary and bag them when not in use. Try to group the good stuff to make that easier. Ellipsoidal and good Fresnels will trap water and moisture inside so... use sparingly. Auto stores have a gel to protect and waterproof electrical connections, smear and squirt some of that stuff into every connector. NEVER wrap and/or tape plastic over them - that traps water more than it repels it.

We took a cruise every year for almost 2 decades, one full week of party-all-night-every night on the upper pool decks... about 50 movers and a host of other stuff flying through the waters of the N or S Caribbean... it was all bagged at night just in case but, nothing looked like it was suffering from being outdoors. Lighting desks and sound boards were brough indoors but, likely for security purposes (There was covered technical area, tarps and canvas "tent.")
 
Just spit balling here but, maybe knowingly obtain trash/used/ excessed equipment that's disposable, a lot of "ADJ Par Cans" And lamp them with 250 watt pars, or LED adaptions equivalent to 1000 watts, etc... consider them disposable. Most of the electrical connections are brass on brass so, no real issues there. Open pars can get wet, but will easily dry out too. That's what you want. Sprat them with extra rattle can stove paint. Use the good stuff only when absolutely necessary and bag them when not in use. Try to group the good stuff to make that easier. Ellipsoidal and good Fresnels will trap water and moisture inside so... use sparingly. Auto stores have a gel to protect and waterproof electrical connections, smear and squirt some of that stuff into every connector. NEVER wrap and/or tape plastic over them - that traps water more than it repels it.

We took a cruise every year for almost 2 decades, one full week of party-all-night-every night on the upper pool decks... about 50 movers and a host of other stuff flying through the waters of the N or S Caribbean... it was all bagged at night just in case but, nothing looked like it was suffering from being outdoors. Lighting desks and sound boards were brough indoors but, likely for security purposes (There was covered technical area, tarps and canvas "tent.")
The ship may have had "Moving Light Hospital" in the lower decks, as the corrosive sea air does a real number on everything. One local nightclub with a country theme had live bull riding on weekends and a full time staff member whose job was to fix the moving lights that failed daily due to the dust and dirt. I'd be surprised if the ship was any different in terms of maintenance.
 

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