Sound guy doing lights - oh No!

[jkeefauver]

So let me apologize up front for not knowing a darn thing about lights. My daughters are involved with a small, non-profit children's theater near our home and I've donated and setup the entire sound system. Now it's time for lights and I've made the decision to donate the necessary equipment. Problem is, I truly need some advice on equipment, wattage, etc. I'll get right to it...

The stage is approximately 40-ft. wide and about 15-feet deep in the wings and 25' in the center "thrust" section. Drop ceiling is appoximately 15-feet and seating is 100 people.

Front mounting will be approximately 10' out from the front of the thrust stage (approx. 25' from back wall in the center.

Productions range from having 2 or 3 kids on stage at a time to the entire company of nearly 50.

I want to go LED for this and want to be as budget conscious as possible. Now, my questions...

1. Director and I believe that a software controller is the way to go here both for cost and for ease of operation (also we have a laptop that was donated to run the lights). Do you agree and if so, what package should we look at? SoundXpress, Elation Compu Live, Light Jockey, etc.?
2. I am anticipating 16-20 LED PAR cans hung as front lighting. Question is can I get away with 1/2-watt PARS or do I need the 1-Watt units?
3. I am planning on a scanner on one side or the other initially (gobos and special effect stuff). Intimidator 2?
4. I am planning on one moving light hung center stage out front to be able to hit pre-determined marks as a spot and/or for gobos and fx. ADJ VIZI?
5. I am planning on using 3 LED color strips as "foot lights" across the front. Chauvet Colorstrip?

I would really appreciate anyone's expert opinion on this as I truly am in over my head here. Now, that being said, I'm pretty savy in technology so hopefully between your advice and my background, we won't end up in the dark!

 

[PadawanGeek]

As far as control goes, the Maxxyz pc software is now free for download (Maxxyz Software Support). Just run the trial and you can run up to 2 universes, as long as you have the USB to DMX box (which you would need anyways for lightjockey). We run the trial on a regular basis in our high school room at our church and it works great.

I have had great experiences with the chauvet colorstrips for the price, however they are somewhat cheap. Also i suggest getting double the amount of colorstrip minis instead, so that you can have more flexibility.

 

[Footer]

Who is going to be running the gear? How much power do you have in the room?

LED lighting will be great for backlight and sidelight, however I would not use it for front light. You really won't like the results. I would suggest you get something like this for front light. For backlight/sidelight the LED pars will be fine. As far as the moving lights/scanners go.... your really not going to be happy with either of those choices. Those things are designed to be used in a club or a bar. They are not really bright enough or exact enough to be used onstage. You might be able to pick up some used stuff that will do what you want though. Take a look at Sources for Used Equipment - ControlBooth .

 

[jkeefauver]

Power is an issue, it's a very old building. The heat and amperage required for incandescent lighting will be prohibitive without a lot of expense in electrical work. Honestly, I've probably got 2 15A lines to dedicate to this the way it stands now and the lights will be 12" from the drop ceiling so the heat would really concern me.

So you don't believe that even 1-watt PAR cans will cover?

As for the moving light, what do you think I need to be looking at instead of the VIZI? I'm sure I can only afford one, and probably used if I have to upgrade.

 

[jkeefauver]

Oh, and I will likely be running the first few and then handing it off to another helper so i need something that is basically just click on the scene at the right time. We won't have MIDI or any audio sync, just multiple scenes.

 

[PadawanGeek]

Oh, and I will likely be running the first few and then handing it off to another helper so i need something that is basically just click on the scene at the right time. We won't have MIDI or any audio sync, just multiple scenes.

The many control softwares (including maxxyz pc) allows you to add different cuelists, so that you just have to hit "go" through the cues. You can usually add in comments so that the operator knows when to go.

 

[jkeefauver]

Problem with Maxxyz PC is the box price of about $1300 USD. That's just not in the budget. Now, I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for" but I just can't swing that on the dongle and have enough left over to do the lights, especially if I'm going with 1-watt PARS which are twice the price of what I initially budgeted.

The main difference in the software seems to be that most of the cheap ones are designed more for DJ applications. It would be nice if something were designed more for theater. Anyone know of one that won't break the bank?

Some more info on the front PAR cans. Currently they have 20 track lights from an old office up there. Each bulb is no more than 150 watts. That lights the stage but is just plain white and quite boring. That is all I have to beat with this initial rig so I "hope" that the LED Pars can do the trick. I certainly hear Footer's concerns on the front LED but it is probably my only and best option at this point. I just don't know how to size it in that how many PAR cans will I need if I go 1/2 watt or how many for 1-watt. Here is where I could really use someone's experience before I buy these things.

 

[derekleffew]

...The main difference in the software seems to be that most of the cheap ones are designed more for DJ applications. It would be nice if something were designed more for theater. Anyone know of one that won't break the bank? ...

The solution most often recommended is MagicQ software with an Enttec USB to DMX dongle. Becuase of its extensive feature set, it's not the easiest to learn, however.