Hi all again, I haven't checked back on my original post from earlier this week; and all I can say is thanks so much for the input ,but yes the digression into high school purchases was..
Let me attempt to give you a better
layout of what I'm looking at..
Effingham, IL is between St. Louis and Indianapolis and Chicago and Memphis
etc. So we're a roadhouse that is a brand new operation pretty much.. we opened our doors in November '07 and have hit the
ground running.. we're a 1500 seat
thrust style
venue that has so far been mostly succesful with country and comedy acts, but have had really good response to a ballet and other more theatrical productions.. we also host the local
theatre groups productions that are a by nature less professional, but I do my best to incorporate appropriate lighting design to what the director wants to acheive
etc.
We've been renting
Lycian Super Arc 350s and they're just a little over powering at this 100' distance especially to video, and their positioning doesn't help.. they're on boxes approximately 4' off the
ground split
FOH center with two additional boxes if necessary on either side of the
auditorium.. so basically it's like staring down a freight train for performers.. that's why I'm feeling kind of stuck in the midrange of spots here where consumer church/high school crap isn't going to cut it yet some of the pro lighting is going to be too much.. surprisingly we do get the requests frequently for Super Troupers, and I just defer that what we'll have here is sufficient for what we need to do for their show..
And don't get me wrong on the staring down a freight train thing, I really don't care if performers can see as long as they can be seen and look good.. ha ha.. ;^) and cooking the drummer on a rock show is fun too..
My budget is probably $4-5k (I meant to say per
unit! sorry!) tops because we'd like to get four units if possible; however, with that being said the majority of our shows to date we've used only two units, so we could get by in that capacity and rent more spots as necessary..
I really like some of the suggestions offered and will check into those spots ASAP; I'm in the position here of being literally the only guy who's ever done lighting, so I'm sure you all can appreciate that position. I'll check into the New Member Forum so you guys can get a little more info about me and my job here..
Thanks again, and if the budgetary and positioning and
layout etc. helps that's great!