The right light for the right job

dshriver

Member
There was a recent thread that asked what type of fixtures were in your venue. Primary light in your theatre This thread got me thinking about all the various conventional theatrical fixtures that are used in today's performance spaces. I've always been in the situation of using the lights in inventory to get the job done. However, I'm wondering what everyone's opinion is on what when to use which type of fixtures. Why use a PAR instead of a fresnel? Why use a profile with frost instead of a PC?

So when do you use
Pars
Parnels
Fresnels
PCs
Profiles
etc etc etc?
 
So when do you use
Pars: When I just need a wash no control other than intensity.
Parnels: haven't used them
Fresnels: when I want a nice round beam or a light from a par would be too harsh
PCs: Haven't used them
Profiles: again no use
Ellipsoidals: When working with front light that needs to be uniform and have cuts in the beam (or when using texture patterns or need a very tight controlled source)
Cyc Lights: When I'm lighting a drop from close above.
Boarder Strips: When I need light from below at the edge of a stage or to fill the bottoms of a drop(used in conjunction with Cyc lights)

other than that Its personal Preference really, I could probably do everything but square with fresnels and not worry about other fixtures (heck I've seen a 120k Wash with fresnels done)
 
I could probably do everything but square with fresnels and not worry about other fixtures

Barndoors, my friend.

Anyhow,

Fresnels are probably your best choice for all around light just because they do pretty much everything. Pars tend towards the brighter side, so thats where those guys come in handy. Source 4s for Template projection and places where whacky shutter cuts are needed. Strip lights- Cyc. Cyc lights- Cyc. Basically if you have sufficient MR-16 or LED strips, a few Source 4 ERSs and a crap ton of Pars and Fresnels, you have all the lights you need.
 

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