Wish List

[Timothy A. Samuelson]

For those of you who have read any of my posts, you know we're currently under construction on a new theatre! If you haven't, now you know! One group that will be using the space is another of the groups I work for, Community Theatre of Little Rock. CTLR will be supplying all of the lights for the new space. I have successfully sold the Board of Directors on the benefits of LEDs and we purchased our first in the form of 6 1/2 Watt K9 Pups. Well, long story short, now they want MORE.

If you were in my shoes, what would you put on your wish list? I want this list to include the best, not just the cheapest, but keep in mind that we are a non-profit organization. (this purchase is probably going to be covered by a grant) Movers, PARs, Follow Spots, anything you can come up with that would drastically improve the rig.

Prior to my taking the position, the theatre was running about 10 PAR56s and 4 Source-4s, all run through an OLD Dove console and packs. We've got new packs and are running on ChamSys now with quite a few new instruments. Time for more!

Thanks in advance!

 

[gafftaper]

As always, my advice starts with The Gafftaper Method. Start with a nice fully equipped conventional inventory. Then add lots of DMX controlled components: iCues, Right Arms, Scrollers, Seachangers, Rotators, DMX Iris... Think about the types of shows you do every year. What DMX toys would make them look cooler. You can get two Source Fours with Seachangers and iCues for less than the cost of a low end mover. A single high end mover can cost the same as 8-12 Source fours with Seachangers and iCues.

Don't underestimate the importance of a good console. You can always add a couple fixtures to the inventory, but a good console is expensive. At the least I would add one of those ChamSys fader wings.

 

[BobHealey]

My community group just acquired some Altman Phoenix LEDs. Except for a minor issue with mismatched firmware, I've been pretty happy with them on the one show I've used them on to date. When approximating R02, had to pull their master intensity down to ~60% to blend in with the HX-601 lamped 360Qs in the space. 6x9 vs 36 degree Phoenix. I got RGBA, can't decide if I should have gotten RGBW instead. Mainly due to trying to blend colors on an Express.

 

[MikeJ]

What are you doing doing for cyc lights? Do you have a cyc?I would look into LEDs. Having LEDs on a CYC and add a lot of flexibility in an otherwise minimalist set or show. If you do many large orchestral shows, sometimes the cyc and some breakups are a great option when the whole stage is taken up by musicians.

Some cyclights Like the Chauvet RidgeIP(I think discontinued now, but there are many similar fixtures out there) can be used really well as a Shin-kicker, or a foot light, and other applications for lighting people. The Philips PLCYC is a good cyc fixture, but it is not very good for anything else.

Thinks about how versatile each fixture will be If you can get a basic Rep plot than add the most versatile and useful items for the money.

Don't worry about fancy networking and DMX distribution if money is limited. A good opto-splitter and and a handful of cables will take care of it, and be easily re-configurable. I like the Swisson line of products, but there are plenty of good ones out there. Fleenor is solid, but I have had rental splitters where the IC's unseat themselves from vibration and being thrown in cases and trucked around constantly, not an issue in a theater, and something a few dabs of glue will fix for the road.