77 Comments

1. Dimitris Vidos:
   July 10th, 2008 at 11:33 am

   Hello Rob,

   here is my suggestion:

   I loved the Band Lighting series. What I would like to see is a rough but complete guide for band gig lighting. Viewing it from the point of view of a small band with a small budget.

   Some Par56 only, maybe a pair of scanners. Where to put the sticks, how to route cables, colors, focus points. And how to program this using either a small DMX console, a foot controller or MagicQ, what scenes or looks, what chases.

   I think many people will benefit from such a topic.

   Cheers!

2. Rob:
   July 13th, 2008 at 3:13 pm

   Hi Dimitris – I had been thinking about some information aimed at non-lighting people, like bands, who want to get a small amount of kit together. Your ideas sound good.

   Thanks for your comment, seems like many On Stage Lighting regulars don’t have opinions so far

3. Steaders:
   July 14th, 2008 at 9:42 pm

   Hi Rob

   Personally I’d like a mix of basic how-tos and more technical stuff ie what the pros like yourself do.

   Although I’ve been involved in lighting for about two years on amateur basis, I know I still have a lot to learn. I running the lighting the for a variety of things from Church to a small band to a AmDram group.

   I need the basics so that I know what I’m doing, and the more technical stiff so that when I talk to the people I work with, they at least think I know what I’m doing!

   A great series of articles, keep up the good work.

4. Matt:
   July 21st, 2008 at 9:28 pm

   Hi Rob

   I’d like a how-to on general repair of conventional/intelligent lights.

   The more advanced help will be welcome.

   Cheers

5. Rob:
   July 23rd, 2008 at 4:33 pm

   @ Steaders and Matt

   Thanks for your comments, guys. All ideas will go into the mix for the future.

6. Pete Tabberer:
   July 25th, 2008 at 1:17 pm

   Info on lighting for duo’s, linking into backing tracks, ie. set up backing track and lighting required, then when play track lighting changes automaticaly. PS. must be as cheap as poss!!

7. Matt:
   October 1st, 2008 at 5:58 pm

   Also…

   How about something on follow spots?

   I heard a rumour about some that automatically follow a person through triangulation points.

   Know anything about them?

8. Haydn:
   March 6th, 2009 at 7:55 pm

   At my school we have a 5m high and 11m wide cyclorama curtain.
   We were looking at the Colorfusion 803 for new cyclorama lights but the intensity wasn’t good enough.

   What would be the best lights for us to get?

9. Dennis Dorling:
   March 10th, 2009 at 7:41 am

   I’m always looking for articles about how lighting and video folks are using sound to control their visuals. I’m curious as to what the experts might comment on as to the current state of the art, both in technique and hardware. I know this is a tough question. Using sound seems to have so much potential but maybe I see a future that others overlook.

   regards

10. Jeff Struve:
    April 5th, 2009 at 5:09 pm

    Lighting for bands isn’t what it used to be! Years ago when I had the light system, I used a little Sunn Midi controller, 2 dimmer packs and 8 PAR 46′s… a couple of rain lights hitting a mirror ball…

    Since I sold this all years ago… I find that I need to get into lighting the band again… with the same basic concept… only using DMX and PARs using LED’s What do I need to buy?

    I have a DMX board… and buying the lights is a gimme (I think I am opting for 8 PAR 56,s because they are still small in size… our stage is generally 14 foot by 24 foot)… and of course light tree/stands and cabling… but how about power? do I need dimmer packs or just power strips or what?

    Thanx!

11. Mukesh:
    May 18th, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    How can I create sun with rays about 4 ft dia.? what are the best options?

12. David:
    May 19th, 2009 at 9:40 am

    Hi,

    If I was looking to use colour wash moving lights in a venue to create a “hanging colour” effect, would I need to use smoke / haze to do this? Or would the beams provide the colour wash?

    Thanks!

13. Mahaveer Bhandari:
    September 23rd, 2009 at 5:07 am

    I wish to know the simple mathematical formula to compute the following.
    Requirement is to focus a LED industrial ligh on a machine to derive the required Lux illumination on the machine.

    1. The lumen output of the LED lamp is known.
    2. The target area lux required is known.
    3. The distance of lamp from the target area is known.

    What I need to calculate is the beam angle of the LED lamp required.

    a geometrical computational formula in excel format will be helpful in calculating any of the above fields.

14. Jayme:
    September 30th, 2009 at 12:23 am

    I am starting a small theatre group and am starting from stratch as far as lighting. So which way do I go? Intelligent, LED, old school pars and ellipticals? I am using different small spaces and will be travelling with some of the shows. I would also like these lights to work for our choir which is on professional risers (about 70 people) and we perform in an auditorium with very limited lighting. The stage there is sizeable…so how do I buy lights to do both purposes and venue types. Oh, and did I mention that I am in Mexico, so there can sometimes be power issues…buildings are not wired the same here.

15. Joe:
    September 30th, 2009 at 4:58 am

    A friend and I want to start our own sound technicial and stage lighting business, after working for someone else for 15years. We have no idea on costing our services – we have all the technical knowhow but not the business side of things.

    Does anyone know of a website I can refer to for free business planning for sound and lighting.

16. Rob Sayer:
    October 2nd, 2009 at 4:10 pm

    Hi Jayme

    If you are starting a lighting rig from scratch, your first port of call should be conventional lighting fixtures. Intelligent kit and even LED takes a significant investment in terms of skills and maintenance, let alone purchase cost. For you to service both venues with exactly the same equipment may be tough – a large auditorium can require different fixtures than a small theatre group in terms of power / light output.

    On the whole, conventional lighting fixtures like some fresnels and ellisoidals of all sizes, are flexible enough to be used for many applications. What is more of an unknown when using different spaces is stuff to rig them on.

    Hi Joe, we don’t know of industry specific business advice sites but in the UK, Business Link has some great stuff on all aspects of running a business. A business is a business, what ever industry you are in.

    If you want to understand more about specific business models in our industry I would suggest that you spend some time working with established companies and take time to try to understand how the business side stacks up.

17. Derek Comins:
    October 3rd, 2009 at 12:22 pm

    Hi. We have a church stage approx. 16ft. high x 36ft. across and 16ft. deep. At the moment we use frenzels to light the stage; Mainley used for church panto; We thought to ungrade to LED lighting; so many to choose fromm; what is the equivealent to 500w cans. Are PAR 56 lanterns DMX 153 leds 20w power consumption any good. LEDs come in different sizes? 5mm-10mm-1w-3w could you give me some idea what to buy; many thanks Derek

18. Andre Robert:
    October 17th, 2009 at 10:19 am

    I am a musician heavily involved with sequencing midi through Cakewalk’s sonar7 producer.

    I am looking for info on adding cues for lighting purposes. I do live shows and need smpte ( I think ) to cue the ligths in sync with the music. None of this audio sensitive lighting… just isn’t specific enough.

    Question is, where do I get tutorials or the “how to” to accomplish this. I’m rather new a lighting systems and have downloaded the magicQ. Just not sure how to make the music and lights work together.

    I thank you kindly for your time

    Andre

19. Mark Percival:
    October 23rd, 2009 at 9:28 pm

    I am evry new to OSL and absolutely love the wealth of info. I am looking into buying new equipment for a small professional theatre in a small corner of South Africa. I am considering between LED pars or colour washes. What are the pro’s and cons of each, which would give me the most benefit from a flying height of +/- 6 meters?
    Please could someone advise me one the right product to do the job at the right price?
    Thanks.

20. Rob Sayer:
    October 24th, 2009 at 8:09 pm

    Welcome Mark,
    You can already find quite a bit of information and Q and A about LED Stage Lights and PAR lamps plus some FAQ in our How Do I…? article.

    Assuming you are not talking about huge budget LED fixtures, I would’nt count on the brightness of LED PARs or washlights at a 6m throw distance. Small theatres should always start with enough 500W and 1000W fresnels with barndoors, some profile spots and possibly some PARs for blasting a bit of colour when needed. A few sheets of gel, some gobos and holders and you’ve always got something you can do a show with.

    Thanks for stopping by.

21. Rob Sayer:
    October 24th, 2009 at 8:19 pm

    @ Andre, I haven’t a lot of experience of using the MagicQ with MIDI but Cham Sys have a guide to interfacing the console to MIDI/SMPTE. Whether you can find a method of interfacing the PC version to a MIDI device on the same laptop or over a network, again I don’t know.

    The usual system of firing lighting cues using MIDI is advancing a cue stack or choosing single cues to the MIDI notes. I expect the interfacing is going to involve some investigation, probably on DJ or Muso forums.

22. Ari:
    October 29th, 2009 at 9:50 am

    Hi, nice website. Hope that I could get more information from here.

    I’m a musician, and within two weeks we are going to hold a jazz concert in a small sized auditorium. We can only use the auditorium’s lighting system, and we can’t afford to hire more lighting.
    But even if we hire them, the result is usually unsatisfying. They played too much with the lights during the show, which distracts our playing, and made our show seem cheesy and too flashy. We prefer more ambience and lighting design that is more static but creates certain moods.
    So we pretty much on our own, with a set of lightings, 6 PAR64s with color filters, and 2 unidentified LAMPO lights.

    Can I get information on how to design the stage lighting? (e.g. placing, colors, etc.) Maybe just the basic one that can be done with those lights that the venue provided. Or if you can help me out on this, I would be soo grateful.

    If needed, I can post the layout of our band equipments’ placement, and the size of the stage, which is 8 meters x 4 meters.

    Thanks in advance.

23. Bryan Sullivan:
    November 3rd, 2009 at 9:11 pm

    Hi there,

    I was wondering if you had any stats available on the estimated size and scope of the stage and lighting industry. North American and world wide. If you could provide info or point me in the right direction, it would be greatly appreciated.

24. Mike Browning:
    November 5th, 2009 at 11:45 am

    My problem is to do with lighting controls
    Currently we only have 12 fresnels with a 2 preset board. Because of power constraints we are considering purchasing LED par64 to give a general wash.
    The problem is the lighting control to use as we require to be able to move from one state to another (as we do now using the X fader) and also retain these states for future use. The current board has no XLR input so we are considering a new board. We have looked at Elation 192 but I don’t think this will do what we want as these boards appear to be set up mainly for disco use. As far as I can see the fade and speed faders control chases and not the speed from one scene to another.
    Can anyone point me in the direction of a board that will meet our requirements?

25. Rob Sayer:
    November 5th, 2009 at 5:03 pm

    Hi Mike,
    Many lighting controllers will do what you want including things like the Zero88 Jester. But if your current control is not digital (desk with and XLR output) will your dimmer accept a digital signal input or do they only have 8pin DIN sockets on them? Something to think about.

    LED PARS are OK enough for a bit of colour blasted about the stage, but aren’t as good a general light source as your fresnels. There is plenty of info on that subject here at On Stage Lighting.
    Thanks for your question.

26. Reischa Feuerbacher:
    November 13th, 2009 at 4:13 pm

    Hi, I am working getting a costume order in. Trying to pick out colors kind of quickly. The colors may involved a lighter pink, and a magenta. It will hint at a romantic setting, cafe type thing. In my case, I prefer to keep it VERY simple. Which color would be best for the floor and scrim – the lighter pink or darker. And the costumes in the oppossite color. I hope to also use some purple/lavendar for costumes or lighting.

    Also, would you just give me an idea of what colors normally are nice for back drop. Best for that.

    Thanks,
    Reischa F.

27. benedict:
    November 18th, 2009 at 4:28 pm

    i just want to know how you will create a rainbow on stage

28. muzzy:
    November 21st, 2009 at 6:48 pm

    hey

    i need some advice. I used to do stage lighting for my school as there were no teachers to do it when i was there.
    i used a range of zero boards and basic frenel lighting
    i do not no how to program boards or chasses or anything like that
    i could basicaly busk a theatre or concert show

    i recently have gone more into the acting side of perf arts and i am doing a full time acting course.
    i have found a band who have a basic lighting setup that realy i think does not do them justice its just fresnels on a t bar on sound to light.
    i realy want to help them out but do not no if my knoledge is suitable
    do i need more training and if so which are the best day courses
    and what do you think the best lighting would be for a good touring band

    i no its a complex question but thanks.

29. Rob Sayer:
    November 24th, 2009 at 2:45 pm

    Hi Muzzy, tell us a bit more:
    What kinds of band are they, music and head count?
    What sized venues do they play that will use their own lighting?
    Are you going to be available to help them on the night, or do they need something they can deal with themselves?

    The fresnels on t-bars sounds about right for a small gig band, but sound to light system doesn’t give enough control for specific lighting.

30. muzzy:
    November 24th, 2009 at 9:14 pm

    hey

    well they are kind of making it up from just a small gig band they are playing bigger venues most of wich do not have there own lighting
    there is four in the band
    they play rock music mostly and rock ballads
    and i will be on hand to help them but it would help to have a system that they could use without me if neccesary
    thanks for the help

31. Rob Sayer:
    November 25th, 2009 at 11:37 am

    @muzzy. There are lot of ways to look at this, so I’ll try to be brief.
    A small gig band that want to own some lighting kit will always need tripod stands, light sources like PARs or fresnels, and some ,gel colours. An addition would be a certain amount of control like a small DMX desk or PC based controller plus some form of dimming. Adding to what they’ve got in that respect is the way to go. The key ingredient is you or someone to help them by making sure the gear is well used and control their show when required. Sounds like you have some of the skills to do that and the rest you can pick up by reading up on stage lighting and trying things out.

    For larger venues that don’t have their own lighting, you have a few options, the last resort for me would be buying a lot of lighting kit. Hiring or borrowing is a better option (if there’s no business case, i.e money, for hiring gear to do a larger gig, there certainly isn’t one for buying it). You can also choose your gear depending on the venue. Another thing to consider is asking the venue to provide it as part of the bands rider, in which case they have to deal with the kit hire and possibly a tech to go with it.

    If you want dynamic movement, a lot of disco lighting kit is perfectly suitable especially if you need to switch it back to sound-to-light when there is no one to control it. Remember if you want a real “light show”, you will need some kind of haze or smoke too otherwise the beams just won’t show up.

    There is plenty of information online and in books to get you going.

32. muzzy:
    November 25th, 2009 at 10:48 pm

    great thanks for that advice

    so LED’s not the way to go then
    and are there any light desks and disco kits or effects good for this you would reccomend?

    thanks so much for your help

33. Rob Sayer:
    November 26th, 2009 at 2:32 pm

    Hi Muzzy, I wouldn’t say avoid LEDs or any other suitable solution. I would say that adding system complexity doesn’t automatically create better lighting. Why not see how far you get trying to improve their show with what they have, that will tell you where you need to go next.

    As for actual kit, I can’t say I use much at that price point so don’t really have an opinion about specific models.

34. Callum:
    November 28th, 2009 at 1:18 pm

    Not sure if this has already been covered or not, but how about some Desk specific guides.
    For example our Amateur Dramatics club uses a Leap Frog (which certainly has some quirks) which Im picking up quickly simply through frequent use. However when I had the opportunity to try the Avo Pearl it was like starting out afresh.

    Just my two cents

35. Marcus:
    December 11th, 2009 at 11:02 am

    Hi everyone,
    just wanted to know the difference between short and long nose pars with same lamp inside.
    Thanks.

36. Barbara Campbell:
    December 15th, 2009 at 6:09 pm

    I’m working on a new fantasy book set in a summer stock theatre. POV character is an actress who knows as little about lighting as I do! But needs to describe some basic stuff for the reader.

    I envisioned the opening scene taking place in front of a scrim on which a nighttime forest is projected. Lights change at end of scene, revealing village behind scrim. Scrim rises (?) for next scene. But during opening, I wanted the chorus to stand BEHIND the scrim to sing unseen. I read somewhere that this wasn’t possible because a gobo projection would illuminate them. True? False? Suggestions?

    Thanks!

37. JOHN WRIGHT:
    December 22nd, 2009 at 9:03 am

    we are a small theatre soceity and we sent three people to learn about lighting and sound but they where shown as if it was in a big theatre and not whith a 12 chanel board a 8 feet high stage ceiling i would like to know if there is any training coarses that would be available at our venues

38. Anthony:
    December 22nd, 2009 at 11:57 am

    Hey!

    I am currently studying a BTEC in technical theatre. This website is a great source of information.

    I would like to learn abit more about Midi and timecode when it comes to theatre/live events. Are there any good books out there covering this or is the chance of an article talking about how such a system could work.

    Thanks

    Anthony

39. Rob Sayer:
    December 27th, 2009 at 7:56 pm

    Hi Barbara. Scrim reveals such as you describe are possible and often used in theatre. The lighting trick is to wash out the scrim from the front with steeply angled lighting, keep the upstage dark AND use a secondary black tab to mask the scene behind until just before the reveal. So, it is possible.

    @ John Wright. We don’t usually note specific training courses here as the information soon becomes incorrect. I know that a lot of large theatre theory is not much help if you are using a small rig in a low venue. You probably just need to spend the day with a Lighting Designer in your venue who can give your the benefit of their experience and some ideas of what is possible.

    Hey Anthony. Information on MIDI and SMPTE is pretty thin and scattered around, we often use the guides written by specific controller makers when dealing with new playback challenges. And experiment. I’ll bear your idea in mind for an article too. Thanks for stopping by.

40. Alex:
    January 4th, 2010 at 7:08 am

    Okay, I have a dumb question…

    I’ve done a bit of stage lighting, but that was about three years ago. I’ve been in stage management since, don’t hold it against me.

    Here’s the rub, I’m coming from Australia to the UK, and all the electrical safety standards are different. I wanted to run a bit of maths past you, as I have lined up a bit of lighting design work in a small company, and I don’t want to electrocute myself particularly.

    Am I right in saying the standard is 230v and 13A? So all up, I can stick 2990w worth of lamps on the one dimmer circuit? For instance, I could get away with 4x 700w lamps in one dimmer and still have a bit left over (theoretically, I guess there aren’t that many 700w lamps around, but just as an example…). The maths is easier in Australia, because we work with 10A equipment, and multiples of ten are much easier for my feeble brain to compute.

    Thanks

41. Rob Sayer:
    January 5th, 2010 at 10:41 am

    Hey Alex, you obviously get the idea of Power Law, so your maths fine but you might like to know that domestic power outlets are rated at 13A (3 square pins) but that we use lighting dimmers of other ratings: 10A and 16A are common but some dimmers can be 5A or 20A per circuit. I’ve never come across a commercial stage lighting dimmer that is rated at 13A. Hope that clears things up for you.

42. David Goodman:
    January 9th, 2010 at 11:57 am

    I need help!

    I am new to DMX but happen to be an advanced music synthesiser programmer so the idea of DMX is understood.

    I have recently purchased 6 LED floods each with up to 27 channels of DMX control. The first desk I tried for controlling them had a dipless crossfade but not the ability to store a crossfade time or enough DMX channels to make full use of the floods so I sent it back. I replaced it with a desk for control of multiple fixtures which claimed to have all the functions I needed plus MIDI access (a must have) but it seemed that all it did was to re-label the faders as “Crossfade” etc (but not actually produce a crossfade function from within it).

    The salesman at the shop was completely baffled by my questions and kept trying to suggest that what I wanted was a chase. What I actually want is to be able to stand on stage and play while my computer triggers synchronised scenes via MIDI while it runs the show. These scenes should be able to crossfade my floods at a time I have previously set.

    My floods do not have a DMX accessible crossfade function programmed into them, just the normal dimmer function plus master fader, flash rate and program select. The desks I’ve tried don’t seem to offer what I need. I want to use two of the floods in 27 channel mode to create some effects and the others in 5 or 9 channel mode to wash the stage with colour.

    Is there a lighting desk which will do this? I would be very greatful for some help.

43. Derek Gutteridge:
    January 23rd, 2010 at 5:22 pm

    Hi – love this website
    I design lighting for amateur shows – I want to create the headlights of a car passing through the audience back of auditorium to stage together with “moving” sound. Seems I need a couple of par 54′s on a moving base controlled by DMX. (Toad of Toad Hall)

    However, is there an easy way to achieve this effect – amateur – hardly any money – could hire the lanterns?

    It would be ideal to use the lanterns on stage as the show is in a church and there are limits to the power available and dmx channels. What would be the best lantern to use? Pehaps a moving mirror lantern each side set part way down the auditorium?

    I welcome any comments

    Derek

44. Callum:
    January 23rd, 2010 at 9:24 pm

    Ive created a similar effect using 2 shortnose pars on a short stand at the side of the stage. On cue i just turned the lanterns on and had a stagehand rotate the T bar on top of the stand.

45. David Goodman:
    January 24th, 2010 at 10:06 am

    O.K. So I didn’t get a reply. Here is a reformed question.

    Does anyone know of a desk which offers dimming control of 90 or more DMX channels and also a storable crossfade within each scene? – - AND has a MIDI control input?

    All help is welcome.

46. JOHN WRIGHT:
    January 24th, 2010 at 5:37 pm

    UNFORTUNATE I DONT KNOW THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUEST

47. Alessandro Pave Art:
    February 2nd, 2010 at 5:30 pm

    hi to every one.
    I am a light designer freelance. At moment I’making a project for a little teatre.
    usually i work whit wysiwyg platform but at the moment is falled..
    so I have to use Autocad 2008.
    I need a special cad blocks about truss “americana” in alluminim to lift proiectors. is good 2d version file dwg or 3d…

    it is really important…

    so I trust in you…

    Alessandro Bianchi Pave Art lighting

48. Rusty:
    February 3rd, 2010 at 11:50 pm

    Is there any way to tie lighting control software like Magic Q to any sound cue software so that a tech could build an entire show – light and sound cues – on a PC and operate it by a single go button?

49. Brian J:
    February 10th, 2010 at 7:28 pm

    We are looking into adding some lighting to our church and I haven’t found what I’m looking for. We have 2 main structural beams running perpendicular to our stage about 25′ apart. I want to hang something like an ETC 650E spanning it. That’s the easy part. The other thing I want to do is make the whole light rig movable along the beams–toward and away from the stage. I’m thinking something like powered end trucks on a bridge crane hoist system but I haven’t found a good option for this application. Have you seen anything like this? Does my description make sense at all?

50. Rob Sayer:
    February 13th, 2010 at 11:33 am

    Hi Rusty

    The usual method for tying many departments control together is often something like SMPTE timecode, although that is more timline, rather than Go Button based. And it can’t be hard to find sound cue software that runs MIDI.

    But the idea of building everything on a PC, with a single interface and dragging an dropping LX, Sound and other cues is more in the area of multi functional control software packages. I don’t much about them but people often suggest ShowMagic which apparently deals with lighting, sound and video.

    The old fashioned method involved a big desk for of control consoles including 3 Revox A77 tape players, a huge manual lighting desk and a load of wired slide projector remotes. The software and processing is all done in the human head.

51. Rob Sayer:
    February 13th, 2010 at 11:50 am

    Hey Brian,

    I have worked with a number of rolling major beam systems, both used for lighting and other rigging applications, they have been pretty proprietory and are usually custom made. I suppose it depends on what you need the movable rig for: Maybe to make it safer to rig and plug up equipment from a nearby bridge, or perhaps your venue has extremely flexible staging / seating which involves a large temporary thrust that comes and goes.

    If a movable rig is really integral to your operations, then there are ways and means, involving a professional rigging and fabrication company. If you actually could get away with a positional compromise, or two positions rather than one, that the scenario I have come across most often. Or create a flying mother grid of truss on hoists, and bring it in to change the position of sub trusses depending on the venue layout.
    Interesting question, thanks.

52. Rick Lister:
    February 17th, 2010 at 11:40 pm

    I am currently looking for LED scanner lights, I know a bit about them, but one thing I have noticed while shopping around is the LED bulb difference. Some lights have one single 20watt bulb that claim to be brighter than the rest. Others have 48 bulbs, red, blue and green but at five mm. size each. I would love to know what light would be brighter. Thank you.
    R.L.

53. Callum Noble:
    February 18th, 2010 at 8:09 am

    I havent had a huge amount of experience with LED Scanners, but I have noticed that you get a brighter output from fictures that have 4 colours of LED. Red, Green, Blue and also a dedicated white LED. This gives more of a “true” white instead of the blueish tinge assosciated with LED fixtures.

    Hope this helps.

54. David Goodman:
    February 18th, 2010 at 10:44 am

    Hi Rick,

    I’ve looked into LEDs carefully before buying and have formed these conclusions in the face of indifference or lack of knowledge from suppliers and dealers.

    1 – LED arrays (the huge number of tiny LEDs, are good only for short throw uses whereas a few high power LEDs can throw much further (think of masses of torch bulbs against a single 250w bulb).

    2 – A mass of tiny LEDs produces a better blend of colour wash at close range.

    3 – By my reckoning, a single 3w (very powerful) LED equals about 50w from and incandescent bulb (I worked this out with my eye and a light meter as no info could be found anywhere).

    The following is from a page on my website –

    LED lighting is fantastic, it can produce some incredible effects which cannot be produced by normal incandescent lamps however, there are some drawbacks to LED fixtures which you should know about.

    Ask almost any lighting salesman and they will tell you that their three colour LED fixture can produce any colour you want to make. This is not true.

    LEDs produce a very pure and intense light with an extremely narrow bandwidth. For example -the blue light produced by an LED is so pure that it contains almost no information other than blue. whereas a blue filter in front of a filament lamp will spill enough other the other colours to allow a more natural effect when colour mixing.

    This is how it works. If you mix red and green light at the correct levels you will usually get yellow. But what if the colours are extremely pure? Try mixing red and green with a couple of LED fixtures and you get a muddy brown colour (especially in cheap fixtures) which soon shows a bias to green or red as soon as it shines on any non white surface. I decribe this colour as “Bright brown” because that is the effect it makes. The green and the red LEDs in the fixture are of such a narrow bandwidth that when mixed, they can only produce a limited number of yellowish brown hues. Adding a hint of blue can make the “Bright brown” a little brighter but that’s all. The higher the LED power rating in the fixture, the better chance you have of achieving good colours as the LEDs are usually made to a better spec.

    Big TV productions often use 7 colour mixing which gives them a much better colour gammut but the expence puts it out of the range of us mere mortals. I purchased units with 3w LEDs in them because, besides the added punch, I can achieve a brighter “Almost yellow” which will fulfill most of my needs for now.

    Blue and Red mixing produces the purples and mauves. For the reasons above, you cannot make all of the colours you want but luckily you can make some of the most useful ones. All LED colours can look a bit “Cartoony” if you are not careful so don’t throw away those old parcans just yet.

    LEDs are instant in response unlike filament lamps which burn hot and take time to get hotter or to cool down. This can cause problems. The stepping produced by DMX shows up in LED fixtures, especially at the lower levels. LEDs are not “Bulbs” they are Light Emmiting Diodes – electrical components which emmit light.

    Change the DMX level of a filament lamp and the step in intesity is covered by the filament changing temerature relatively slowly and smoothing the step in brightness. Change the level of an LED unit and the change in brightness is instant, great for dramatic effect but not good for slow gentle fades as you can actually see the steps. Also, if you have a fluctuating mains supply some LED fixtures will suffer a from a slight judder (my name for small random changes in intensity).

    And finally – LED levels are refreshed constantly by circuitry in the lighting fixture, it’s part of how they work. If the refresh rate is too slow, any video recording made of your band will suffer badly from flickering. More expensive LED fixtures are made to refresh at a fast enough rate for broadcast use and the problem is eliminated.

    Hope this helps.

55. courtney:
    February 19th, 2010 at 9:58 pm

    i just got contracted to design lighting for a small theatre–the problem is that the entire production is in grayscale. all the sets/scenery/costumes/makeup are black/white/gray. the director thinks he are only able to use ungelled lights and i’m trying to explain that no, the audience will be incredibly bored if there is no color at all on the stage and that the actors will look like ghosts with only white light.

    is there a website that references this type of speciality lighting? i’m thinking some pastels and defusion b/c i hate naked instruments.

56. Rob Sayer:
    February 20th, 2010 at 8:13 am

    Hi Courtney,
    We don’t know of any particular resources to help with your grayscale design choices but Lucas Krech (who wrote a great article for OSL on lighting for dance) has two really good posts on gray and lighting here and here. Definitely worth a read.

57. Alex:
    March 7th, 2010 at 6:33 pm

    hello there,

    You may have already covered this somewhere, but I have just come from overseas and I have landed a bit of lighting work. Basically I am going to be putting up a standard rig in a small concert venue, “designing” and rigging it myself. There are only about 24 lights, shouldn’t take too long. I don’t know the kind of rate I should be invoicing the company for though. I assume I can do it all in about 4 hours, is this a usual amount of time for a call? In Australia, we work in 4 hour calls all the time. Any hints? I still don’t really know what crew rates are…

    Thanks everyone

58. shamon:
    March 15th, 2010 at 2:01 am

    Hi. My cousin has this ridiculous make-up work to do for school regarding set design and lighting. I am trying to help him out so he doesn’t flunk the 9th grade. Can you please help give the solutions to these problems? Thanks in advance. 1) The characters onstage appear one dimensional. 2)how to similate a street light shining in from the set exterior 3)need a flashing neon sign to light the stage through the open window of a set 4)similate a car with its headlights on pulling up to the exterior of the set from offstage. 5)you have twelve lekos and six Fresnels to give an even general illumination for a one-set box interior. You have one overhead pipe and two pipes over the audience to hang lights. 6)You want the effect of a dimly lit forest with light cast through trees. 7)You are asked to create the lighting for a show. Give a step-by-step account of what you must do before you begin using the light system. 8)You have lekos, Fresnels, and border strips to create a standard general illumination. Don’t quite understand what they want but please help us out. Many thanks. If i can i could return the favor.

59. Callum Noble:
    March 23rd, 2010 at 2:18 am

    Well hopefully I can offer some insights to your problems without nessescarily just giving away the answers. Although if your at all unsure about some of my explanations than please just let me know

    1) Its important to think about what might cause the characters to appear flat on the stage. Things like colour and the direction of the light incident on the character are worth thinking about here.

    2) Consider framing the light beam to look like its partly blocked by a window frame or similar. Again think about colour.

    3) Similar to above, consider where the light is coming from and work from there.

    4) Ive had first hand of this in a recent production. Our solution involved mounting the fixtures we were using as our “headlights” onto a rotating turntable offstage, this meant the lights could be swept accross the stage as if the car were making the turn into the drive. Ive also seen this done using followspots.

    5) Here its important to consider lighting from different angles to ensure that there aren’t shadows which may obscure the actors (not that shadows are nessescarily a bad thing )

    6) Again consider colour and also texture, possibly make use of gobos to give the impression of light shining through a forest canopy, maybe make use of some light haze so show the effect better.

    7) Not sure I can help much with this one as every institution has a different way of teaching these things, but just go through all the pieces of paperwork you might be required to complete in a real production.

    See 5, similar principles apply.

    Most of these responses are purely from an LX perspective but I hope ive been of some help. This was quite educational for me too

    Best Wishes

    Cal

60. Seb:
    March 23rd, 2010 at 7:38 pm

    hi anyone a bit of an odd question but, I need some new comfortable steel toe cap boots and don’t know where to start. My last pair i got from Setons for £5 with a theatre. But i’m no longer attached to a theatre.
    My basic problem is i have size 11.5 flat feet so comfort is preferred also low cost would be great. Trainers or boots way too much chioce. Sorry this a bit of a ramble…
    If any help/ideas welcome Thanks.

61. Rob Sayer:
    March 25th, 2010 at 9:35 am

    Hi Seb, it seems everyone has their favourite steels, but I’ve always got on well with a well known brand in the world of lampie work boots – Caterpillar. They ain’t £5 a pair but in our business it’s still possible to end up spending over 24 hours in ‘em, making paying for comfort worth it.

62. Raymond Purvis:
    April 13th, 2010 at 6:23 pm

    I have 4 x 4 way old gg racks which I would like to put to work I need to be able to convert them to accept dmx(mux) most of the converters hardly make to project worth it- has any one got any Idea where I could lay my hands on a second hand one or plans to build one from the old “RS TAKEAWAY”!!!!
    regards
    Prodman

63. marf41:
    April 13th, 2010 at 7:21 pm

    Take a look at http://www.hoelscher-hi.de/hendrik/english/demux.htm

64. Benjamin Mills:
    April 13th, 2010 at 7:48 pm

    I was just wanting to know if it was possible to control a moving head or a similar intelligent lighting unit with a manual desk, seeing as the dmx controls are simply binary codes for each element in the light or is it more complex than that? I’ve only really had opportunities to work properly with a semi-programmable lighting desk and a completely generic system.

65. Raymond Purvis:
    April 14th, 2010 at 12:02 pm

    Hi marf41
    Many thanks for the info I get the idea of fitting it into the box trailing leds out dmx sockets how are the analoge control ways from the dimmer hooked up to the pcb? do you know?

    regards
    Raymond

66. Rob Sayer:
    April 15th, 2010 at 3:53 pm

    Hi Benjamin,

    Yes it is possible to control any DMX fixture such as a moving head with a manual DMX desk – we used to do just that a while back. However, a manual control has no features to assist you and prioritise all channels on an HTP basis rather than LTP. A huge PITA for intelligent light control. But still possible.

67. Des:
    April 24th, 2010 at 10:06 am

    As a largely self taught lighting technician, with how some 8 years experience, I find that your articles are very helpful in areas where I do not yet have any, or limited experience, and your advice has pointed me in the right direction on a number of ocassions.

    To date I have never had the need to work with gauze, either for spliting the stage front to rear, or for front or back projection.
    I am therefore asking if you have any advice on these matters, such as the best type of gauze for which effect, where I can purchase same at a good price, and advice on gauze installation and between show storage, etc.

    The production that I am considering using gauze is for dance, and to project a flame effect or water from the rear, and maybe interchangeable with moving light effects projected from the front, with dancers postioned both to front and rear of the gause but not necessarly at the same time.

    I am happy to experiment, put with limited budget I feel that your advice would be invaluable.

    Finally I am based in Spain, so cannot just pop into a local UK supplier, so all dealings will need to be completed via the internet and telephone.

    Regards

    Des

68. Sage88:
    May 21st, 2010 at 6:13 am

    I have a corporate gala dinner coming up and I am looking at some options for a colored room wash. I have 12x 2k fresnels washing over the room. 6x a side, rigged on truss about 6m off the deck. I would love some suggestions for a 2 colour wash over the room, probably a warm and a cool. Any suggestion for some nice colours that are a bit subtle and not too invasive, but will give the room a bit of mood, would be much appreciated. Cheers!

69. Benjamin Mills:
    May 22nd, 2010 at 7:55 am

    Last time I worked with this kind of set up, I used 4 1/2K fresnel from the centre of the room at roof level, reflecting off the roof. I used amber for them and it worked quite well in creating a dimmed effect, although I think it would have been more effective with a slightly redder colour. Granted my experience is very limited and I’ve still got a huge amount to learn, i thought I’d give my say anyway. I’m very interested to see what others say though

70. Benjamin Mills:
    July 17th, 2010 at 4:22 pm

    between a parcan, a PC and a fresnal, what is better to use for side lighting and why. I’ve heard people talk about using specific lights from specific positions but never understood why these lights should be used from this position but not others. For example I’ve heard you shouldn’t use fresnals for side lighting but never understood the reasoning behind it. If we could get an article on this topic, that would be the real win for me but a simple answer would also be hugely appreciated

71. Rob Sayer:
    July 20th, 2010 at 11:00 am

    Hi Benjamin

    On the question of which is a better fixture type for side light it comes down to what you are trying to achieve, your rigging possibilities and all those other things that make up a design decision (including what you’ve got )

    A light source is a light source and it either fits the bill or doesn’t. There may be a case for saying “I usually use x in this position because …”.

    Things can work well in some set ups and venues for a particular reason. Fresnels are not as punchy as PARs and the oval CP62 beam might be just what you need to blast colour across stage and off into the opposite wing. With a fresnel you might barndoor off half the available light to get that same shape.

    So, I’d be wary of trying to apply such “rules” unless you understand them. In lighting, we don’t do rules apart from the laws of physics

72. Chris Ferenci:
    July 26th, 2010 at 4:35 pm

    I’m very new to lighting systems, but want a simple way to enhance my band’s live shows.

    We plan having a set of flood lights to be used as some back lighting and I was just wondering on how I can get them to flash with a hit from the drums.

    Is it as simple as just using some sound activated lights?

    Thanks for any information you have!

73. Des:
    July 27th, 2010 at 9:04 am

    Hi Chris.

    You can purchase a low cost 4 way dimmer on the internet, from suppliers such as Thomann, into which you can plug 4 separate lights, or even pairs, depending on loading, to a maximum of 1000watts per channel, but only 3000watts in total. The dimmer will work both on base beat, with an inbuilt mic, or by a set time. The dimmer can also be worked from a smaller DMX board. I have a number of these dimmers and you can set up quite an effective show. Alternatively, you could use a number of three colour led parcans with inbuilt mics, would also be effective. Ultimately, you could use both. Ideal for set up and go.

    I would keep the floods on a simple dimmer just for general lighting, but have two sets, one with a warm gel and one with a cold gel for different ambienence, depending on the music.

    For bands, also use a smoke or haze machine, to help improve the lighting effects.

    Des

74. Derek Gutteridge:
    August 6th, 2010 at 6:30 pm

    Hi
    I would be pleased to see some advice about cleaning faders on control boards. There seems to be conflicting advice from blasting them with electronic component spray cleaner/lubricants to using only alchohol. Then some sources emphasis a need to lubricate.
    What do you do?
    regards
    Derek G.

75. David Sage:
    August 7th, 2010 at 4:28 am

    I am a professional producer looking to hire a talented lighting person with some sensitivity to techno and modern pop, to program a lighting component of a recording artist’s show. It is not a traveling gig, but rather a one-time DMX programming gig set to tracks which will be used in a live show. I have not seen a resource for this type of hiring, perhaps you could put some recommended names on your website. Thanks.

76. Des:
    August 7th, 2010 at 9:17 am

    Hi Derek.

    You do not say why the board needs to be cleaned, but I would ask myself “what does the operating manual say”? If there is no advice then contact the manufacturer. To do anything else may exclude warrenty. If the manufacturer cannot tell you then it is probably best to do nothing until the unit fails to work. If it is an old piece of equipment and is still fully functioning I would follow the general rule “if it ain´t broken, don´t fix it”

    Perhaps you should also consider a few preventative measures, such as; the board is always covered when not in use. Food and drink are not to be consumed anywhere near the board, or any other equipment come to think of it, to prevent accidental contamination. Keep loose items away, ie, paper clips, staples, as any small item which could cause a whole lot of trouble.

    I would be interested to see other replies to your question as well, as I am by no way an expert on this.

    Des

77. Cal:
    August 7th, 2010 at 9:21 am

    Hi Derek,

    I would say the above advice is spot on. However if it absolutely has to be cleaned then you can’t go wrong with some Isopropyl alcohol, which you can get hold of in most electrical shops. This is good as it evaporates without leaving any residue on the board.

    On the couple of instances where ive had to clean the faders or a board this has done the job admirably.

Leave Your Comment

• LATEST
• POPULAR
• BEST STUFF
• COMMENTS