Members soundlight Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 I've got an outdoor gig of my own tomorrow for a band called Clarity from the northwest suburbs of Philly (Lansdale area). I've managed to wrangle together a decent set of equipment for the small 10x20 stage. It's surrounded by white panels, so I should be able to do a lot with LEDs. I'll have 4 Colorsplash Jrs for uplighting the back panel, 2 Colorpalettes and 4 ADJ P56P LEDs to do the stage wash, 4 mini blinders and 6 pinspots for effects, and 2 worklights for frontlight. 2 other worklights may get used for uplight on the back panels with dark blue gel. I should get 2 Chauvet LXWs in tomorrow from DJS, so I'll have those for the show as well. I'll either use them with haze if I get ahold of a hazer before then, or project them on to the panels. Either way, cool effect. They'll be hooked up to a DMX-4 pack for on/off control. I've attached a site photo so you can see the white panels I'm talking about. This is a free gig that I'm doing in hopes of getting more business with the band - they were one of the bands that played at the benefit concert that I did in January that had really good lighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monthlymixcd Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 Bummer on that support pole being at the front of the stage in the center like that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Lightboy Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 It'd be cool to backlight the white covering from the rear for in between songs... Good luck with it!-JLB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundlight Posted June 16, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 It'd be cool to backlight the white covering from the rear for in between songs...Good luck with it!-JLB There's even a 2' wide space behind the back panels that's raised that I can sit fixtures on. I wish I had 12 splash Jrs instead of just 4 - it's not gonna be much. I've been messing around with my Stage Designer 50, though, with most of the rig hooked up (all of the LEDs, at least), and I've got some cool things coming out of it. Mix Chase Mode (aka submaster mode) is the best way to use the controller - and the step button is awesome. I've got my base colors programmed in to subs, and then a chase that alternates between red on the LED Pars and red on the Colorpalettes, one with green pars/green palettes, and one with blue pars/blue palettes. With this, I can switch between the two by setting the speed or by using the step button with the speed fader in "show mode". This controller absolutely rocks for smaller LED rigs. Having 4 pages of playbacks is nice, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Lightboy Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 I wish I had 12 splash Jrs instead of just 4 - it's not gonna be much. With all that white covering, you'll be fine mounting those four across the front rail, lighting up the interior fabric, creating a glowing fabric effect... Just need some direct front lighting thereafter... All that white material is lile a blank canvas for an artist!!!! Look forward to seeing some "in action" pictures! *EDIT, oh, and HAVE FUN!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LightingPimp Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 ill trade stages with ya ... here is what i have to work with... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Lightboy Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 cute little green thing... but ugh... why does it appear that fitting a band up there is an after-thought? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundlight Posted June 16, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 With all that white covering, you'll be fine mounting those four across the front rail, lighting up the interior fabric, creating a glowing fabric effect... Just need some direct front lighting thereafter... All that white material is like a blank canvas for an artist!!!! Look forward to seeing some "in action" pictures! *EDIT, oh, and HAVE FUN!!! I'll be using the Splash Jrs shooting straight up the back wall from the ground because they're so dim - I want to keep them as close as possible to the material. They're really, really narrow fixtures too, so I'll be using them kinda like columns of uplight. Which is why I wish I had 12 - because having a whole row of them back there would be awesome. Yeah, I'm planning on charging up my camera tonight! I'll try to take as many pictures as possible. I really hope I am able to get a hazer, because that would make it a lot better. I'm going by the place I worked last summer to see about getting one for the day, along with some PAR46s and 2 pinspot bars. I'll also try to get some more LED fixtures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Xtrafa Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 SL, You could try doing the fluorescent light diffuser trick on your JR's... I did with the 2 I have and it made them more of a wash type fixture without noticably killing the brightness. TDJ, from the looks of those green tent pics, its a good thing your drummer isn't REALLY tall! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundlight Posted June 17, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 SL, You could try doing the fluorescent light diffuser trick on your JR's... I did with the 2 I have and it made them more of a wash type fixture without noticably killing the brightness. Yeah, I just lose a lot of brightness that way because it spreads out. I think these light columns are gonna look kinda cool, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundlight Posted June 17, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 DF-50 Hazer, Leprecon dimmer pack, and 2 PAR46s secured for the day. Minimal cost to me, but it wasn't free. Now I just have to hope I get a small bit of dough from the band...not likely, though. Should be a fun gig! Camera is charged, I'll make sure to take pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Lightboy Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 Now I just have to hope I get a small bit of dough from the band...not likely, though. Aren't those the fun gigs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundlight Posted June 17, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 Aren't those the fun gigs? It's the fact that I care so dern much about how the show looks that I put in so much effort and even sometimes money for the lights. I'd usually rather sit behind the board for a show than watch it as audience. I love making a show look good. That's my downfall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Lightboy Posted June 17, 2009 Members Share Posted June 17, 2009 It's the fact that I care so dern much about how the show looks that I put in so much effort and even sometimes money for the lights. I'd usually rather sit behind the board for a show than watch it as audience. I love making a show look good. That's my downfall. I hear ya... I spent $350 last week to make sure the $150 show looked good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundlight Posted June 18, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 PICS AS PROMISED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundlight Posted June 18, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 Aside from some very light rain at various points throughout the night, it was a good show! The band loved the lights, and I got a bit of money from them, almost enough to cover the rental of the hazer, dimmer pack, and PAR46s. I had a lot of fun running the board, and the band was totally in to the lights, so things went very well. They did two 45ish minute sets, and did some new songs as well as some good covers. I got thanked a good three or four times throughout the show by the band members. Gear used: Stage Designer 50 for controlLeprecon LD360HP dimmer for frontlight and mini-blindersChauvet DMX-4 pack for switching the pinspots and LXWs(4) American DJ P56P LED for sidelight(2) Chauvet COLORpalette for backlight(4) Chauvet COLORsplash Jr for backdrop lights(2) PAR46 MFL for high-angle frontlight(2) Chauvet LXW from back for effects(6) Pinspots, in two clusters of three(4) 150W Mini Blinders (2 midstage, 2 upstage)(1) Small Metric A$$load of Edison and XLR cable. I have found some very nifty features of the Stage Designer 50 that I'm sure most people don't use. Then again, most people don't use the SD50 with a rig of this size and this type. It's perfect for it, though. I like it a lot. With the two-step chases that I pre-built, and the "show mode" with the [sTEP] button, I was able to really follow the music well. And I bumped the blinders and pinspots at appropriate times, and used the LXWs when needed. You see a lot more of the LXWs in these pictures than I used during the show - I really wanted to get pictures of them more than anything else. You can get these things for like $63 shipped - plug 'em in to a DMX-4 pack, and you're set. I'll definitely be getting more. Thanks to DJS Biff for getting the two that I used to me in record time for this show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rxnet Posted June 18, 2009 Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 SL as always you pulled it off with minimal time and equipment!! looks great..sorry I couldn't help out this time but maybe next. I Like the LXW's(might look good off the totems??) and the colorpallettes look nice too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Lightboy Posted June 18, 2009 Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 PICS AS PROMISED Nice.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundlight Posted June 18, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 The fifth picture there is a shot from them covering Coldplay's song "Yellow". I had the stage washed in blue with the 4 Splash Jrs in yellow on the back. Bring up the LXWs, and it's a look for the song. Worked well. The sixth picture is from a song they used to call "Green", and has the word green in the lyrics. I left the pinspots up for most of the song - it worked really well. During the chorus, I brought up the blue 2-step chase, so the palettes and p56s faded back and forth alternately between green and aqua. If there's one thing you have to have to run lights live it's a sense of music and beat - I can stick anyone in front of a light board with faders and bump buttons and a simple rig and have them go at it, but if they don't know when to make the transitions for the chorus and verse as well as instrumental sections, when to bring up face light and when to take it down, and what kind of beat to lock on to, they won't know even where to start. I often even add my own beat or two, alternating with a drum pattern or something. I really like to get involved with the music when I'm doing lights. Plus, the band last night was really in to the whole lighting thing. When I asked the keyboard player if it was OK to put the hazer next to him, he said yeah man, I'm really diggin it. They're definitely all about a stage show, they just can't afford it yet. Here's the band: http://www.myspace.com/findyourclaritymusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Lightboy Posted June 18, 2009 Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 I tend to fall into chord changes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundlight Posted June 18, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 18, 2009 I tend to fall into chord changes... That works well too. Still, it's musicality. I usually only keep up with the drums for instrumental parts and during the chorus or bridge or solo. It's not the greatest thing to do during verses, where there should be less change overall. Also, one of the gripes that I have with LEDs is that with old parcans, there was movement of the source when you changed color. That's why I like having true sidelighting and backlighting and a third element (like backdrop lighting, or a second set of side or back lights) so that when you can change color, angle, and depth instead of just changing all the same lights from one color to another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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