Lighting rig design advice

[lonfire]

Hi guys,

I'm getting married in march and I'm in the process of sorting out the lighting rig to go into the marquee.. the marquee is only for the evening party, it'll also be connected to the building where theres lots more room for people to sit and chat..

 

here is the design that I've come up with so far.. please bear in mind I'm not a lighting designer and haven't had lots of experience designing rigs..etc

 

http://www.useful4all.com/light_rig_v1.jpg

 

At the top there are two truss stands with a 6m length of box truss on it..

 

the two upright sections at the other end of the dance floor will be on 1m square steel plates with a truss end plate bolted onto them. the upright will be around 2m high. I was thinking of possibly moving these uprights to be the other end of the dance floor, either side of the DJ..

 

the stand near to bar is to add some general light to the bar and the empty space (which will have some tables in it)..

 

the LED "flood" lights will be on the floor (or floor stands) pointing upwards onto the side of the marquee..

 

the two movers either side of the mirror ball will be used to light said mirror ball when appropriate.. I've also got two CCT minuette profiles I could use to light the mirror ball if you think that will work better..

 

the PAR64s are all going to have 500w medium lamps in..

 

the standalone DJ lights will be on DMX switch boxes to enable them to be turned on and off at appropriate times..

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Thanks

Chris

 

p.s. all the kit I already own (or is on its way).. except the truss stands, and some power distro which I'll hire in..

 

p.p.s. the marquee dimensions are 9m x 15m

[JimWebber]

Chris,

 

I read the thread title, expecting a "How do I light..." type question! How wrong was I?

 

I Like it, Love the LED floods on the marquee sides, not sure about the PAR 64's at the back, It's a very good idea to give a bit of light to those sitting there, but (And I'm happy to be corrected on this!) I feel that PARs may be a bit OTT?

 

Similarly, I would try to light the bar a bit more "Locally" - A downlight possibly?

 

One question begs itself though, although this has a potential to be a lovely looking rig, who is going to rig, program, and operate it? especially the flood colours, and the movers? I'm sure you may well have other things to worry about on the day!!

 

I would certainly use the Minuettes as opposed to the movers, even better however would be some pinspots if you can get hold of them!

 

All in all, should be very good though!

 

Finally, I would just like to say congratulations and best wishes to you and your intended!

 

Jim

[StevieR]

Looks okay - plenty of interesting stuff.

 

One thought - have you run all this by your future wife...???

 

Mine banned me from anything of the sort at our wedding. :(

 

Also, have you considered the option of a central truss running down the spine of the marquee (assuming the marquee is of suitable design)? Keep everything off the ground and out of people's way. Looks a lot neater as well. Also, the ground in a marquee is often not that level and may cause concern over the stability of some of the structures.

 

And finally, you say you own most of the kit and yet you say that you are not an LD. I'm confused - please explain?

 

Steve

[JimWebber]

If you did (Or for that matter could) go with StevieR's idea of a central truss, then it could be used to light the bar, and the seating area from some more sympathetic angles...

 

Jim

[lonfire]

not sure about the PAR 64's at the back, It's a very good idea to give a bit of light to those sitting there, but (And I'm happy to be corrected on this!) I feel that PARs may be a bit OTT?

I have got some PAR56s with 300w lamps in.. might be better than 500w 64s?

 

Similarly, I would try to light the bar a bit more "Locally" - A downlight possibly?

theres not much head room at the side of the marquee to get lights in.. but that might be an idea if I can get the stands in..

 

One question begs itself though, although this has a potential to be a lovely looking rig, who is going to rig, program, and operate it? especially the flood colours, and the movers? I'm sure you may well have other things to worry about on the day!!

ahah indeed.. well, over the years I have done lights and sound for lots of mates weddings, so theres lots of people around that can help (and some of them are actualy useful 2! ;-)).. also I've got a mate thats in his third year at derby uni doing there live events degree.. he's gonna take responsability of rigging and derigging and he's also going to bring one of his mates down from derby to help do the programming..

 

also will probably do most of the rigging the day before.. its a fairly secure site and once its locked you can't get a vehicle within 100m of the marquee..

 

One thought - have you run all this by your future wife...???

oh yes.. she is happy.. ish.. didn't have a choice.. I have been banned from doing the fireworks though :-(

 

Also, have you considered the option of a central truss running down the spine of the marquee

I did wonder about that.. but I'm not sure how to support it.. I doubt the marquee would be strong enough to support such a rig.. and without putting legs down to support it every so often I think a single run of trussing would be too long..

 

to be honest I don't want to get out of my depth..

 

Also, the ground in a marquee is often not that level and may cause concern over the stability of some of the structures.

the ground the marquee is on its pretty flat and solid.. however I will be taking some ply to ensure the stands are firm..

 

And finally, you say you own most of the kit and yet you say that you are not an LD. I'm confused - please explain?

I'm technical manager for my church.. as part of this I look after sound/lights/computers/av, basicaly anything electrical.. I've been djing with a mate for years, I do the lights and he djs.. we also run youth events and youth clubs, so I use the lights and stuff I've bourght for that..

 

I'm in the process of setting up a new company importing lighting and selling it... alot of the kit I'm using for the wedding are the samples I've got in..

 

also I run a fireworks display company, as part of this I've developed a new computerised firing system that is integrated into blue lite x1 to control lights as well as fireworks (before anybody says, no I'm not using DMX to control pyro, the pyro side of things is controled with custom control boards based on a building automation technology)..

 

so although I have lots of kit, I wouldn't describe my self as a LD.. its like people that have let off a few fireworks saying they are a display designer..

 

thanks for the advice so far..

 

rgds

chris

[PDD]

I'm still surprised you actually want to do the lighting for your wedding. For my wedding, although I seemed to be "production manager" for every other part of the day, I really didn't want to be worrying about lighting for the reception as well. However... your call :( (My wife would've gone ballastic too, never mind fireworks...)

 

To briefly be more useful, my first instinct was it looks a bit over-crowded for a seemingly small marquee. Do you really need so much light? Wouldn't a few disco-movers like the sound-to-light effects be sufficient for the dance floor? The uplights around the side of the marquee will be nice though, especially on a slow colour chase perhaps. I personally like to be in the dark(ish) on a dance floor so nobody can see the cr*p dancing!! Also, bear in mind that people may have a drink or ten, so you don't want the possibility of falling over into lighting stands, etc.

 

Depending on the type of marquee, a truss down the centre may not be out of the question. I've done it before I few times, although only with fairly small scanners and some parcans. The marquee company should be able to provide you with a SWL, which maybe higher than you think in fact.

 

Finally, won't the DJ have some of his own kit or is it your mate DJ-ing as well?

 

Good luck.

[StevieR]

Also, have you considered the option of a central truss running down the spine of the marquee

I did wonder about that.. but I'm not sure how to support it.. I doubt the marquee would be strong enough to support such a rig.. and without putting legs down to support it every so often I think a single run of trussing would be too long..

 

to be honest I don't want to get out of my depth..

 

A central truss would be suspended from the apex points and rigged using chain hoists or motors. Again, this can only be done in certain types of Marquee and you would need to check with the marquee company with regard to suitable rigging points and loading figures.

 

You are very sensible, though, to stay clear of this if you've never done this before.

 

I'm in the process of setting up a new company importing lighting and selling it... alot of the kit I'm using for the wedding are the samples I've got in..

 

Thanks for that. I'm now enlightened and happy again!

 

Have a great day when it comes.

 

Steve

[lonfire]

my first instinct was it looks a bit over-crowded for a seemingly small marquee. Do you really need so much light?

I'm not planning on having it all on at once.. cheasey disco type effects for cheasey party type music.. mirror ball and movers on a slow gobo rotate for first dance/slow dance.. parcans/led pars for rock.. and movers on fast moves/chases for cluby type stuff..

 

I personally like to be in the dark(ish) on a dance floor so nobody can see the cr*p dancing!!

agreed.. making it too light just doesn't work..

 

Also, bear in mind that people may have a drink or ten, so you don't want the possibility of falling over into lighting stands, etc.

yeah I'm a bit worried about the stand at the back.. will need to find a way of protecting it from people..

 

also along the same lines I was thinking of moving the standalone uprights to level with the dj so they are out the way..

 

Finally, won't the DJ have some of his own kit or is it your mate DJ-ing as well?

yeah my mates gonna DJ..

 

still not convinced about the central truss.. its not something I've had any experience of doing..

 

rgds

chris

[StevieR]

yeah I'm a bit worried about the stand at the back.. will need to find a way of protecting it from people..

Hows about an electric cattle fence? :(

[Chris Norman]

Becareful on a 9m structure how much you hang, as most can only take around 65kg per frame, only once you get up to 15m with steel knuckles can you start around the half a ton mark. If you do want to hang cans though on truss, the easiest thing is to use Kader clamps, which can fit any marquee and you can put a second in to give yourself a safety point. There is companies that hire such kit, us included as we operate a marquee technical services division.

 

Good luck and congratulations.

 

Chris

[lonfire]

hi chris,

I've heard of Kader clamps for hanging stuff from marquees.. but like I say, I'm a little wary about doing it.. I think the stands will be the best option..

 

anybody else got any ideas?

 

thanks

chris

[Tomo]

If it's possible, how about hanging the mirrorball over the centre of the dancefloor?

 

I've always thought that was the perfect place for a mirrorball.

[Bryson]

It's your own wedding? Do you not have a friend in the business who would do it for you? the last thing you need to be worrying about is if a lamp is going to go.

[lonfire]

It's your own wedding? Do you not have a friend in the business who would do it for you? the last thing you need to be worrying about is if a lamp is going to go.

 

ahha.. I guess the clue is that I said for "my wedding".. got two guys from derby uni that are pretty good coming to rig/program/op/dj, plus some other guys to run aroud in vans, and another mate that used to work in a theatre.. so no shortage of skilled labour..

 

and I've got spare lamps for everything.. ;-)

 

thanks

chris

[spinmaster1]

Hi,

Your plan's looking good but do you think the vertical truss pieces will hold the weight of the movers without falling over? I tried the same idea with minimacs at St Davids Park Hotel for a dance show and they were far too heavy for the stands (don't worry they didn't fall). Think about people moving around them a lot. If you didn't want to have a piece of truss running down the centre of the marque then maybe you could go for the cube truss idea around the dance floor providing more stability for the movers and allowing you to spread the light more evenly across the dance floor. Rob.