Moving Head Placements

[skenmy]

Hey all,

 

I have a largish event coming up soon that may see me having a few moving heads to play with. They are most likely to be Mac 250 Entours.

 

Obviously they are only 250W lamps, but everything else on the rig is at least 500W. So pointing them directly at the stage will result in a washout (unless main rig is on blackout). So I was thinking about getting creative - and dotting them around the venue (two each side, excluding the back wall, and two all the way upstage). They will all be roughly 1m above ground level.

 

I guess what I'm looking for here is input as to whether my idea is feasible and will be an effective use of the lights. It's a small / medium sized enclosed hall with little to no ambient light problems - a blackout is pretty dark. We are looking to impress the client so they return next year - they stated they wanted an upbeat, party feel to the event (which is an awards ceremony). The stage is an enclosed area, set back and raised from the seating area.

 

Am I wrong in thinking that the movers will be washed out if pointed at the stage? We normally flood the stage with 5 1000W Parcans - so I don't think they stand much chance under those. (Can you tell I'm a sound tech by training?)

[Ynot]

Sorry, but one thing we can't and won't do here is design your LX rig.

Without first hand knowledge of your existing kit, the space and the show it would be pointless to try.

 

However, assuming you're on a small stage, you can take it from me that even with a reasonable amount of generic lighting used, the Mac 250's will burn quite nicely through a surprising amount of ambient light before they're washed out.

The reason?

Because they're a discharge lamp for one - much more lumens per watt than your average fresnel, for example, and even par cans to a point.

The trick is to use them sparingly, for effect if you only have a handful.

 

But using a mixture of floor mounted and grid-hung movers in something like an awards ceremony could work nicely. To be honest, as an awards ceremony is likely to be fairly specific in where you'll need lighting hot spots, you should be able to make good use of the movers to create some nice effects from stage.

[maeterlinck]

TBH it will really depend on what you point them at, what colour it is and what colour/gobo they are in. The lumen output of the 250 Entour's is pretty good, so depending on what you want to achieve I wouldn't see too much of a problem. I used Mac250+ units over a wash of about 10-20K, picking the right colours and placement can give good results!

[skenmy]

Sorry, but one thing we can't and won't do here is design your LX rig.

Without first hand knowledge of your existing kit, the space and the show it would be pointless to try.

 

Absolutely - Not much point in Lighting if everyone else designs a rig for you. I'm inexperienced with moving heads, however, so I'm asking advice ;)

 

I'm intrigued - it seems to me like these may be slightly more versatile than I first thought. I guess the best way to test this out is to actually do it - if we get the chance :( I didn't think too much about mounting under-stage - but that could create quite a nice effect, depending on the stage layout, of course. I'll see if I can snap some shots of the final outcome if it happens <_<

 

Thanks for the advice, as always.

[niclights]

A moving light is no different from any other, in this case a profile. The only difference is the lamp source (and thus colour temperature) and all the automated bits that allow you do to more from one fixture.

 

Obvious things that spring to mind - in front of stage & pointing at will essentially only be useful for actual illumination or gobo projection.

 

For beam effects you would want them behind the stage with the beams pointing out toward the audience and, crucially, require some sort of atmospheric to reflect them off - ie. haze.

 

If you're looking for the beam effect then consider how many different focus positions you can realistically get from your fixture locations. While it may seem artistic to spread units out it may limit what you can actually do with them. With four units your options are very limited and you may find that the less adventurous placing of four equally spaced in a line may well be the most effective.

[Ynot]

I didn't think too much about mounting under-stage - but that could create quite a nice effect,

 

Hmmm...

Who said anything about under stage?

Floor mounted or grid-hung is what I said...

;)

[zonino]

under the stage does give some very nice effects though, particularly the uplighting you can achieve (with ClearDeck)

[skenmy]

I didn't think too much about mounting under-stage - but that could create quite a nice effect,

 

Hmmm... ™

Who said anything about under stage?

 

I had a thought as I posted it

 

Thanks for the ideas and input everyone :)

[Maddison]

I might not be playing ball here, so feel free to disregard me on the matter, but something to think about; do you know why you want these lanterns. If not then (I presume here you are not getting the lanterns for free, though that too may be eronious) then why don't you cancel the order and save whoever you are working wiht some money...

 

While there is obviously place for movers, if they are for you to play with, without you havinga good idea what you are hoping to achieve, this can quickly become quite an expensive learning experience.

 

Anyway. Thats my penny's worth.

[skenmy]

I might not be playing ball here, so feel free to disregard me on the matter, but something to think about; do you know why you want these lanterns. If not then (I presume here you are not getting the lanterns for free, though that too may be eronious) then why don't you cancel the order and save whoever you are working wiht some money...

 

While there is obviously place for movers, if they are for you to play with, without you havinga good idea what you are hoping to achieve, this can quickly become quite an expensive learning experience.

 

Anyway. Thats my penny's worth.

 

Nothing has been ordered yet :) I'm meeting with the client tomorrow to discuss the needs and wants, right now I am planning and whatnot so I actually have some ideas to present.