lightingtec Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Hi Guys I wonder if anyone could give me some advice on low power lighting for a dance stage? I am lighting a small stage for dance- but have the problem that there is no additional mains feed - so limited to the 13A stage ring mains (limited to max 30A single phase - used sparingly on individual alphapacks). We have limited lantern stock, Patt 223/Harmony 1k Fresnels, some 500W Fresnels / Patt23 profiles for FOH, but need side/backlight. PAR56 don't seem to have enough intensity and we have insufficient power to run 64s. Lower cost LED Parcans would be the answer - but again seem to lack intensity to overcome the FOH. Any advice would be appreciated. Also looking for a couple of cheap barndoors for Patt 223/743 and Harmony Fs if anyone has any spare. many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Just my quick 2p as im in a rush! Use the higher power lanterns FOH to do some nice colour washes/and special spots etc Get some budget LED Par's to do back and side lighting, they are very nice, with great colours, and we use them for this all the time. HTH Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LXbydesign Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 For doing dance , it should mainly be from the sides / top / back anyway!!!!!! Ru not able to divert or repatch the dimmers across to the sides? Prop too much of a pain in the arse??!! If you have 30A single on stage though , thats a happy 6 KW continuous on full tilt , so you could get away with rigging 10 S4 PARS with wide angle on them , which would give you nice strong back / top light. Add scrollers for more variation and yes, just some cheapo PAR 64 LED cans on the sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Some Bloke Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 If your stage isn't too big, then 2 sidelight booms each side of stage with a pair of 500w fresnels on each (one at shin height and the other at arm height) with the Patt 23s FOH to give a bit of front fill when needed and the 1k Fs from behind for backlight should give you a nice bit of dance lighting. All that would run in at under 30A and wouldn't require the purchase or hire of anything at all. If you did want to add to it then hire more 1/2K Fs so you can mix colours, but be careful never to take both sets of colour to full at the same time. Easy! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LXbydesign Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 oh - my mistake. I didnt realise he meant 30A for the whole lot!! yes, in that case, as above is the best way to do it with not needing to hire or buy anything in.. However, with the above , if you could afford scrollers for the back or side fills , that would give you much more colour options and in fact would prob be a nice little rig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Seriously look at the efficienct of ALL your lights. Pat23 were state of the art in the 50s but are now state of the ARK. There are modern 575w TH lanterns that are a bright as older 1000s. LEDs are a good plan BUT the bright ones cost a fortune. Maintain a balance of light! The more that you put on the front the more that you need on the sides. Classic dance light is a profile just skimming the floor behing each leg, aimed directly into the opposite wing. -The shinbusters! Above each of those a fresnel to sculpt form into the torsos. LOADS of back light and hair lights from the back bar -just missing the front row. Then just enough front light not to spoil the effect but to fill in the faces, especially of the principals. You really need to look at a total revamp of your lighting stock for maximum light output for power consumed, and mostly older lamps were poorer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logic Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 How much Money do you have in your budget lightingtec? I have 8off james thomas pixel par 90's which are currently sat around doing nothing, and I am sure they are just what you are looking for. You could run them in DMX mode(rgb) on a standard generic desk(no pearl etc needed)I use them all the time for dance shows etc, Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightingtec Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 Hi Thanks for your reply. This is all very low budget (mine) - hence older lantern stock. We're also still running analogue at present. Please let me know what sort of money your looking for for the pixels, as I'm also working on another project in a months time which may have some money. The lower cost LED P56/64 don't really come anywhere close to what I need. Many thanks How much Money do you have in your budget lightingtec? I have 8off james thomas pixel par 90's which are currently sat around doing nothing, and I am sure they are just what you are looking for. You could run them in DMX mode(rgb) on a standard generic desk(no pearl etc needed)I use them all the time for dance shows etc, Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roderick Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 My suggestion would be:1kW Fresnels - BacklightPatt23 - Shins (booms)500W Fresnels Mid/tops (booms)Par56 - FOH As others have pointed out, dance lighting is all about backlight and sidelight to sculpt and enhance the movement.Always start with these and then add a little FOH fill to bring up the faces where required. The equipment may be old, but that doesn't mean it can still do a good job - if well maintained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightsource Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 PAR56 don't seem to have enough intensity and we have insufficient power to run 64s. What about P64 with 500w lamps, or the 575w Raylight alternative, should give some improvement over a 300w P56, without the current requirement of a 1K P64. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 An hour (or ten!) spent cleaning reflectors and lenses carefully will increase the light output from most rigs significantly! That insidious filter NDdust simply eats light and eats electricity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleah Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 An hour (or ten!) spent cleaning reflectors and lenses carefully will increase the light output from most rigs significantly! That insidious filter NDdust simply eats light and eats electricity. Jivemaster, how do you work out that dust eats electricity???? :unsure: Or do you mean you end up running the lamps at say 80% instead of 60% due to dust making the output lower? :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StNic54 Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 might be good to rearrange your plot, and it sounds like you won't be able to afford, much less easily program led fixtures with multiple DMX channels. you honestly don't need much front light for dance. balancing all of your levels will allow that side lighting to really pop. Oh, and then increase your ticket prices to buy more fixtures :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DangerousMark Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 An hour (or ten!) spent cleaning reflectors and lenses carefully will increase the light output from most rigs significantly! That insidious filter NDdust simply eats light and eats electricity. Jivemaster, how do you work out that dust eats electricity???? :) Or do you mean you end up running the lamps at say 80% instead of 60% due to dust making the output lower? B-) Sounds reasonable given that after giving the mirrors in some of our back projection screens a good dusting heavy on the elbow grease I was able to back the projectors off from full power to "eco" and they still looked slightly brighter :** laughs out loud **: Nice 42w saved there and an extra 50% runtime from the remaining life in each bulb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightingtec Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 Many thanks for your reply. Will get some frames for the 1ks and re-arrange as suggested. regards My suggestion would be:1kW Fresnels - BacklightPatt23 - Shins (booms)500W Fresnels Mid/tops (booms)Par56 - FOH As others have pointed out, dance lighting is all about backlight and sidelight to sculpt and enhance the movement.Always start with these and then add a little FOH fill to bring up the faces where required. The equipment may be old, but that doesn't mean it can still do a good job - if well maintained. A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on. Thanks to all for taking time to contribute your advice. regards Hi Guys I wonder if anyone could give me some advice on low power lighting for a dance stage? I am lighting a small stage for dance- but have the problem that there is no additional mains feed - so limited to the 13A stage ring mains (limited to max 30A single phase - used sparingly on individual alphapacks). We have limited lantern stock, Patt 223/Harmony 1k Fresnels, some 500W Fresnels / Patt23 profiles for FOH, but need side/backlight. PAR56 don't seem to have enough intensity and we have insufficient power to run 64s. Lower cost LED Parcans would be the answer - but again seem to lack intensity to overcome the FOH. Any advice would be appreciated. Also looking for a couple of cheap barndoors for Patt 223/743 and Harmony Fs if anyone has any spare. many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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