Moving light alternatives.

[BritishHero]

Hi all,

 

Just wondering if anyone knows of alternatives to the following moving lights, that will do a similar job, just at a better price.

 

Mac TW1, Mac 700/550, Mac 301

 

Any help would be much appreciated

 

Thanks,

 

Tony

[gyro_gearloose]

Do they have to me moving heads? I don't know what look you are trying to create, but have you thought about using moving mirrors? They tend to be cheaper than moving heads that have similar features. For example, I have 5 Coemar 1200 watt moving mirrors taking up space in my garage. They have CMY colour mixing, lots of gobos and effects, motorised zoom and focus, and 16-bit pan and tilt. They are flightcased, have lamps with about 200 hours of use, and working spare lamps. I have tried selling them here and on ebay, but so far have had no takers. I believe this is down to the fact that they are quite large, and that people tend to view moving mirrors as disco toys.

[BritishHero]

Thanks,

 

I'm just sourcing the lights for the designer, so I'm not so sure what the effect he wants to create is. I'll have a chat with my prod lx about the moving mirrors.

[Ynot]

Just wondering if anyone knows of alternatives to the following moving lights, that will do a similar job, just at a better price.

Hmmm...

 

Can't help but remark on the fact that this is TOTALLY the wrong way to approach this.

 

The designer (if indeed he/she IS a designer) needs to decide upon what the lighting DESIGN should be. What sort of 'looks' the show demands and should then consider what type of kit would be required to achieve that.

 

The choice of kit depends largely on the infrastructure of the venue - ie large venues would normally be best suited to the larger moving heads (if that's what's needed), although the small to medium heads can certainly hold their own in a large space if rigged and designed properly.

 

In smaller venues, the larger lanterns are mostly a waste. The extra functions you get aren't dealbreakers (to me) if you're on a tight budget and/or short on space.

 

So, the designer needs to say what he wants, if he's not able to shop around himself (why not?) then all you can do is tell him how much his design kit will cost...

[BritishHero]

Just wondering if anyone knows of alternatives to the following moving lights, that will do a similar job, just at a better price.

Hmmm...

 

Can't help but remark on the fact that this is TOTALLY the wrong way to approach this.

 

The designer (if indeed he/she IS a designer) needs to decide upon what the lighting DESIGN should be. What sort of 'looks' the show demands and should then consider what type of kit would be required to achieve that.

 

The choice of kit depends largely on the infrastructure of the venue - ie large venues would normally be best suited to the larger moving heads (if that's what's needed), although the small to medium heads can certainly hold their own in a large space if rigged and designed properly.

 

In smaller venues, the larger lanterns are mostly a waste. The extra functions you get aren't dealbreakers (to me) if you're on a tight budget and/or short on space.

 

So, the designer needs to say what he wants, if he's not able to shop around himself (why not?) then all you can do is tell him how much his design kit will cost...

 

It's a school production, so we're working within a tight budget, which is why we're currently looking for alternatives.

The designer is highly regarded, so I'm willing to trust his judgement. Thank you for the advice though, any help is always appreciated.

[mark_s]

Perhaps the lighting designer needs to be informed of the budget, so that he can produce an appropriate design and select appropriate equipment himself?

[Ynot]

It's a school production, so we're working within a tight budget, which is why we're currently looking for alternatives.

The designer is highly regarded, so I'm willing to trust his judgement. Thank you for the advice though, any help is always appreciated.

All due respects to the highly regarded LD, but the answer is still the same. (Where is he highly regarded, btw? In the school, or the field of pro lighting designers...? or somewhere in between?)

If he's designed, for a school show, a rig incorporating loads of larger moving heads, then I really do feel he's approaching the design from the wrong direction.

 

I've designed shows for schools, as have many others here. And I've used a variety of options, based on the budget I've been given. I've always been aware of the basic funds available to me before I start. Occasionally I've over-spec'd the rig because the director wants certain things/effects, at which point I've gone back to them and said "You want 'x' and 'y' with a bit of 'z'. Now with the budget available, 'x' and 'y' are fine, but if you want 'z' as well you need to sort some extra cash or we'll have to look at alternate ways of doing it (or abandon 'z' entirely)". That's what working to budgets mean.

 

If achieving 'z' means using Mac 250 Entours instead of 700 spots then that could save you anything up to £50 or more per unit...

[Just Some Bloke]

Hi all,

 

Just wondering if anyone knows of alternatives to the following moving lights, that will do a similar job, just at a better price.

 

Mac TW1, Mac 700/550, Mac 301

 

The trouble is that I can think of several jobs a Mac700 could do so jsut saying "a similar job" doesn't really help, I'm afraid.

 

If you want a cheaper washlight than a TW1 then a Mac250 Wash would fit the bill, but it won't be a tungsten lamp and it won't be as bright. I don't know if those things matter or not as I'm not the designer.

 

I'm afraid I tend to agree with the others that a decent LD should be happy to source alternatives him/herself and if they've over-specced then they've either gone way over budget or, more likely, weren't given a budget by the Producer. I often work professionally lighting school shows and if the client's budget didn't suit my initial design then I'd consider it my job to re-design the rig.

 

If I were you I'd be worried about finding alternatives only to have the LD say "no, they won't do at all". Safer if they do their job properly and suggest the alternatives themselves.

 

Hope you have a successful show.

[BritishHero]

It's a school production, so we're working within a tight budget, which is why we're currently looking for alternatives.

The designer is highly regarded, so I'm willing to trust his judgement. Thank you for the advice though, any help is always appreciated.

All due respects to the highly regarded LD, but the answer is still the same. (Where is he highly regarded, btw? In the school, or the field of pro lighting designers...? or somewhere in between?)

If he's designed, for a school show, a rig incorporating loads of larger moving heads, then I really do feel he's approaching the design from the wrong direction.

 

I've designed shows for schools, as have many others here. And I've used a variety of options, based on the budget I've been given. I've always been aware of the basic funds available to me before I start. Occasionally I've over-spec'd the rig because the director wants certain things/effects, at which point I've gone back to them and said "You want 'x' and 'y' with a bit of 'z'. Now with the budget available, 'x' and 'y' are fine, but if you want 'z' as well you need to sort some extra cash or we'll have to look at alternate ways of doing it (or abandon 'z' entirely)". That's what working to budgets mean.

 

If achieving 'z' means using Mac 250 Entours instead of 700 spots then that could save you anything up to £50 or more per unit...

 

The LD is Richard G. Jones, you can have a look at his website if you want it's http://www.richardgjones.co.uk/, and the show is we're doing is West Side Story at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre (http://www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk/). I guess I've not been very clear by just mentioning that it's a school production without giving the details.

 

The 'x,y,z' is a good way of looking at it, thank you.

[cedd]

Some idea of the show would be useful.

 

If you're doing a rock and roll show and want something that looks good when moving about, a very cheap option is a pair of studio due cs4's. Our local hire company do them for less than a mover and you get 4 beams doing some pretty funky stuff.

 

But of course, that's only for a rock show, they're not much use when it comes to back lighting and don't do gobo's/colours/anything else. They're just a bank of 4 moving pars, but look fantastic for not much money.

 

More info required on the show. I'd suggest if you're talking movers, the one place you don't cut back on is the haze machine. Even generics look pretty damn good in decent haze. Movers may not be required at all.

[BritishHero]

Hi all,

 

Just wondering if anyone knows of alternatives to the following moving lights, that will do a similar job, just at a better price.

 

Mac TW1, Mac 700/550, Mac 301

 

The trouble is that I can think of several jobs a Mac700 could do so jsut saying "a similar job" doesn't really help, I'm afraid.

 

If you want a cheaper washlight than a TW1 then a Mac250 Wash would fit the bill, but it won't be a tungsten lamp and it won't be as bright. I don't know if those things matter or not as I'm not the designer.

 

I'm afraid I tend to agree with the others that a decent LD should be happy to source alternatives him/herself and if they've over-specced then they've either gone way over budget or, more likely, weren't given a budget by the Producer. I often work professionally lighting school shows and if the client's budget didn't suit my initial design then I'd consider it my job to re-design the rig.

 

If I were you I'd be worried about finding alternatives only to have the LD say "no, they won't do at all". Safer if they do their job properly and suggest the alternatives themselves.

 

Hope you have a successful show.

 

Yes, quite right, I am being vague. I believe that they'll be used as wash lights, and he wants tungsten lamps.

It's a part of the course I'm currently on for the LX crew, to source the lights and that's why I'm doing the job.

The LD has worked at our school many times before, so I'm not worrying about him being difficult to work with.

 

Yes, me too, thanks.

[Big Jay]

Mac TW1 - - -> VL500D/VL5AorB both tungsten and 1000w, the VL500 van also come as a 80v version

Mac 301 - - -> GLP Impression, JBL A7?

Mac 700 - - -> Many you could probably try the VL2000 series

 

J

[BritishHero]

Mac TW1 - - -> VL500D/VL5AorB both tungsten and 1000w, the VL500 van also come as a 80v version

Mac 301 - - -> GLP Impression, JBL A7?

Mac 700 - - -> Many you could probably try the VL2000 series

 

J

 

Thanks J,

 

I'll have a look at those now.

[Joe Bleasdale]

You may want to have a look at the Alphas from Clay Paky. They are tiny fixtures and consume very little power, which is ideal for a school. They can be a little more expensive, but it depends on your supplier really. While I don’t think they do a Tungsten lamp, they do some pretty awesome moving lights. For tungsten the TW1s are big but are very good fixtures, the VL500 is a healthy competitor though.

 

Thanks,

[BritishHero]

You may want to have a look at the Alphas from Clay Paky. They are tiny fixtures and consume very little power, which is ideal for a school. They can be a little more expensive, but it depends on your supplier really. While I don't think they do a Tungsten lamp, they do some pretty awesome moving lights. For tungsten the TW1s are big but are very good fixtures, the VL500 is a healthy competitor though.

 

Thanks,

 

 

Yes, I've had a look at the Alpha Wash Halo and given the tech specs over to my prod lx. I'm just taking a look at the VL500 now.

 

Thank you.