boardingbob Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Hi y'all So, I work in a nice little venue which until recently mostly did just live theatre, tribute bands etc. We've now added wedding receptions, which take place in the hall once the retractable seating has been, well, retracted. The bosses have given us a small (£500) budget to buy some stand alone disco lights that can be switched on and off by foh and keep us poor technician's hours down. We had been using Parcans mixed with our Mac 250 entours but it was all a bit OTT, and far too bright really.Whatever we get we want to rig 'em high, giving aprox a 5m spread after a 10m throw, and have a bit of movement and colour. Problem is, I don't know who sells this kind of stuff anymore. Or who to trust. So seeking recomendations of companys to buy from and, heck, of stuff that you think is good value for money while we're at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Not sure it's even a good idea. Your client (the bride) will want disco music if she wants disco lights, but no mobile DJ will charge any less if there are already some unknown disco lights in the roof, so the bride will have to pay you for hire of your light and pay the DJ for their lights. then you will have a few sound to light wagglies in the roof and some lights on the disco doing something else. A brief look through terralec site doesn't get you much for £500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomHoward Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 If you have plenty of PARs on the existing rig, something we've done is invest in a sound-to-light DMX controller that can be used with our existing PARs and dimmers to provide something idiot-friendly and flashing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boardingbob Posted September 17, 2010 Author Share Posted September 17, 2010 Tom, that's not a bad idea, although we'd need to have something less pokey than the PARs being controlled by it. Certainly worth investigating.... Jivemaster, the idea is that we wouldn't charge extra for these lights, that they'd just improve the experience of our hirers. The hall is pretty big (13m x 23m x 7m) so most of the DJs bring kit that doesn't 'fill'it and it looks a bit bland without some colour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 OK I'll go out on a limb here! Look out pealight canopy (Clue www.starcloth.co.uk/index.php?id=20 ) Can be used over a banquetting setting or over a dancefloor setting. Also it's simple - just LOTS of 28 volts. With pealights as you dim it it gets warm coloured. People can dine in bright tungsten colour the you dim it down and people can dance in pale gold light, and they can still see when the DJs lights are not flashing their way. Terralec did have some "light strings" that were similar and ChinaExport pricing. Just be sure that the dimmer you use is OK with the inductive load of the supply transformers which could be heavy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Sounds like an ideal LED Par application, get a few in the budget, the more recent ones can run as dumb DMX slaves or in standalone/linked chase mode. Less relamping required, though dusting is reccomended. Phil Space would be proud..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Probably my favourite venue effect http://www.starcloth.co.uk/index.php?id=27 the shemmira Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaize110 Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Speaking as someone who does a bit of DJing myself, the problem with a straight sound to light rig is that it gives very little variation for things such as a slow first dance when you might want something more subtle. Personally I use DMX for this and have a few presets for different occasions or moods. I also know people who dont have DMX but use a relay system to turn certain lights on and off when required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleah Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 To *really* do it on the cheap, pick up a few cheapo effects from CPC, barrel scanners, moonflowers, that are just switch on and offable and wire them back to a bank of standard light switches (appropriately labelled of course) accessible to the DJ. He can then switch then on and off as he/she sees fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boltonguy Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Hi there, I purchased 2 Acme Impossibleds for £250. These are great simple LED patterns that give a huge spread of coloured light. Connect these together Via DMX and use a CA8 controller. I point one to the floor and one up to the ceiling and these give a great effect for the budget Gav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boardingbob Posted September 17, 2010 Author Share Posted September 17, 2010 Jivemaster, those canopies do look lovely, but would sadly get rather in the way here. Mind you, if you've got a spare one hanging about at yours I'm sure we could find room for it somewhere :wub: Blaize, I take your point on board. We need to provide the posibility of control to the DJs. Either DMX cables, or easy access to the switching. If I was s/he I know I'd want to be able to kill or control them, so we need to find a way to do that. BoltonGuy, they look the sort of thing we are prob after, maybe mixed with a couple of cheapo LED PARs or something. I feel a bit dirty even saying that, but it's hard to achieve high art on a low budget.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 "those canopies do look lovely" is what the bride thinks too so they can be worth the hassle! They don't conflict with the DJ either so he (usually) will be cool too, Get the DJ a starcloth booth from Starcloth.co.uk and your venue will gain some serious style points Brides love them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Stick 4 NJD datamoons on the ceiling, 1 in each corner. They will fill the floor with moving patterns and can be syncronised with a 3-core lead between them for a more exotic effect. They have a built in microphone and will automatically twirl slowly for slow dances and fast for pop tunesThey are around £100 a piece or discount for quantity. http://www.diypartyhire.co.uk/images/datamoon_effect.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamtastic3 Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 If it's sound to light discos you're after, look into the following effects.... The effect that comes from this light is brilliant and 2 will fill a room...http://www.thomann.de/gb/american_dj_tri_phase_led.htm These scans are LED units and are pretty cheap for what they are....http://www.thomann.de/gb/american_dj_revo_scan_led.htm Another LED scan, this time with gobos and colours.... http://www.thomann.de/gb/american_dj_comscan_led.htm Another scan, this time a halogen based one.... http://www.musicstore.com/en_EN/GBP/Light/...-LIG0007649-000 There is really alot out there in the DJ market.Just remember that LED effects can have a lower light output than halogen and discharge based effects.The thing with LED though, is that you don't have to worry about the lamp costs over time :wub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 I would seriously suggest getting the roof covered in a starcloth kind of thing. The Sofitel Hotel down here in Melbourne in thier "Grand Ball room" has the entire ceiling covered in colour changeing fiber optics and at the moment is controlled useing a comptuter in the Bio Box with just a click of the mouse. It dosent look like a hard system to install a small touch screen which gives the DJ instant access to all the colours of the rainbow and looks stunning during dinner's and slow dances etc. I Would also have a look into LED uplighting/downlighting for the walls as a few Dj's I know of are starting to incorperate this into thier bag of Lighting Fx and again we used 20 cheap LED PAR cans (183x 10mm) to light the entire room sufficiently (could have done with about 30-40 though) and provided plenty of ambient light. with either option the entire room would be a base colour and then the Dj focuses thier FX lights onto the dace floor to make it a focal point during the danceing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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