Looking for some advice for a set up

[KustomKreation]

So I've been asked to do a lighting installation for a 3 month art exhibition.

 

My plan is to use Par 16's (birdies) and have the controlled via lighting software on a laptop. the lighting design is fairly simple, it mainly involves a serious of continues fade ups and down of the birdies, fading to and from a serious of maybe 4 different colours. as well as having a birdie on each painting, which stays static.

 

I haven't done ANY lighting work in around 4-5 years now. I've been focusing on set building and carpentry.

 

So can someone recommend a good set up, not too expensive that will allow me to run around 20 birdies and have them programmed on a continuous fade sequence?

 

So - Par 16's -----> DMX dimmer ------->USB interface -------->laptop.

[Tomo]

For a 3-month run, talk to your local hire companies. At 3 months, 20 channels plus controller is probably cheaper to hire than buy.

 

I would not use PC controls, because an art installation system has to be able to be started and stopped by an untrained person, preferably with a single button.

- PC-based controllers are generally not intended for 'untrained' usage!

 

Given that you're after a continuous fade sequence with what sounds like four or five steps, many dimmers actually have built-in controls to do this.

 

I'd probably go for a pair of 12ch SmartPacks plus a SmartLink button station to allow the staff to start/stop the program. Turn on the power, press the button, let the dimmers run through their sequence.

[Ken Coker]

.. as well as having a birdie on each painting, which stays static.

 

 

You will, no doubt, already have thought about this, but you might want to consider the nature of this light. Depending on the physical make-up of the painting, there is a chance that constant exposure to such a source might induce deterioration in the art work. ND usually helps, as does using a lower wattage lamp. Talk to the artist and gallery technicians.

 

It may turn out not to be an issue - but this may give some help. Pastels and works on paper would appear to be the most fragile.

 

Hope that helps.

 

KC

[Richard CSL]

Try this

 

http://www.thomann.de/gb/stairville_dc405s_lauflichtsteuerung.htm

[musht]

Low voltage dichro MR16s were developed for displaying perishable works, well developed on from projector lamps.

 

Dichroic coating means infrared goes backwards mainly and nowadays UV stop glass stops most of the UV getting out front.

 

On control , have used Multidims for years for transformer fed LV lighting have also seen Behringer LC2412 used for temp installs as it will start from power up in last sequence.

[KustomKreation]

Thanks for the replies so far some useful info.

 

as far as the artworks are concerned, they are not fine art works...more shall we say...ahem.... contemporary..... there is no worry about damaging them with the lighting.

 

 

The other thing I remembered is.

 

One of the paintings is done using UV paint. so I had the idea that it would be in a closed off area (sealed off with blacks) There would be two lights. one a normal white, and then intermittently the white would go out and a UV light would come on to show the painting under the UV.

 

So the controller has to allow me to program. a fade between 4 channels (four different gel colours) (something up to about 20 -25 PAR 16's)

 

the white light to UV fade (or it might be a snap) (2 PAR 16's)

 

and

 

a Static scene which is used for the window display using (4 par 16's)

 

 

All this is running off regular single phase power supplies.

[adam2]

The obvious way to produce UV light in a modest area is by blacklight flourescent tubes as these are widely available.

Note however that common types of flourescent lamp control gear cant be dimmed, some can but these are expensive and less common, and may require some control other than DMX.

 

There is a type of blacklight lamp that CAN be dimmed, though not very well, but it least it wont break the lamp or the dimmer.

These are mercury vapour lamps with a tungsten filament in the same bulb, only available AFAIK in 160 watt, intended to work direct from the mains without any control gear.

 

A single phase supply should be ample for the proposed load.

[Modge]

I would not use PC controls, because an art installation system has to be able to be started and stopped by an untrained person, preferably with a single button.

- PC-based controllers are generally not intended for 'untrained' usage!

Ours can be set up so as that when windows starts it starts and then remembers what it was doing when the show was last saved. Thus you can leave it running the show and just turn the computer on and off. In the forth coming release (which has lots of installation related features) there's even a command line switch to allow limeLIGHT to run on a machine that just gets powered off and isn't shut down properly, though since most PC's can be set to shutdown from the button on the front this should only happen in cases when the whole rack the pc is sitting in is turned off with one switch.

 

As to the UV issue there are UV LED panels which are DMX controllable, such as these: http://www.kam.co.uk/index.php?action=product&product_id=387, which might be of interest from the standpoint of the ease with which they can be controlled. The panels tend to have quite a narrow beam whilst definitely they produce a "useful" brightness I wouldn't put them in the same league as say a 400W uv cannon.

[GregB]

I have found a nice transformer that might make your instal a bit easier: Doyle & Tratt (Varilight UK)dimmable electronic transformer YT250.

The advantage of this little unit is the dual mains input connection allows safe connection to multiple units from a single power supply.