School Hire - Advice

[ImChrisM]

Hi, I am a 17 year old secondary school student, relatively new to the whole lighting business, Totally new to the idea of lighting hire.

 

Apologies for the stream of nonsense that may follow.

 

Our school is hosting a 'battle of the bands' night sometime in November. I have been asked to provide the sound and light for the event. I have been allowed a small budget (c£100) for hiring in lighting equipment to complement the existing rig.

 

Our school auditorium was built in the last five years, and has some fairly up-to-date lighting and sound equipment. Our current lighting rig consists of:

 

> 18 Source 4 jr.s FOH

> 8 Fresnels (directly above stage)

> 12 Flood lights (Cyc lighting)

> Zero88 fat frog for control

 

The problem is this is a purely theatrical rig, with very little room for manoeuvre in terms of purpose and lighting positions (lack of tall enough ladder, don't get me started)

 

I would like to, as it is a band event, hire in 8 or so parcans for either side of the stage and possibly a strobe (on request of some of the bands ;) )

 

There are 2 free 15a sockets linked to the dimmers either side of the stage.

 

What I would like to know is: How do I go about hiring lights? are there any little things I am unlikely to notice (insurance, delivery, stands, cabling etc)

 

Cabling is a problem also, as the school will provide VERY LITTLE in terms of 15a cable (3 or so 2m extensions)

 

is it possible to hire the required lighting within this rough budget?

 

As a small side note, I am looking to reposition the lighting desk to backstage, where there are no DMX connections, what kind of lead do I require, and can I daisy-chain leads?

 

Thanks for your patience in reading this,

 

Chris

[tbexon]

Hi chris

 

I would recommend conatcting some lighting hire companies near you and explain your situation and tell them your budget and I'm sure they'll help you find the best solution for your budget

[Ynot]

OK, first off, welcome to the Blue Room.

If you use the search facility you'll find many topics already asking 'How do I light a band' etc.

 

However, you have several problems that won't really help you here.

 

Budget. Unless you have a VERY favourable hire supplier you won't get a great deal with £100.Par cans will be your best bet, simply because for punch per pound they're unbeatable, and with rock bands in particular easy to use and set up. But yes, you're correct in saying that it's not just the lanterns. You'll need to cable them and have somewhere to hang them. So the easiest option as you say would be a couple of stands and maybe a length of truss or scaff to hang them from - or a couple of T bars one either side.

 

Your 2 x 15A sockets either side will handle the 8 cans you mention (at 1KW Par 64) but you then need to get 4 off 15A 2-way adaptors which again will be a (small) extra cost. However, if you want (and can afford) more lanterns, then try Par 56 cans at 500W each, though adapting those down to up to 4 lanterns per 15A socket would need careful thought - ie DON'T try to stick adaptors into adaptors - break them out at the end of the cables.

 

Then of course there's colour. Unless the school has a good stock of nice strong colour in stock, this will eat into your pennies pretty quick!

 

Strobe - As long as you don't go for an Atomic or similar this should be fine running off a 13A socket, with DMX or analogue control as appropriate.

 

Delivery - some suppliers will charge you for delivery (and collection!) so make sure you check that up front.

Insurance - few will insure their kit off their own premises, but the school's policy MAY cover gear brought on - again check this up front as they MAY need to request an extension of the policy (or perhaps wing it just in case!)

 

As for the DMX, yes you can daisy chain leads - 5-pin XLR proper data cable is needed. I wouldn't recommend TOO many extended cables, but again the hire company may be able to provide a goodly length of control for you.

 

Hope that helps.

[ImChrisM]

OK, first off, welcome to the Blue Room.

If you use the search facility you'll find many topics already asking 'How do I light a band' etc.

 

However, you have several problems that won't really help you here.

 

Budget. Unless you have a VERY favourable hire supplier you won't get a great deal with £100.Par cans will be your best bet, simply because for punch per pound they're unbeatable, and with rock bands in particular easy to use and set up. But yes, you're correct in saying that it's not just the lanterns. You'll need to cable them and have somewhere to hang them. So the easiest option as you say would be a couple of stands and maybe a length of truss or scaff to hang them from - or a couple of T bars one either side.

 

Your 2 x 15A sockets either side will handle the 8 cans you mention (at 1KW Par 64) but you then need to get 4 off 15A 2-way adaptors which again will be a (small) extra cost. However, if you want (and can afford) more lanterns, then try Par 56 cans at 500W each, though adapting those down to up to 4 lanterns per 15A socket would need careful thought - ie DON'T try to stick adaptors into adaptors - break them out at the end of the cables.

 

Then of course there's colour. Unless the school has a good stock of nice strong colour in stock, this will eat into your pennies pretty quick!

 

Strobe - As long as you don't go for an Atomic or similar this should be fine running off a 13A socket, with DMX or analogue control as appropriate.

 

Delivery - some suppliers will charge you for delivery (and collection!) so make sure you check that up front.

Insurance - few will insure their kit off their own premises, but the school's policy MAY cover gear brought on - again check this up front as they MAY need to request an extension of the policy (or perhaps wing it just in case!)

 

As for the DMX, yes you can daisy chain leads - 5-pin XLR proper data cable is needed. I wouldn't recommend TOO many extended cables, but again the hire company may be able to provide a goodly length of control for you.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Thanks very much for the advice! I like the idea of more of the par56s at the loss of a few lumens, the stage is only c30ft wide, so throw distance is not much of a problem. I'll check first thing on monday morning regarding insurance etc, and I had T-bars in mind, so I think that's probably my best bet.

 

Cheers,

 

Chris

 

[themadhippy]

And take the colour out the cyc floods,turn em round to face the audiance,voila-blinders

[Matthew Robinson]

Just so that you are aware, you should probably display warning signs outside the venue that strobe lights may be used.

[Mushypeas]

Chris.

 

What Tom said really, but to put your mind at ease.

 

If you can find a decent size hire company you would probably pay a tenner a PAR a week, and a couple of pound coins should cover the cost of a 15 amp extension.

 

The two channels you have free probably won't be enough to power 4 PARs each, if they were 1 kilowatt lamps, however a good hire company should be able to find a solution.

 

As for the insurance, it shouldn't matter as long as it's the school's paying for it, and delivery should be fairly simple seeing as it's a school and there's a receptionist at the front desk for 7 hours a day to sign the delivery forms for you. If you want to put the PARs on stands then you'll need to hire in some as well, shouldn't be a problem, and there will be no problem with cabling as long as you make sure that the PARs you get have 15 amp plugs on you won't need any silly adapter cables.

 

You'd need a DMX cable to move the desk, also available for hire, just quote the correct length to get you to where you need to be and the right number of pins (should be 5 pin for the Frog). You probably wouldn't need to daisy chain the strobe, if that's what you were referring to, as the Fat Frog has two DMX connections IIRC so you'd just need another DMX cable (check the number of pins on the strobe, will probably be 3 pin so you'd need a little adapter which can also be hired.

 

Last but not least, get this checked by someone at the school to see if they have any disagreements with it H&S is the first thing that comes to mind for stands and low level par cans.

 

Best of luck.

Luke

 

 

EDIT: Damn all of you and your quick typing. Ynot got there first.

[ImChrisM]

And take the colour out the cyc floods,turn em round to face the audiance,voila-blinders

 

I like! I like!

 

Chris.

 

What Tom said really, but to put your mind at ease.

 

If you can find a decent size hire company you would probably pay a tenner a PAR a week, and a couple of pound coins should cover the cost of a 15 amp extension.

 

The two channels you have free probably won't be enough to power 4 PARs each, if they were 1 kilowatt lamps, however a good hire company should be able to find a solution.

 

As for the insurance, it shouldn't matter as long as it's the school's paying for it, and delivery should be fairly simple seeing as it's a school and there's a receptionist at the front desk for 7 hours a day to sign the delivery forms for you. If you want to put the PARs on stands then you'll need to hire in some as well, shouldn't be a problem, and there will be no problem with cabling as long as you make sure that the PARs you get have 15 amp plugs on you won't need any silly adapter cables.

 

You'd need a DMX cable to move the desk, also available for hire, just quote the correct length to get you to where you need to be and the right number of pins (should be 5 pin for the Frog). You probably wouldn't need to daisy chain the strobe, if that's what you were referring to, as the Fat Frog has two DMX connections IIRC so you'd just need another DMX cable (check the number of pins on the strobe, will probably be 3 pin so you'd need a little adapter which can also be hired.

 

Last but not least, get this checked by someone at the school to see if they have any disagreements with it H&S is the first thing that comes to mind for stands and low level par cans.

 

Best of luck.

Luke

 

 

EDIT: Damn all of you and your quick typing. Ynot got there first.

 

Thanks so much for this!

 

I think I'll need to get a plan together, get a quote from a hire company and take it to the head, or deputy head, just to make sure I can get the go-ahead for this.

 

I hadn't thought of just connecting the strobe directly to the desk, certainly makes life easier, and thanks for the tip about low-hanging pars, that certainly hadn't crossed my mind either...

 

Cheers,

 

Chris

[Trunker]

A Par 64 in Wales woukld set you back about 6 quid. But unfortunately your in Scotland. Can't imagine there being a great hike in price though.............

[callumb]

Depending on where in Scotland you are based I can give some pointers to you in relation to hire and what you can do.

[ImChrisM]

I'm in ayr if that helps? I've no idea where to start in terms of hire companies

[rossmck]

Only one I can think of *IN* Ayr is Amber Lites... few through in Glasgow ... or if it's just a few parcans you need I'm just down the A77 and can maybe help ;)

[ImChrisM]

Only one I can think of *IN* Ayr is Amber Lites... few through in Glasgow ... or if it's just a few parcans you need I'm just down the A77 and can maybe help ;)

 

Well I'll hit up the Amber lites, if no joy I'll give you a shout, cheers! :)

[bruce]

Zisys are a few miles north (Irvine).

 

RGM music in Kilmarnock have some band-type lighting for hire

 

The Kilted DJ - daft name, but they also do lighting and staging hire - are in Kilmarnock.

 

Sono Vie in Barrhead

 

... and a zillion companies in Glasgow

[cameroncoats]

Northern Light are £5.50 a week for a PAR64, and £4 for a 56. You shouldn't have too much trouble pulling this off for £100, especially if you only need 3 days hire rather than a week.