FOH Lighting Bar

[Ryan Lawrence]

Hello,

 

At my local theatre we would like to upgrade our FOH lighting. At the moment we have 2 lighting bars on the circle front and 1 on each box.

 

Ideally we would like a lighting bar above the circle so the lanterns are at a 45 degree angle to the stage.

However this could be inconvenient as we would like to be able to re-focus & re-gel the lanterns and make any repairs if necessary. We have not got a minimum budget so I am asking really what our your thoughts on where we can install a new FOH bar what can give us basic FOH stage cover (8 Profiles) and be able to focus, gel and repair?

 

My thoughts were to have a lighting bar at the very back of the auditorium (Where the follow spot holes are) and having 8 small degree profiles. But I need a second opinion.

 

Thanks

Ryan

 

http://ryan-lawrence.co.uk/majestic.jpg

 

[paulears]

Personally, although the angle is right, the focus difficulty would be a real pain. I don't mean access, I mean setting the angle of dangle. Leaning on the fixture might move the beam a big distance on stage, so when somebody says just a smidge onstage, the smidge becomes a sudden big wadge across instead of the small amount intended, same with tilt - the extra distance makes it tricky. You mention small 8 degree profiles, most narrow ones have big lumps of glass on the front - which ones were you thinking of. A compromise could be maybe over the doors left and right at each side of the circle. I quite like wider angles for for, finding centreline light a bit bland.

[timsabre]

I think by "8 small degree" he meant 8 lights with a narrow beam angle

 

A wider picture would be useful ... high on the side walls might be a good position but it's difficult to tell from the photo. Our local "big" theatre has most of the FOH lighting on the side walls where it is relatively easy to get at with a ladder leaning on the wall.

[Ryan Lawrence]

I was thinking of some ETC Source 4's if I'm honest. When I said 8 I mean 8x profiles. 2 SL, 2 CS, 2 SR, 2 Fills.

I don't know what the degree size will be, probably 5 or 10.

 

And yes I see what you mean about focusing. However the focusing will most likely not be touched so we can tighten them off, It's just getting them right the first time what will be a struggle. I think all we would need to change would be the gels and lamp replacement. Any visiting company can use the box tops and circle front for anything extra.

 

Thanks Ryan

[kerry davies]

Is there a problem with splitting them as Paul suggests above/behind the doors to the circle?

 

That seems a near perfect 45/45 degree siting for them and would be my preference. You can sculpt things really well whereas straight on front light flattens things dramatically.

[Ryan Lawrence]

There might be a dusty step ladder in the way ;). Nope there is no problem at all in putting some bars up there. Thank you Paul & Kerry.

Am I right in saying 4 either side would be an appropriate number?

 

Thanks Ryan

[lxkev]

Piece of truss, chain hoists and buy some source 4 revolutions or a right arm (add scrollers. iris etc..)

 

With this gear you can drop the fixtures to the ground the servicing, (change gobo, gels etc)... and control Pan & tilt, colour, Iris from lx desk.

[LXbydesign]

I think a small 6 way IWB above each of the door would be a good option. That way - all you need to supply power for fixtures is a socca :-)

 

Of course the other option IS to go down the route of installing hanging points to be able to drop a FOH truss in, but that could be expensive and ruin the aesthetics of the auditorium.

[mac500]

You've got to think about how 'flat' the front angle would be when used. Above the door looks a bit flat to me just by looking at the picture.

[Ryan Lawrence]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I think on top of the doors might be the best option. We have fixture points on top of the box's we can use as well. So we have many different angles to light the front from. We might even add some vertical truss along the sides so we have as many different angles as possible. Because we are on a tight budget, Source 4 Revolutions may not be the best options. I don't think we can fly anything from the ceiling either. One because there is no rigging points or anything what can take the weight, and secondly as lxbydesign said: it would ruin the aesthetics.

Thanks Ryan

[xllx]

Wherever you decide to go with your new bars, run more cable than you think you will need. If you are planning on using 4 circuits a side, run 6, and make sure the bar is long enough that you can rig extra specials as well as your standard rig rather than instead of it. It won't add much to the cost to pull in a couple of DMX lines or even ethernet, you never know what you might want to rig up there in the future, and it won't cost you much to do a bit of future proofing!

[operalx]

In terms of good fixtures to use for FOH, I couldn't recommend Robert Juliat 614's any higher, especially if you decide on a non central rigging position. Most of our front of house rig is RJ 614's and RJ 714's. The 714's will be a little too hefty for your venue but the 614's are an absolute dream to focus. Exceptionally true shutter cuts, enormous range of cut angle variation, rotatable barrel (exceedingly useful from a side throw) and when they are locked they stay where you left them. Not to mention you can use them with up to 8 shutter blades and remove and reposition blades as the focus requires.

 

We also have Source 4 Zooms and 10 degrees front of house, and they cant compete. The S4 optics are awful at a decent throw in both units (shutters appear to bend when at a blue sharp which is pretty useless), the locks fail fairly quickly and the shutters are not as workable when compared to a Juliat.

 

My reflections on the source fours refer to use at 20 and 25M throw distances. Depends on the size of your house.

[medina]

Whats in the roof space? There is a curved decorative section in the middle that appears to have 2 holes either end of it. Can you cut a slot in it and fix a position in the roof space

[bigclive]

Can I just ask if this establishment may have been a cinema at some point before becoming a theatre? It's the projection room style apertures that made me wonder that. If it was a cinema conversion then take extreme care in disturbing that back wall at all. There was a period in history when loose blue asbestos was used to provide a fire barrier between the projection room and auditorium. If you ever disturb that wall and find something that looks like blue pocket-fluff, or the fluff you might find in the lint filter of a tumble dryer or vacuum cleaner then it may be asbestos and the hole should be covered with tape immediately pending further investigation (or hush-up as the case may be.)

[Ryan Lawrence]

Robert Juliat's seem to be a bit out of our budget, but it would be amazing to have some kick ass profiles.

The roof space is about 1.5 meters high however the safety guy was concerned that that the structure would not be able to hold the weight of a lighting bar plus fixtures. I saw them holes before and asked.

And you are right bigclive! The theatre started out as a theatre then it was converted into a cinema and then back to the theatre it is today. Don't worry we don't have any plans to touch the back wall.

 

Ryan