Just a Newbie at all this lampy stuff....... What do you think...?

[Uriahdemon]

Hi Folks,

 

I am reasonably new to this lampy stuff but working with a cracking GENESIS tribute who seem to be OK with what I am providing.

 

Mostly the venues are small and I take along a ground package which you can see in the video. There is very little chance (at this stage) of venues we play to having more fixtures for me to hook in to so this is it for now.

 

I am just wondering what you more experienced folks would consider changing/amending/updating in fixtures/programming etc. The desk is a Zero88 FLX on which I have two wings..... all comments much appreciated..... proud but not so proud of the outcomes as yet.

 

 

Rgds

 

Mac

[Stuart91]

Genesis were the first band to use moving/automated lights.

 

I'd start by looking though videos of the band in concert and try find looks and ideas from there that you can imitate. Even if you don't have the kit on hand to faithfully replicate it, having the general feel and ambience can help a lot.

[kerry davies]

The band seem happy enough and no punters have mentioned the lights which is in my book a huge compliment, the lights are illuminating the band and are not themselves the focus of attention.

 

Genesis were major shareholders in Varilite having been instigators and part of the development of them. You are not going to replicate their shows especially as they were selling $5M worth of tickets for one-night gigs back then. You can however steal ideas as Stuart suggests.

 

I like the single-colour wash effects but would choose hazers rather than smokers and would encourage you to play more with things to personalise and create your own style. The final tip is not to diminish yourself, plenty out there to do that for you. Be proud of the show but remember, nobody ever bought a ticket to a Patrick Woodroffe show even when he was pointing lights at Genesis themselves.

[Junior8]

It seems fine to me. It didn't detract from the music you could see everything, maybe it was a bit too blue for me but in general I thought it did and you did a good job. Keep it this simple. I can't speak for the music - Genesis never did anything for me.

 

Simple isn't fashionable of course but you need to remember there are some of us old enough to recall the introduction of what used back in the day to be called 'light shows' when I think too often they were used to detract attention from the compulsory drum solo* and endless noodling by mediocre lead guitarists sadly influenced by Cream amongst others. (Anybody out there who can still listen to sides 3&4 of Wheels of Fire in one sitting without terminal boredom setting in? I can't sadly.)

 

Personally the increasing use of lighting in concerts in the seventies and eighties put me off rather - as a punter - if I'd been the other side of the curtain though rather think I might have displayed a different attitude.

 

*Years ago in one of the music papers there was a cartoon of a drummer starting up while the rest of the band left the stage - as they always did - but were picked up by limo and went for weeks holiday in the med returning to find him still crashing away. Trust me so often it felt like that! It's like double bass solos in jazz unless you are Cleveland Eaton

Edited November 5, 2019 by Junior8

[paulears]

I wonder how a ground package will work because you have an awful lot of stuff on the floor? maybe you could consider some tank trap plates with some small size truss of various heights with some useful stuff on them. Simple to cart around and erect? Gets the lights to a point in space where they can point up, out or down? I'm thinking of some where you have the stands, and then maybe some others gradually going lower or higher to give a nice look to the stage when the lights are off. Maybe you could even uplight the truss verticals from the ground, that would be another nice trick.

[Uriahdemon]

Thanks....

Genesis were the first band to use moving/automated lights.

 

I'd start by looking though videos of the band in concert and try find looks and ideas from there that you can imitate. Even if you don't have the kit on hand to faithfully replicate it, having the general feel and ambience can help a lot.

 

Thanks Kerry, I am entirely aware my role is to perhaps enhance the show a little. It is actually a Hazer (Chauvet Hurricane) but I have changed that now for a Smoke Factory Tour.

The band seem happy enough and no punters have mentioned the lights which is in my book a huge compliment, the lights are illuminating the band and are not themselves the focus of attention.

 

Genesis were major shareholders in Varilite having been instigators and part of the development of them. You are not going to replicate their shows especially as they were selling $5M worth of tickets for one-night gigs back then. You can however steal ideas as Stuart suggests.

 

I like the single-colour wash effects but would choose hazers rather than smokers and would encourage you to play more with things to personalise and create your own style. The final tip is not to diminish yourself, plenty out there to do that for you. Be proud of the show but remember, nobody ever bought a ticket to a Patrick Woodroffe show even when he was pointing lights at Genesis themselves.

 

Thanks, I am all for 'Less is More' I must admit to being at a huge production last year which really disappointed me namely there were loads of lampy toys and they were on all the time....... it was too much.

It seems fine to me. It didn't detract from the music you could see everything, maybe it was a bit too blue for me but in general I thought it did and you did a good job. Keep it this simple. I can't speak for the music - Genesis never did anything for me.

 

Simple isn't fashionable of course but you need to remember there are some of us old enough to recall the introduction of what used back in the day to be called 'light shows' when I think too often they were used to detract attention from the compulsory drum solo* and endless noodling by mediocre lead guitarists sadly influenced by Cream amongst others. (Anybody out there who can still listen to sides 3&4 of Wheels of Fire in one sitting without terminal boredom setting in? I can't sadly.)

 

Personally the increasing use of lighting in concerts in the seventies and eighties put me off rather - as a punter - if I'd been the other side of the curtain though rather think I might have displayed a different attitude.

 

*Years ago in one of the music papers there was a cartoon of a drummer starting up while the rest of the band left the stage - as they always did - but were picked up by limo and went for weeks holiday in the med returning to find him still crashing away. Trust me so often it felt like that! It's like double bass solos in jazz unless you are Cleveland Eaton

 

Thanks Paul, I have tank traps/plates and other Global Truss parts and we are looking at how this can be done better. I too think the tripod sat centre is a pretty ugly piece of kit.

I wonder how a ground package will work because you have an awful lot of stuff on the floor? maybe you could consider some tank trap plates with some small size truss of various heights with some useful stuff on them. Simple to cart around and erect? Gets the lights to a point in space where they can point up, out or down? I'm thinking of some where you have the stands, and then maybe some others gradually going lower or higher to give a nice look to the stage when the lights are off. Maybe you could even uplight the truss verticals from the ground, that would be another nice trick.

[Don Allen]

I use a 6m DJ style lighting truss behind the drummer with 6 18x12W led par's on it for backlight for a lot of the shows I do , as a similar look to PAR 64's. Can only take lightweight movers, I use 2 Hosen BeeEyes that are 19x12W 4in1 that weigh 8KG. I usually focus 2 led's on the drummer and the other 4 on the rest of the band. I have 6 5KG shot bags on the legs for extra stability.

[kitlane]

Genesis were the first band to use moving/automated lights.

 

 

Maybe for moving heads (although I'm not certain) but not for automated lights in general. As others have stated, Genesis funded the development of Vari*Lites and were the first band to use them but there were others before that.

 

The example that springs to mind is 'Grand Funk Railroad'. In 1972 Stefan Graf and Jim Fackert created the 'Cyklops' which was a moving mirror device with pan, tilt, zoom, iris, strobing shutter, and 6 colours.