stuartglen Posted October 9, 2005 Author Share Posted October 9, 2005 so you are suggesting I get something like an ex demo mac 200/250, ok. Is there any particular lighting desk youi would suggest for controlling the macs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 so you are suggesting I get something like an ex demo mac 200/250, ok.No, what most of us are suggesting is that you, and your school need to be asking yourselves some very searching questions as to whether you want or need movers at all. They may seem like a panacea at the moment, but they could very easily become 'white-elephants'. Very nice to look at, but carry a huge cost to maintain. Ask your head-of-drama or equivalent what his annual maintenance budget is... Hmm, thought so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartglen Posted October 9, 2005 Author Share Posted October 9, 2005 how much would a mac 250 cost to maintain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac.calder Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 Well first there are bubbles - they are not cheap, and have a very limited life - a long life globe is about 3000 hours. A 250W regular life MSD lamp (which is what the mac250's take) is about AU$300. For a generic fixture, I have had their lamps last well beyond their lamp life before blowing, some I estimate have had over 4 times the listed lamp hours before blowing - and when they do, it is rarely a big deal. With a mover, you really have to replace the bubble when the hour counter says to - a blown bubble in a mover can seriously screw the thing up, Then there is wear and tear on the motors which causes failure. Basically, for every moving part, you add more room for screwups. There is a hell of a lot of electronics in them - and as with most electronics, the PSU is a weak point. They should also be lubricated, the lenses cleaned etc etc etc. In short - how much can it cost - A LOT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dweeks Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 See this is exactly what I meant last night, you really are not listening to people who know what they're talking about ... there are people on here, pro LD's who are giving you advice and you are so hell-bent on wasting your school's money you're ignoring them and sticking your head in the sand!! We are NOT suggesting you buy mac 250s, or mac 2000s or robes... we are suggesting that you don't. We suggest you go to your drama teacher or headteacher and ask him/what she feels is right for the show. Hopefully he will realise that cheap disco movers will be totally unsuitable for most productions, whilst the running costs, and actual usefulness of a Mac would be totally daft. It really sounds to me like you are hellbent on getting these movers for no reason - as many of us have said, Scanners make appalling followspots and to be honest you'd be better off with a well designed front wash from generics than a cobbled attempt at a followspot. Please, listen to our advice, if you still want to waste money then fine, but for gods sake, talk to your drama people and see what they feel is necessary... sit down and work out the pro's and cons of each system (be honest), and give it to the drama people so they can decide. Let me guess your next post:"So ur suggesting we buy mac 250s or 2000s?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niclights Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 I've skimmed through this so appologies if I am repeating. I'm sorry, but I agree with what most are saying - don't go there! All moving lights are complicated and require a great deal of maintainance. They require constant monitoring and cleaning, the bulbs are expensive and delicate. Even the most expensive ones go wrong often, especially moving heads. If you can't undertake repairs yourself then this is going to be costly, including transport! The cheaper fixtures have terrible service/parts availability. Units such as Goldenscans are incredibly heavy - two person lift, and very old. Would you even be able to rig this weight? I have experience with Futurelights & I would not recommend to anyone. Moving lights were never designed to be used as followspots & are a disaster to use as such. There are many lights designed to do particular jobs. Less than four movers IMO is a waste of money. They will just look like you bought them to look cool. As many have said already, moving lights and lately LED fixtures are all too often used just because they are the latest thing. Personally I think this is a terrible way to go about lighting design. I have many moving fixtures but I quite happily turn them off and just use generics if I feel they are not appropriate. If you are requiring nice gobo projection etc. then your money would be much better spent on some profiles & gobos! This may all sound like we are being negative, but we really are trying to help! This advice is coming from people who do this for a living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 what I meant was that the plays are designed on the basis of having at least one intelligent light to act as a follow spot. The way our hall is set up, there is no place to have a conventional follow spot so what I am looking for is a scanner or moving head that can act as a follow spot and "look cool" when a disco or rock gig is on. How often do you have shows and how long will it take you to get the money back? I have looked at your school site and couldn't find any hall pictures but can you not use scaff tower or such for follows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartglen Posted October 9, 2005 Author Share Posted October 9, 2005 I didn't think of using the scaf tower as a place to put a followspot, that would probaly work wery well, do you have a suggestion for a followspot that would be used for a 10-20 meter throw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spantax Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 See this is exactly what I meant last night, you really are not listening to people who know what they're talking about ... there are people on here, pro LD's who are giving you advice and you are so hell-bent on wasting your school's money you're ignoring them and sticking your head in the sand!! We are NOT suggesting you buy mac 250s, or mac 2000s or robes... we are suggesting that you don't. We suggest you go to your drama teacher or headteacher and ask him/what she feels is right for the show. Hopefully he will realise that cheap disco movers will be totally unsuitable for most productions, whilst the running costs, and actual usefulness of a Mac would be totally daft. It really sounds to me like you are hellbent on getting these movers for no reason - as many of us have said, Scanners make appalling followspots and to be honest you'd be better off with a well designed front wash from generics than a cobbled attempt at a followspot. Please, listen to our advice, if you still want to waste money then fine, but for gods sake, talk to your drama people and see what they feel is necessary... sit down and work out the pro's and cons of each system (be honest), and give it to the drama people so they can decide. Let me guess your next post:"So ur suggesting we buy mac 250s or 2000s?" I'm sorry, but I just have to ask: What the hell do you get so worked up about?? (I'm probabley gone get banned for swearring, but I think it's in its place!!!!) You act like he is trying to spend YOUR money! Give it a rest alreaddy!!!! There are others here who have ofered him advice in a nice sensible way, but from reading the tread, all I can se from you is just a bad aditude! I don't meen to slam you in any way, but it's enough now! Please give it a rest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 Enough, people. No need to argue or name-call. Lots of "yous" floating around in this thread. Don't make me come in there and sort it out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dweeks Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 See this is exactly what I meant last night, you really are not listening to people... I'm sorry, but I just have to ask: What the hell do you get so worked up about??... I was frustrated because, if you read, no-matter what advice people are giving, this guy is simply not listening. I am annoyed that people take the time to try and advise someone inexperienced, but that person then has the rudeness to not seem to even take their points of view into consideration. I may have been a bit angry at that, and I apologise if I was rude, but I still feel that anyone who asks for advice should at least consider the view and not just stay hell-bent on the same course! Another edit for Quote Function Abuse. Can we get the discussion back on topic now, please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartglen Posted October 9, 2005 Author Share Posted October 9, 2005 I'm sorry for ingoring some of your advice, I now understand you point having looked at the "moving heads as followspots" thread, could you please give me some advice for a decent followspot to be used in my hall with about a 15m throw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 Assuming that you're stage rig isn't huge; you would probablyget away with a 1200W incandescent lantern. Selecon used to make a Chorus followspot that I have in a school theatre and it's fine. There are many out there to choose from. You could look to second hand and the old 2kW Strand 293s or the halogen bi-pin version (793?) but these are MUCH bigger. There is someone in the BR who seems desperate to get rid of some Robert Juliat Foxies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartglen Posted October 9, 2005 Author Share Posted October 9, 2005 are foxies good? what about a 1kw strand solo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 CSI or incandescent? If CSI, then yes, and some! If not then maybe... Does anyone know off-hand if it could be fitted with a 2kW lamp? Never seen a 1kW Solo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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