paulears Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 This is pure guesswork, but between the lines I'm getting the impression that the drama teacher doesn't know anything about lighting. So any decisions probably get made for wrong reasons. One of the local schools I look after have a decent budget for their shows and hire in kit from Viking. The trouble is, there isn't anyone competent to work it. Programming a Frog/Avo/Strand is simply out of the question. A followspot and parcans do seem more operator friendly, but need to be justified by the teacher to his/her colleagues. I'm looking after 3 schools 200 miles away who have the opposite problem. the head realises the lighting needs replacing/renovating, the governors agree, but the drama teacher doesn't see the need. They should do a swap with Hanley Castle High School! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 Maintaining a follow spot is easy, so long as you don't take the iris apart! Clean the lenses every-so-offen and keep the bolts tight. However, in the light of a few of the recent comments, the relamping cost could hurt! Stage Electric list price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartglen Posted October 9, 2005 Author Share Posted October 9, 2005 expensive, got a better suggestion for a followspot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dweeks Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 Definitley think you may be better off hiring a followspot re: price . Although having said that, it will have a 1000 hour lamp life; thats a lot of shows if you look after it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartglen Posted October 9, 2005 Author Share Posted October 9, 2005 I meant a better suggestion for a second hand one to buy eg from aclight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dweeks Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 Ok then, spoon feed time obviously.... How about looking through the AC Lighting catalogue? Something tells me theres a lot in there! bare in mind the AC schools discount. Or try bargains http://www.aclighting.com/bargains/bargain...sp?cat=Lighting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 Right, having waded through the quagmire that is this topic, I'll just chip in with one or two bits of advice. Stuart, you asked if a Foxie was any good. Yes, it is. Any followspot by Robert Juliat is a fab piece of kit, and for the throw you have in mind the Foxie would be ideal. Designing the lighting for a show around a specific item of equipment is, as others have said, the wrong way to go about it. Just because you have, say, a follow-spot, you don't have to use it in every production. It sounds like your school has got a reasonable selection of kit - use it wisely. If you really want to provide some sort of semi-permanent facility for positioning a follow-spot, why not think about attaching a spot platform to the back wall of the venue? As long as the wall is structurally capable of supporting such a thing, and you get it installed properly, it'll be a far more workable solution than a scaff tower - it'll be safer, more secure, you can still use the floor space below it for seats or a sound desk, and you may be able to achieve a higher spot position than you could from a scaff tower. You also need to pay attention to what people are telling you - all the way through the five (!) pages of this topic, I keep noticing that people are giving you excellent advice, which you seem to be ignoring as evidenced by the fact that you're asking a lot of unnecessary questions. When you ask a question, think it through before posting (i.e. if you're looking for a second-hand followspot, say so from the outset ; if someone says " be aware that you can't dim a discharge spot", don't follow it up by asking what would happen if you ran it through a dimmer!), then give people some time to post some answers (don't jump straight back into the topic in after every single response), and then take heed of those answers. If you have any further questions as a result, then that's fine - but please try to save them up a little bit and then post a few at once, rather than making lots and lots and lots of tiny posts that you haven't really thought through properly. As the saying goes - engage brain before applying hand to keyboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac.calder Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 BTW: If your school is obsessed with getting movers for the sake of gobos and colour changing, suggest to them that they get colour changers and gobo rotators. I faced a school drama teacher who had just developed a nice obsession with movers the other day - said that the fact they would not have to change gels, and could have those 'cool rotating effects' made them ideal. So I dragged him down to a lighting hire place I know quite well, took him out the back and showed him these colour changers and some gobo rotators. Sold instantly - especially after we pulled out a desk and showed him how to use a mover properly (Fat Frog). There are some really nice, rather cheap (relative to their pre decessors) colour changers with CMY mixing - I should be getting a catalogue sent to me in a few days, so I will quote prices then... What I have taken to doing, and what I have found sways most pen pushers in the education system, is talking to where you shop and getting the exact same equiptment as you wish to purchase - excluding all the things that you don't need - like black extension leads and weilands, and adding a few trees if necessary - for an afternoon and running a demo evening. Usually, I will put the purchase through with one comapany - they provide a much better discount that way - and often, they will not ask a hire fee if they know that they may make a sale. Then I can then show them everything. In the cases where I KNOW they are going to ask about moving lights, I usually say something along the lines of "Whilst moving lights are great, and have come along way in a short time, the current need for movers, combined with the price to maintain means that I do not think them suitable, although this desk does support up to X movers if you wish to purchase them at a later date" or if the desk doesnt, I show them the price of a desk that does. Usually, the pens start signing the purchase orders. Remember, if you are pricing everything, often the purchase prices are high, so you will probably need to provide 3 quotes for roughly the same kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dweeks Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 Wise Words, going to a company like AC is a great start. They'll be able to advise, maybe with a site visit. Bare in mind you're school'll be happier if a pro company install stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niclights Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 Given your budget I would buy simple dimmable lamps, either Pars, Fresnels, PC Beams, or Profiles (ie Patt 23) so you can use gobos. These are easy to maintain (metal box + lamp/lamp holder!), will work forever and don't need complicated desks/controllers to run them.Aside from cost, complexity and reliability, moving lights don't particularly suit much of the live music that they are used on, let alone theatre/drama. Give AC a call & discuss your ideas and budget. They are very friendly helpful people and a company that don't care whether you are buying one light bulb or 200 Macs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac.calder Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 Profiles (ie Patt 23) Um... Patt23s are probably not a good example of a profile - they are rather unique in their looks - then there is the fact you will not be able to buy patt23's except from a junk sale, their optics are sh!te, and their light output is - on the whole - disapointing. For low budget, you probably want to go with kuppo or ETC 25/50 zoom profiles - they are low end, fairly standard things. There is also prolite, but IMO their build quality and ventilation is a bit 'so so'. For your fresnels and pc's, someone like LDR I think. Have a look at Multipar's, they are cheap (< AU$200), built like brick sh!t houses, and are really simple things - you can change lenses from small, to medium to large. It means you only need one type of par bubble, instead of having a range. It does all depend on your supplier though - each has their own brands. The above though are my favorites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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