I know Nothing ... There I said it...

Wlecome to Da Fourm sorry no one has answerd your post yet and i have been gone for a long time.

Well fist off try looking at some par-cans and a controller. you can't get much with $500 but its a start. You will need dimmer packs to dim the lights and fade them and a controller to control all the par cans.

Hope that helps alitte

-DJ-Sound

Also use our amazing Search feature. Countless newbie topics dealing with lightings have been discussed.
i'm sure they will be worth ur time!

Controller ? which one.... What size cans ?

I know there are a lot of posts... I just don't have a lot of time to "wade" through them all.

A specific product or list would be best... Your the expert....

or a couple ideas . . . . any thing...

PLEASE ?????

i would get a 16 or 24 channel dimmer for your parcans.

you may need to go to this theatre site... and hopefully the link works and helps.

Control Boards
and the parcans...
Lighting

and if you need to know where to buy the equipment from... just click this link and type in your ZIP code and it should pull up your local DJ seller stores.

GaryB, I can definatly help you. Send me an e-mail, MuellerMusicPro@Aol.com

I've got a list on what I think you should get.

GaryB,

Like DJ Sound mentioned, your best bet is to go with a small Par Can system.

FIXTURES

I would suggest using a Par-56 'Special 'fixture. They are generally shipped with a 600 watt DYS lamp kit. The Par-64 is also generally shipped with the same 600w lamp... this means you get the same output power for less cash.

At the bare minumum you are going to want to have 4 fixtures for frontlight. You could easily use a small lightstand to hold these Pars, ADJ makes several. For what you're putting on there, the cheapest one is fine.

You would position each stand one one side of the venue, facing the stage. You would want these at about 20' away from the stage. You would focus (or 'aim') the fixtures at the stage. It's best to try to hit performers at a 45 degree angle, both laterally and horizontally.

As for color, it's a good idea to use a warm/cool color scheme. This allows you to crossfade between basic atmospheres as well as light the show with a more interestingly, as opposed to just hitting the performers with flat white.

You might also consider using a 3rd Par on each stand. You could use this in plain white to add 'punch' if the colored fixtures don't put enough emphasis on certain show elements.

Pars with DYS lamps gernerally have a fairly narrow beam spread. If you want more of a wash, purchase "diffusion" or "frost" gel. This will diffuse the beam's edges as well as spread it out a bit more.

CONTROL

If at all possible, I would suggest using something called DMX-512 Protocol. Essentialy this is the MIDI of Lighting. If you're familiar with MIDI DMX will be easy to understand. With DMX you give devices a digital address. The control board outpus signal over satndard microphone cable to all devices in a 'daisy chain' fasion.

DMX allows you to easily expand. It also allows you to use (or upgrade to) controllers with several features which which will come in handy dwon the road.

The other option is called Analog Control. This method uses a basic control board which outputs 0-10 volts to devices. This method is somewhat cheaper but is difficult to expand and offers less feature overall.

DIMMING

At this point you're probably confused as to how the small digital or analog signal powers these massive fixtures. This converision is performed by devices know as dimmer packs. These packs are hung with your lights on the stand. They have several outlets into which you plug your lights. There are also the control In's and Out's as well as the addressing interface.

Many examples of the above can be found by browsing ADJ's main website.

Feel free to ask any questions...
-Griffin

Griffen,

Diffusion? Soft Gels.........

Just get real fraekin' par lamps. MFL and WFL's work great. It costs a bit more to get into but skp the Par 56 "special" and for for a par 56 with real lamps.

Joe

Hey Gary.....

Exactly what kind of a show are you doing? Theater type you said, then High Energy Dance.... bloacklights. Also, is this a one time event or a permenant installation?

If you want to see some of this equipment in action give me an e-mail joe@shoestringproductions.org you're not very far away we could probably meet up sometime if you like.

Joe

...i myself would take a different approach, useing the 500 do this

150 truss(40 shipping)
70 small fog machine
100 mystic
30 switch panel
100 aggressor
the rest on a mirror ball, motor and 2 small cans or pin spots.

more is better when you have a budget

but you can't fade the mystic or agressor, only turn them on or off

megastever.....um lets see....he is on a budget right? its not a perfect world. if it was he would run a system of mac 250's and 500's i am fully aware that you cannot dim them, that is why i had a power panel listed as a piece of equipment. please try and be a bit more constructive/helpful

quote:

Originally posted by GaryB:
[qb]Need to be able to fade lights in and out, [/qb]

i was only trying to be helpful, all i did was repeat what garyb said

i recommend the stage desk 16. i played w/ it a lil and in my opinion it brings all of your par can needs under one good controller as well as giving you the ability to hook other lights up to it via different relay packs.