Tripar LED lights for live MMA event

Hi there,

Which specific models are you looking at? If you're looking at the Flat Par Tri series, going off of what you've said so far, easily several dozen of these would be needed. They only have 3W LEDs and thus won't be very bright or come anywhere close to what you want for that size of a stage. They also don't have dedicated white in them, so your 'whites' will really be more like a pale blue or pink. You'll get much better performance out of the 10W Quad LED Units, but even still, for a stage of that size I wouldn't use any fewer than 12 (in pairs of two at each corner).

What are you doing for trussing? If you can only get one height, I'd suggest rigging the truss so the lights shoot at about 45 degrees to the talent. Ideally, you want to shoot from multiple angles (30/45/60) and directions to minimize holes and facial shadows. A lot of this is up to personal preference though (and what's available to use), so be sure to set aside plenty of time for testing and adjusting.

What's your budget? The TV shows you want to look like also have a budget, though I'm sure they have a few more zeros than you do. Just to give you clear and fair warning, if you want that professional 'TV look', be prepared to pay for it. What's used in the professional market costs money! Seeing that you say this is a live event, will this be filmed professionally? Lower budget LED lights don't play too well with cameras sometimes. Hope this helps!

The more research I am doing the more I see that maybe regular PAR can 64s with 1000w bulbs in them would be cheaper and better option. We only do these events 6 times a year. If I used those then could I get away with having them on parallel sides of the cage? If so, how many would need to be on each side? I know we would want to angle each one slightly different.

We are trying to see if we can hang the truss from the ceiling using a pulley system. If that is the case then we could potentially hang it anywhere from 15 feet above the stage to 30 (height of the ceiling). What would you suggest god height above stage for 45 degree angle?

I would say our budget can be upwards of $3k to spend on buying lights and rigging equipment.

Thanks for the help!

Nic

Halogen Pars are a good idea so long as you have the power for them. I generally use around 8-12 500W PAR 64s and 16-36 250W PAR 38s at the majority of my live shows, plus movers and effects as the event requires. While the 1000W Pars are very nice, you might want to look at the 500W versions instead, the reason being you'll have an easier time finding budget dimmers that can handle a 500W load on each channel versus those that can handle 1K. There are also some 575W Pars on the market that are in a league of their own, but they also cost about 4 times that of a 500W model...

The obvious drawback with the halogens besides heat and power is that you'll have to gel the lights in appropriate colors, and short of using a scroller you can only pick one color per can. I'd suggest using 2x 500W Par 64s plus 4x 250W Par 38s per 'group'. That can live happily on one 20A circuit so long as nothing else is on it and you're using a dimmer rated to 20A total load. Gel your 64s light colors and put your bolder colors in the 38s. If it were me, I'd do a group on all 6 sides for symmetry, but if you don't have the budget and/or power you can get away with 3 if need be.

I'll trust that your rigging system is up to the task for this. How high above the stage you need to go depends on how far away from the stage your rigging points are. If they're 25ft back, put your truss about 25ft up. If you can't be as flexible, just do what most do and point the lights at the talent

You can do this for 3k, though it'll be a little tight. What do you plan to use for a controller? Do you have any existing equipment or will you need to buy everything (lights, dimmers, controller, cable, clamps, gels, etc.)? Power and rigging add up fast, and gels aren't cheap either. Luckily, there are some good package deals on the market which can really help you out.

I realize this reply is probably too late to address your event. That said, there are a couple of questions YOU still need to answer before anyone gives you an estimate of what light and how many lights and equally important, do you have liability insurance to protect the lighting contractor or will they need to provide their own?

Here are some issues I came up with:

You mentioned you want tri par lights, but if it were me, I would also want some white LED fixtures for added visibility...color for mood and excitement...white lights to see the participant's faces.

I can light a typical 16x16 "club" stage for a live band performance with a minimum of four ADJ Flat Par Tri18X LED fixtures...I would feel a lot better with six or eight such fixtures. These lights would be best served if place approximately 12-14 feet above the floor of the "cage".

HOWEVER for your event, that 12-14 feet above the floor of the cage is within "reach" of a participant if they were to jump or be thrown or simply climb the cage. If I were to contract that event, I would want my lights no less than 8 feet above the top of the cage which probably puts the lighting trusses at least 20-24 feet above the floor of the cage and starts to impact the amount of light that reaches the participants. I can also just envision the light truss being ripped from the structure it is chained or bolted to and falling on the cage causing significant injury...so, my fee will include the special event liability insurance that I have to get...

This is beginning to look very costly to me...

How many fixtures...hmmm, probably around 12 Tri18X RGB fixtures and around 9 CWWW18 white fixtures. At 5 meters above the floor the Tri18X throwing a 40 degree angle beam, you will get about 120 Lux in a circle about 15 meters in diameter. I suspect you are looking for a more intense saturation of color and visibility lighting.

Did you want this TV studio brightness or something "less" than that?

I am curious if you found a local contractor and what their rate was for your event?

I would probably pass on the opportunity to work with you.