lighting dance nights - help please

[Ben Lawrance]

An example was suggested by someone above to let Mr Abstract do his lightshow.

 

If you read my post, it says that if it is kids then this is what I suggest.

 

As the OP hasn't come back to us to tell us what the event is, then we are only guessing that is is a club for adults.

 

 

Kids (well, the majority of) don't know the differance, and that is why I use a simple set up, especially as it is a mobile rig.

[dosxuk]

Sorry, should have added that there's a time and place for all types of lighting, I've used Abstract gear in S2L many times. I would still say it was bad lighting, but where people have no expectations, or the facilities are not available it is sometimes the best that can be done.

[Just Some Bloke]

Ok. You dont need anything more than uv

 

A perfect example of why we prefer fully written words on the Blue Room.

 

Your post which originally reads as "you only need some Ultra-violet lights", turns out on second reading (having found the next bit doesn't make sense) to mean "you don't need anything more than you've got".

 

Had "you've" been written properly (along with "your" and "you're" later) it would have made a lot more sense at first reading!

 

Put me down with the other 94% of Blue Room members (see this poll) who prefer fully-written words in a technical forum. :huh:

[greenalien]

I've never been to a dance show socially

Do your homework - go clubbing! :huh:

 

A good club LX op works as hard as the DJ - it's all about creating - and maintaining - atmosphere. Pulsing, flashing lighting for the hectic parts of the music, slow sweeps for the breakdowns; for some styles of music, eg drum'n bass, your customers may prefer the lighting quite dark; on the other hand, for lighter, 'fluffy' house and trance styles, brighter can be better. You need to be proficient at using your desk in 'busking' mode; just pre-programming everything will soon look repetitive and boring. You might consider adding a couple of U/V (blacklight) cannons and a couple of strobes to your rig. Above all, it should be fun.

[Ynot]

<sighs>

 

This is another example of a new poster jumping in, asking a question, ne'er to be seen/heard of again...

 

I still maintain all the response are academic without better info from the OP, so I'm going to suggest the mods close this one.

[Bobbsy]

Moderation: Agreed. Without further information, this topic is going around in speculative circles with a bit of the traditional "text speak debate thrown in for good measure. Therefore, this topic will be closed for the time being. If the original poster wishes to come back with further information and clarification, please contact the moderating team and we can re-open this for you.

[penguinchick]

firstly, thanks to all who posted on my original topic and apologies for the delay in getting back to you all, I've only just managed to get internet access at home.

 

the venue is a rock venue with a stage to the front, and the foh sound & lights to the back. the dance nights in question are run by a particular promoter & aswell as the lighting for effect, he also has a couple of guys running visuals on two big screens to the left and right of the dj (who is on decks). coloured par cans run around the two sides and the back of the stage and the front is all open white for the rock/alternative bands. a new addition to the rig is four led cans at the front of the stage and 8 around the walls of the venue to colour the walls and provide some houselight. these are not used on band nights but tend to go down well on dance nights.

 

I would definately not describe these shows as raves but that maybe because I still think of masses of e'd out punters in a barn with lots of techno when I think of a rave. these are better described as club nights where a relatively well known dj is brought in as a headline act and some of the locals do a set or two before him/her.

 

I tend to keep the pars down to about 50% for washes & go lower if things get heavier onstage. the punters seem to like strobes, I feel like it's overkill alot of the time but like I say, I'm not doing this very long. also, the leds are very distracting & I always get the feeling that someone's forgotton to turn the lights off in the wings when they're on.

 

anyway, thanks again for the input, I appreciate it & now I'm off to watch that video. :)

 

Moderation: Threads merged, original thread re-opened since the OP has come back with the additional information that had been requested. Keep it businesslike, folks!

[mark_s]

Looking on Youtube might give you a good idea of what constitutes good club lighting (and bad club lighting), and will give you somewhere to start. I agree with what other people have said though - it depends a lot on the style of music being played. For example I'd associate DnB with dark moody lighting in 'dark' saturated colours, like saturated greens. For Trance I'd go more for 'vibrant' sorts of colours, with breakdowns being darker and more atmospheric.

 

Another thing I'd consider is not overusing anything, especially strobing. It gets boring fast, and is best reserved for those really emotional moments like the drop of a massive tune.

 

Regards,

Mark

[norty303]

This was a show done by someone I know a couple of weeks ago, he always seems to put on a good 'show' and it gives a good idea of movement and use of chases between sets of lights. admittedly he has a lot of movers to play with but you can achieve the same sort of thing with banks of pars

 

 

I particularly liked thetilt giving the 'drop' into the beat again. there's a couple more from the same night too if you look in the related links. I think the blinders were Martin atomics and are nice fx other than just strobes. These parties are predominantly big DJ's and acts with a focus on the stage so not too dissimilar to what you're describing

[Jamtastic3]

For example I'd associate DnB with dark moody lighting in 'dark' saturated colours, like saturated greens.

 

Another thing I'd consider is not overusing anything, especially strobing. It gets boring fast, and is best reserved for those really emotional moments like the drop of a massive tune.

 

Regards,

Mark

 

Ha, that's funny. I usually light DnB nights with dark tones throughout most of the night but love to throw in a good quantity of open white or yellow around the room. Strobing though for DnB.... well you can't help but use it alot, especially for the roll drops! :)

[penguinchick]

the club is called deep fried funk (supposedly emphasis on the funk) but they bring all sorts in really. the last big one was alloy mental (there is some footage of this on youtube alright but it's such terrible quality there's no point in even showing it)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA_-5wSZIZc

 

this is mr c from the previous one. there's not much of it but it should give some idea of the size of the stage & fixture location if anyone's interested. we were down two macs for cleaning during this show but that's been done so we should have them back for next time.

[avdavesound]

I've never been to a dance show socially

Do your homework - go clubbing! :)

 

A good club LX op works as hard as the DJ - it's all about creating - and maintaining - atmosphere. Pulsing, flashing lighting for the hectic parts of the music, slow sweeps for the breakdowns; for some styles of music, eg drum'n bass, your customers may prefer the lighting quite dark; on the other hand, for lighter, 'fluffy' house and trance styles, brighter can be better. You need to be proficient at using your desk in 'busking' mode; just pre-programming everything will soon look repetitive and boring. You might consider adding a couple of U/V (blacklight) cannons and a couple of strobes to your rig. Above all, it should be fun.

I agree with green alien on the above quote, A good lx op works as hard as the dj constantly busking and listening for changes. also I thing lighting is very important doesn't matter how drunk or stoned punters are its an important part of the club experience!! also your next hire job might come from the sober guy in the suit standing in the corner. when it comes to club nights promoters are spending nearly more on lights than sound I've a big hard house gig next week and lisa lashes/anne savage are playing and I'm supplying over 30 robe 575 scans and heads a few studio due cs4's and a 3w laser if I get a chance ill try and get a few video clips.

[Jamtastic3]

avdavesound, I'm glad your getting alot of kit for that gig. (I wasn't there but) I remember when Lisa Lashes came to Edinburgh to do a popular trance night at a well known 800 cap. venue and all they had were 2 x 1200W moving heads. One on one colour, the other on a gobo, ballyhoo-ing all night. That's five hours btw!

 

Hey, you can't help but notice bad lighting like that!!!

[avdavesound]

all they had were 2 x 1200W moving heads. One on one colour, the other on a gobo, ballyhoo-ing all night. That's five hours btw!

 

Hey, you can't help but notice bad lighting like that!

 

ya thats bad ! that would drive me nuts

[penguinchick]

all they had were 2 x 1200W moving heads. One on one colour, the other on a gobo, ballyhoo-ing all night. That's five hours btw!

 

Hey, you can't help but notice bad lighting like that!

 

ya thats bad ! that would drive me nuts

 

even I know that's bad, if I tried that with this lot I'd be fired but I've still quite a ways to go, which is why I'm here.

insofar as the "do your homework" bit, I would try that except what we have is quite unusual, most other venues around are purpose built nightclubs with automated lights, I don't even know where to find another place with a stage & an lx engineer. the videos are good tho, very helpful.