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[Roy-Kristian Storbæk]

Opening a bar here in Osaka Japan and since everything is tiny (roughly 5x6 meters in my case) I'm looking for advice on what to get for party lighting. I'm rather inexperienced in this field so I'll likely also ask about necessary controllers and adapters later as well.

First of all I was considering an ADJ Starburst centerpiece and a ground fogger.
Lasers are cool but again I don't know how they fare in small spaces, plus they might annoy customers with their brightness. At the end of the day it's a bar and not a live house after all.

Any advice you could give me would be appreciated. The place is currently under construction so I can't get you pictures but I have drawings I could upload once I get home.

[Mac Kerr]

Opening a bar here in Osaka

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Mac

[Len Zenith Jr]

 Lighting a room is all about creating a theme. Your vision for the room and your customers expectations come into play here. Sometimes less is more, sometimes you want information overload. Do you want a relaxing mood that is easy on the eyes, or are you looking to add energy to an all out dance party or something in between?

The basics are you start with wash lighting. These are your colored lights, led strip lighting under coves, uplighting, uv lights, etc. This sets the brightness level and the mood of the room. After that you can add movement with moving heads, or the mirror ball type light you mentioned or other slowly moving fixtures. Finally add texture, derby type lights, lasers, etc do that. Then there are also effect lights that aren't normally on, but used sparingly to add to the excitement. Things like strobes, snow, bubbles, etc fall into this category. Finally you want a controller to control and program everything.

Your budget for the room will dictate how elaborate of a set up you can go. I'd start with wash lighting and get that looking good before adding in the movement and texture lights. Wash lighting is your canvas for everything else.

Lights like these can do wash and movement at the same time. 4 of them and a controller would be a good start. Uplighting can also look very good in a room with a controller. Your imagination and $$ are all you need.

[Roy-Kristian Storbæk]

Thanks for the tips. Here's the basic layout of the place:



I'm looking for energy when it comes to the lighting. I can just turn it off when relaxation is called for.
For wash lighting (if I understand the term correctly) I'm thinking I'll just put some red LED bulbs in the adjustable ceiling lights, and some red LED strips or something behind the alcohol shelves behind the counter (got a red theme going on).

I'm skeptical about moving heads in such a small room. Don't imagine I'd get much bang for the buck. One mirror ball on the other hand could hit the entire room.
After this I figure a stinger with lasers and strobes built in, or some dekkers might be cool. Gonna search for some footage and see if I can find anything in a small enclosure. Didn't have the option to look at videos earlier today when I posted this.

I'm not gonna have a DJ/control-man on location so I'd like lights that can be hooked up to the audio system and left on auto (audio to light?). Would I need a controller system in this case? The lights themselves seem to be quite affordable; would I need to invest much in a way of hooking it all up together or is that part easy?

Also, I'm keeping a computer as well as other electronics in the room. Would fog on the ground pose a threat to them you think?

[Steve Garris]

Thanks for the tips. Here's the basic layout of the place:



I'm looking for energy when it comes to the lighting. I can just turn it off when relaxation is called for.
For wash lighting (if I understand the term correctly) I'm thinking I'll just put some red LED bulbs in the adjustable ceiling lights, and some red LED strips or something behind the alcohol shelves behind the counter (got a red theme going on).

I'm skeptical about moving heads in such a small room. Don't imagine I'd get much bang for the buck. One mirror ball on the other hand could hit the entire room.
After this I figure a stinger with lasers and strobes built in, or some dekkers might be cool. Gonna search for some footage and see if I can find anything in a small enclosure. Didn't have the option to look at videos earlier today when I posted this.

I'm not gonna have a DJ/control-man on location so I'd like lights that can be hooked up to the audio system and left on auto (audio to light?). Would I need a controller system in this case? The lights themselves seem to be quite affordable; would I need to invest much in a way of hooking it all up together or is that part easy?

Also, I'm keeping a computer as well as other electronics in the room. Would fog on the ground pose a threat to them you think?

Given that small space I'm thinking LED strip lighting or Light Bars around the perimeter of the room. You could set one up as sound activated, then have it be the Master and use dmx cables to run the rest in Slave mode. This could be done without a controller.

Here is a Light Bar example, although I haven't shopped much for these:
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/EQUINOX-EQLED034-/555-27940

[Steve Garris]

Also, I'm keeping a computer as well as other electronics in the room. Would fog on the ground pose a threat to them you think?

What kind of fog? Dry Ice?

[Jeff Lelko]

I strongly agree with Steve on this - I'd do the entire design with LED Pars/Bars/Strips.  They'll look good with or without fog, have no moving parts, and need essentially no periodic maintenance or attention once installed unlike moving lights.  You can also use such lights during all hours of the day - static and passive looks during relaxation periods, and than wild and dynamic effects during your rave portions. 

Whether or not you need a controller will depend on which specific fixtures you end up using.  Quite a few have nice programs built-in...others don't.  The possibility of needing a controller also increases if you want to use different makes/models of fixtures but want coordinated effects.  Don't let needing a controller scare you though.  There are many easy to use solutions that can be set up to be run by someone with zero knowledge about the system (such as an employee).  Unless you are 100% against needing a controller I'd suggest picking your fixtures first (or at least the 'look' you want to achieve) and go from there.

To get some ideas flowing, have a look at:

Color Kinetics

American DJ Pars and Bars

Blizzard Lighting

I highly suggest watching a few Youtube videos to see what all can really be done with systems like this.  Let us know if this is along the lines of what you're looking for!

[Roy-Kristian Storbæk]

Thanks for all the advice. Right now I'm kinda sold on getting a bunch of ADJ Ultra Bar 12's and lining them around the perimeter.
Suppose I need to come up with something for behind the bar as well. I imagine it'd be hard to work if every light in the bar was strobing.

What kind of fog? Dry Ice?

If necessary. If not I'd go cheaper.

[Roy-Kristian Storbæk]

Also I still want an ADJ Stinger II in a corner somewhere. That thing is too cool. And affordable!

[Roy-Kristian Storbæk]

Let's say I commit to a Stinger II and three Ultra Bar 12's. Would I need a special power supply for them? Do I have to request specific features when I go searching for a sound system or is compatibility with lighting standard for commercial systems?

[ProSoundWeb Community]