Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Mike Monte]

Call me old school (which I am) but when I started dabbling in sound (90's) all I needed was to bring a PA to gigs.
As time progressed into 2000 I found it necessary to add some basic lights to my sound package (to stay relevant)
which has
evolved into a 16 can (now LED) package; elation board, chases, scenes, etc. as clients now expect LIGHTS in addition to a PA.

Given a choice, it almost seems like clients are more interested in great lights than in great sound..?...
I know that it would be best to have both "as great".

I always approach gigs as sound-first and foremost with lights 2nd.....but, should I be adjusting my thought process?

At this point I can fit my club rig with basic lights in my truck....but now am contemplating getting a smaller/active rig (to save space) and add more lighting.....

Has anyone else seen this trend?



 

   

[Bob Faulkner]

It does appear lighting has become more important, but in my experience, sound has always been the "lion's share" of services for an event/gig.  However, with LED lighting (and effects) now available to everyone (very affordable), I have received more requests for additional lighting beyond basic stage washes.  I'm a sound person, not lighting... so, any additional needed lighting is contracted with a lighting company.  It's logistically impossible for me to provide everything (I'm too small of a company).

Personally, I would stick with what you feel you are good at and (depending on the size of the event), contract the rest out.

[Dan Richardson]

I always approach gigs as sound-first and foremost with lights 2nd.....but, should I be adjusting my thought process?

What, no video? At least video pays twice as much, so it's worth doing.

[Craig Leerman]

My company started doing Backline. As we got known, promoters kept saying they wished there were other local providers who supplied audio and lighting that were as good as we were at Backline, so we added other services. First audio, then lighting, then staging. Now we even do a bit of A/V.

If there was a market and clients wanted us to provide things like Frisbees for the musicians to play with before a gig I would have some Frisbees in a road case in my shop ready to make me money!

I say provide what clients want and grow your business.

This Sunday I am doing a political rally outside and supplying a stage, sound, political bunting around the stage and a set of American and State flags. The bunting and the flags usually cement the deal and clients like dealing with a single provider who can supply everything. The flags have paid for themselves many times over and take up little room in the shop, something I can’t say about some of my Sound, Lighting or Backline gear.

[Jeff Lelko]

Personally, I would stick with what you feel you are good at and (depending on the size of the event), contract the rest out.

I second this advice. 

The short answer is that anything can become another line item on an invoice.  If your customers are asking for it than it's definitely worth considering.  Getting back to the "contracting out" piece - there's the a difference between adding lights to your rig and doing lights right - the latter of which can be a substantial investment. 

I network with a number of local/regional sound and DJ companies.  Most of them "offer lighting" which is usually just a variety of LED Pars and maybe a few cheap moving lights.  When said companies book work that needs more than they can handle they contract me in to cover job.  Aside from owning a wide variety of fixtures in personal inventory (and renting whatever else is needed) I'm also able to provide trussing, a console, cables, and the skill needed to deploy and program the rig to meet the expectations of their customer. 

That last bit is really when contracting makes sense.  Just like running sound takes time and practice, so does designing lights and knowing how to build a system.  I'd vote to grab maybe a dozen decent LED Pars for basic use and then contract out for larger work...using that opportunity to watch what gets used and how...so that you can grow that branch of your service over time as well.  Hope this helps! 

[Rick Powell]

We provide 3 basic packages - sound only, sound with 2 front light trees, and sound with a back truss full of spots, washes and movers plus the front trees. I’d say at least half our
Shows are with the full package.

[Peter Kowalczyk]

It became apparent to me a few years ago that good lighting can turn a good show into a great show.  If you've already got the audio part more or less dialed, then improving your light show is time and effort well spent in my opinion.  If I can provide both, and charge more for a lighting package, that actually saves my clients $ over booking a separate LD. 

That said, we lounge-level providers need to consider carefully what services to offer.  Sure, Patriotic Decor may be a profitable line item ('murica!!), but unless you've got the warehouse space, truck space, and crew to manage it, those peripheral items can be more hassle than they're worth for us small operators.

While I do offer lighting packages, past a certain level, I'd rather have a separate LD and his whole crew handle that aspect.

[John L Nobile]

It's not just about having lights, it's knowing how to place and program them. I have to do lights sometimes and I think I do a good job and get a lot of compliments. Then a real LD will come in and make me feel like a noob.

Personally, I find light boards counterintuitive. Programming and navigating is a real pain and I don't like doing it. But knowing how to do it turns lights into a light show.

[Scott Holtzman]

It's not just about having lights, it's knowing how to place and program them. I have to do lights sometimes and I think I do a good job and get a lot of compliments. Then a real LD will come in and make me feel like a noob.

Personally, I find light boards counterintuitive. Programming and navigating is a real pain and I don't like doing it. But knowing how to do it turns lights into a light show.

After hearing Jeff love on his ETC Congo console over the years and how MA's amd Hog's hold value) even if they look like they lived a hard life.  I picked up an ETC Congo, wing that lived in an install and is in fine shape.  1600 page programming manual.  I also fell backwards into some moving wash's and I am on a desperate search to find more 5R clones with the same version software as the rest of my inventory.  Winter is going to find me in the warehouse with my basic shown hung in correct proportion building the elements of a great busking program.  I have been lucky enough to hire several decent LD's recently and I watched their workflows like a hawk.  Then I go back to my midi pad on Showxpress with no faders, no bump buttons and I run into walls. 


My goal is not to take away from the LD's, their awesome talend and great gear but to inject more value between the flashing circus that goes for a light show at the entry level and a fully funded light show.  I have been trying to squeeze ShowXpress in this space and I literally have 100's of hours of programming and never happy with the results. 


I am sure I will be sharing the progress on the endeavor over the coming months, if I can make it past October.

[Rick Powell]

*the flashing circus that goes for a light show at the entry level*

 

We have managed to program 48 scenes on a 90's vintage Show Designer I picked up for $150 and it doesn't look like a $100k light show, but it doesn't suck, and just about anyone can run it (although the noobs tend to give us an unintended blackout scene or 2 in the middle of a show). The Show Designer series are fairly user friendly but take a while to do anything fancy, like step-programming a chase. We have movers, spots and washes and it runs them all well.

[ProSoundWeb Community]