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Author Topic: Student trying to get into something or other...  (Read 2623 times)

William Cobb

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Student trying to get into something or other...
« on: October 03, 2005, 11:36:13 PM »

Hey, well I'm trying to find a decent (by decent I mean cheap), lighting everything really, dimmers, board, fixtures, and cords. I've worked with par-cans, and some small fernell's, also once worked with the leap-frog(I think it's that frog controller, it's the second one from the bottom) and 4 small scrollers, and 3 flood scrollers (forgot the name).
I need a decent set up for small gigs, nothing in the way of the scrollers again, but I'm just saying my experience (or lack thereof) I just need some decent coverage, mainly color and fill and solo, so everything (minus intelligent unless they're cheaper than I imagine)
I'm thinking maybe some par-64's and source 4's, i havent really worked with the latter much, but any input is great and needed. As far as the board and rigging go, I don't know, maybe two trees and a center pole.
I'm also trying to look into some basic lighting/CAd software (seeing as I'm also the school stage tech)
E-mail me and I'll be very happy to show you a show I've worked on (I'm so proud of the little bugger).
Thanks for your help, see at my school I am the lighting department, I'm graced by a national quality high school audio/video program, but sadly all our lighting knowledge fits in less than 1/4 of a filing cabinet which I am in charge of. So as far as formal training, I'm just another drop in the bucket, but I'm trying to find some gigs with one of our audio guys, which is what I'm trying to get some equipment for. I also work lights at our church (which is a pretty large church) but not being the super contemporary church we dont keep up with lighting technology since o, 6 or 7 years ago.
But once again, thank you for your help!
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Brian Ship

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Re: Student trying to get into something or other...
« Reply #1 on: October 04, 2005, 09:18:50 PM »

Give a man a fish he eats for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he eats for a life time.


I would recommend that you start off your buying spree with a book or three on Stage Lighting.  Lots of them out there, most E-Bay/Amazon, theater supply stores, stagestep and quite a few other companies also sell the books in addition to Boarders and other book stores frequently having at least one decent theater lighting book on the shelf.  Old or new they all have something to say that to one extent or another can be useful at times.

I do not mean to sound smug in making this comment as the place to start before you buy anything, but you can have all the toys in the world, get your leap-frog and fernell's, but you won't be making art until you know both theory and practice and get a bit of education into it.

Theory meaning understanding beyond a few ... with a ...
and practice meaning some cords... a few trees.. etc.

Such a book normally will also have a Cadd section that will tell you in depth how to etc.

Read a few books, understand how to design a show in figuring out what you need and where to put it and come back with given X budget and this equipment I think I need in it's design, what specific equipment or brands would you recommend.

My intent is other than just telling you to buy some package deal from American DJ or other sources, which to the extent you seem to be asking would cover the bill, to get you to study a bit into what you are attempting to do both artistically much less in getting tips professionally.  Hmm, that 16/3 extension cord at 100' is good for how much wattage?  You are installing the lights, you had at best know such things that put other people at risk.  Read, study, ask lots of questions.  Don't be in too much a rush to buy a package and hit the road.  Yea, you will learn a lot by jumping feet first into it, but there is also lots of mistakes - the same mistakes others have already made that you will make in doing so.  Hopefully nobody will wind up dead by this.  Take the effort even if just clubbing lighting seriously both in knowing what you are doing and also make art by way of more than random choice this looks good.  Study this field some.  

Should you wish you can contact me or any member of this forum off line directly.  All of us are here to help I'm sure, but I would also hope you put the breaks on the I have a barn, let's do a show before at least you learn how to spell Fresnel and Leap Frog by the way is something I bought for my four year old Nephew.
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Tom Delay

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Re: Student trying to get into something or other...
« Reply #2 on: October 04, 2005, 10:14:54 PM »

I second that opinion. The best thing you can do, better than reading a book i'd say, is to get involved. I'm guessing you're young and that's going to work against you. Don't (and I don't mean to sound flip) add ignorance to the equation. You don't want to be the guy who commits his equipment to a gig and err...can't get it up.
The best thing you can get is experience. And i definitely don't mean to say "admit your ignorance and inexperience." I'm also quite young and I know without a doubt it's a quality that's too quickly passed off as ignorance. But at the same time I know what I know. You know?
So find people who run lighting rigs. Get a job with them, intern with them. Show them your skills and let them worry about the equipment.

By the way, I'd certainly like to see what you've worked on.
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William Cobb

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Re: Student trying to get into something or other...
« Reply #3 on: October 04, 2005, 10:44:05 PM »

Thanks,
I've been doing it for 5 years about, but seeing as I really have nowhere to go for formal teaching, I'm left to bad spelling, and trying to catch terminology by passing words (which is the hardest way to learn) I posted some pics on here, and I'll send you some by way of e-mail, I need to start getting more up and going seeing as I only have shots of a couple of shows.
As far as that big cable, I didn't do any power running, so I'm learning that (I'm blessed with my father having an electrical engineering degree) But since I'm just starting to become pretty serious, I'm learning about all that. I'm trying to get basics down.
I mean yah I know how to mainly best set up some par's and fresnell(sorry always heard it as fernell) I'm not just jumping into it right away, I'm seeing a decent cost of equipment so when I have gigs and a budjet I know what to plan for. I might be young but I am frugal.
O yah, about that power cable, the audio director had his lighting tech come in to show me how to setup all that (seeing as it was completly new to me) so as far as the power, I really had no say, seeing as I could barely make heads or tails of it.
I do have some books, and I have some paperwork/packets we found at our school which I'm trying to read through while doing random projects. So it's a long process, but I'm not too worried about time, I mean I've got years to learn stuff, I'm not gonna be good at it for a long time, so time is on my side.
Thanks again guys
index.php/fa/2694/0/
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james tucker

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Re: Student trying to get into something or other...
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2005, 02:02:31 AM »

Great picture, the color is amazing.
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William Cobb

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Re: Student trying to get into something or other...
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2005, 01:59:41 PM »

Thanks, here's one were it was calmed down a little. O yah I also had 2 side spots on the floor (well low not on the floor) in this one you can see those better.
index.php/fa/2704/0/
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David Henry

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Re: Student trying to get into something or other...
« Reply #6 on: October 05, 2005, 04:15:36 PM »

William-->

Where did you get those cool powerpoint backgrounds?  I'm in desperate need for some at my youth group.

David
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William Cobb

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Re: Student trying to get into something or other...
« Reply #7 on: October 05, 2005, 04:58:40 PM »

The powerpoint is actually called easy worship (I think our church uses it now) It's powerpoint on a bit of steroids, it allows moving backgrounds, easier changes between songs, and easier to find slides when the singer decides to repeat fourteen odd times. The band actually brought it on their laptop, they ahd at least 2000 songs stored on it (well probably different versions of the same songs on it too) and it also had the bible in like 15 or so versions (some really out there) so yah, I'll look into it and see if I can at least find some good powerpoint slides.
O yah brian, the leap frog (I'm not talking about the learning software pad thing) I think I used the leap frog I'm not entirely sure, but it was part of the frog series, which ended up with the bullfrog, there are four in the series and I had the second to lowest.
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David Henry

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Re: Student trying to get into something or other...
« Reply #8 on: October 05, 2005, 05:11:33 PM »

That sounds really cool.  Thanks for the reply.

David
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Phil LaDue

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Re: Student trying to get into something or other...
« Reply #9 on: October 11, 2005, 06:17:31 PM »

The Zero 88 Leafrog's info can be found at:

http://www.zero88.com/en/products/2/24
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