CEO Albert Chauvet helms the grill flanked by managerial staff.

A great afternoon with delicious food and even better company. Best part? Management cooked for everyone! Check out more photos. Wish you were here!

written by Nick Burke (aka DJ NickyB)
Originally posted on the GEAR BOARD at
http://start.mobilebeat.com
, re-posted by permission.

Here is my personal hands-on comparison of these three LED fixtures. I know many DJs seem to be only interested in “relative brightness” of a majority of LED fixtures since this is a fairly new technology. Let me add, that IMHO, these three fixtures cannot be evaluated or used as “generic” pinspots but are more suited to a particular application; more on this later.  I also try to keep my discussions in layman’s terms and stay away from the physics of light beam analysis.

Shipping and packaging:
My CHAUVET® fixtures arrived double boxed and individually bubble-wrapped as all electronic devices should be. Both were extremely lightweight and fully assembled. My ADJ Pinspots were purchased at my local Guitar Center, packaged pretty much the same way except it they had to be assembled by yours truly but this was not difficult or very time consuming given their relative simplicity. Both pinspot fixtures come with pre-cut color filters and auxiliary lenses that provide for wider area coverages.

First impressions:
From a construction and feel point of view, I preferred the CHAUVET® units. The Pocketspot™ LED was very sturdy and quite compact in size by comparison to the other two pinspots. The Pocketspot™ LED measures a mere 3.5” long and is 2.5” in diameter with a nice metal “U” bracket and two adjusting thumbscrews for mounting. The Pocketspot™ LED is a standalone, no frills unit with a single 4-watt white LED and it’s bright.

The CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2 and the ADJ Pinspot were nearly identical physically measuring 6.75” and 6.5” respectively and both were 2” in diameter at the lens end of the barrel. I preferred the heavier ribbed construction on the LED Pinspot™ 2 as well as it’s full “U” bracket, dual thumbscrew mount. The ADJ model uses a single-sided “L” shaped bracket with only a single thumbscrew. The LED Pinspot™ 2 just looks more professional although the ADJ Pinspot  with it’s  “L” brackets  allows one to hang more units side-by-side due to its smaller overall width (3.5”). What this means … You could hang 12 CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2’s on a typical four ft. T-Bar but get 14 of the ADJ Pinspots on the same T-Bar but neither setup would allow for much lateral adjustment when aiming the fixtures. Both Pinspot fixtures come with a 6-degree standard lenses installed. An optional 12-degree lens comes with the ADJ Pinspot. With the CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2, the optional lens is nine degrees.

Operation and utilization:
OK everyone, this is where you should pay attention because this is where the real differences in these fixtures begin to show up. I mounted all three units, side-by-side on a four ft. T-Bar exactly 10 ft. from the wall. I powered up all three fixtures and was really surprised at what I saw.

First, the output of the CHAUVET® 4-watt Pocketspot™ WAS NOT brighter to the eye than the other two 3-watt pinspots as would be expected. This difference was due to a warmer color temperature of the LED. It more closely resembled the output of a halogen lamp. Another thing I immediately noticed was that the spot (12” diameter) on the wall was very bright at the center with an unfocused edge and a rather large (36” diameter) “halo” that decreased in intensity as it approached the outermost edges. This could be very helpful in some applications and a hindrance in others. I did however like the warmer white color on skin tones.

Moving on to the ADJ Pinspot vs. the CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2, again I can tell you there are tremendous differences in their outputs. With the standard lenses installed and from 10 ft. away, the ADJ Pinspot produced a not so focused circle 11” in diameter. The CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2 produced a sharply focused circle 9” in diameter and was much brighter. Both fixture’s outputs had a blue halo at the beams edge which I fully expected from such a bluish-white light, very reminiscent of a metal halide lamp. The CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2’s “laser like” beam is quite capable of a really long throw. At 40 ft. the LED Pinspot™ 2’s beam width was 34” with a crisp edge. The ADJ Pinspot at that distance projected a 40” diagonal circle but edges were quite blurred.  Through a mild haze, both beams looked about the same except at the final target. The winner was clearly the CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2. My curiosity got the best of me as to why the blurred edges from the ADJ Pinspot so I removed the lenses. The primary difference was that the mount point for the LED in the ADJ Pinspot was about halfway down the barrel. On the CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2, the LED was mounted at the rear of the barrel. This clearly affects the focal point of the beam at the lens, hence the blurry beam edges of the ADJ Pinspot.

The next logical step was to mount the optional lenses. I installed the 9-degree optional lens on the CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2 and the 12-degree optional lens on the ADJ Pinspot. The CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2’s beam from 10 ft. was now 18” in diameter; the ADJ Pinspot opened up to 21” in diameter and with very sharp, crisp edges. Obviously a better lens fit for the ADJ Pinspot. The CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2 was clearly brighter than it’s ADJ counterpart.

"My personal preference would have to be the CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2."

Final analysis and opinions:
Of these three fixtures, I have to say my personal preference would have to be the CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2. I prefer it’s professional appearance with the “U” bracket mount, it’s casing is more rugged, it’s focus is cleaner and crisper and it’s clearly the brighter fixture at comparable distances. The beam spread goes to the ADJ Pinspot and the warmness of the light goes to the Pocketspot™. The bluish-white color of both Pinspot models makes skin tones look ashen so if you shine these on people, use a colored gel.

As for practical uses, if I were lighting a mirrored ball on a 4 ft. T-Bar, I’d recommend using two Pocketspots™, one per side and they don’t have to be far from the ball to do their job without spill-over. Using either pinspot model, the fixtures would have to be further than four ft. away to do a mirrored ball justice.

For lighting a cake or table centerpieces, I’d recommend the CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2 with the 9-degree lenses as they can be a comfortable distance away and still have the intensity to do a great job. Use the 6-degree lenses for centerpieces that are further away. If those pieces to be highlighted are inside of 10 ft, you might want to think about adding a couple of the ADJ fixtures and using the 12-degree lenses on your CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2’s (Yes, the lenses are interchangeable).

If your purpose is for a “rainlight” effect, the CHAUVET® LED Pinspot™ 2 with it’s standard 6-degree lens is about perfect at any ceiling height. And now I’m thinking, what if I had a lens barrel cover with say a half inch aperture opening and put maybe eight of these on an eight channel sequencer. Wouldn’t that make for a nifty white laser effect?

Nick Burke (aka DJ NickyB)
Nicky-B Entertainment, LLC – Millersville,MD
Gear Board Co-Moderator for MobileBeat.com
40+ yrs computer experience for NASA
Musician ’65-’87 / DJ since ’87

DJ Rockin’ Rob is a special events DJ in Lubbock, Texas who has over a decade of experience entertaining guests at weddings, corporate events, birthday parties, school dances and pool parties.  He started out with one CHAUVET® strobe light and now his entire setup is comprised of 60 CHAUVET® fixtures.

We asked him these five questions for our DJ profile.

1. How did you get started as a DJ?
In 1998, I joined the U.S. Navy and was stationed on a base in Connecticut that had an onsite bowling alley which hosted “Rock-N-Glow” parties on Thursday nights. I quickly made friends with the DJ who was playing music and interacting with the crowd, and if that DJ couldn’t make it, they would call me to fill in. That DJ taught me the true fundamentals of being a mobile DJ and his lessons stay with me every single gig I play. In 2009, I registered my company, 100% Entertainment.

2. Is this a full-time job or something you do on the side?
Being a mobile DJ and running 100% Entertainment is currently a part-time venture, but hopefully not for long. I’m also a host on That DJ Podcast which is a prerecorded show by DJs for DJs. During the day I am an exhibit technician at the Science Spectrum Museum. We make a lot of things, break a lot of things and fix a lot of things. It’s amazing how much science it takes to demonstrate science.

3. What fixtures are included in your setup? What are you looking to add?
I am the proud owner of six LED Techno Strobe™ RGB strobe lights, two LED Shadow™ blacklights, two Intimidator™ 1.2 scanners, 30 LED Pinspot™ , 10 LEDrain™ 38T, five LEDrain™ 38C, three LEDrain™ 38 and two Vue™ 1.1.

I would really like to add a full band of COLORtube™ 3.0 EQ. On a more realistic note, I have my sights set on two Scorpion™ Storm™ FX lasers, two Vue™ 3.1 effect lights and a few moving heads.

4. What is your favorite fixture and why?
My favorite fixture in my arsenal is the LED Techno Strobe™ RGB. Its flexibility has been the back bone of my mobile light show for almost four years. I can use it as a flood, wash or accent light and it communicates perfectly with my Vue™ 1.1 and Vue™ 3.1 fixtures.

5. Best advice you can give someone just getting started in the DJ industry?
It’s not about you and it’s not YOUR party. It’s theirs. Give them the party they want, not the party you think they should have. Don’t treat the event as an advertising opportunity, let your work speak for itself. If you do a good job, people will want you for their party too. Don’t beat your audience over the head with who you are and what you do, let them ask you.

2-What is your favorite new song?

3-What is your favorite rock song?

4-What is your favorite classic song?

5-What is your favorite warm weather BBQ song (or artist)?

6-What song was (or will be) your wedding song (first dance)?

Well, tonight I had the privilege to see some real life, side-by-side comparisons of several of the most popular up lighting fixtures that are discussed repeatedly on the gear board at
http://start.mobilebeat.com
. At our local DJ Baltimore DJ Association, Inc. monthly meeting tonight, I got the opportunity to see first hand, a real life, side-by-side comparison of the following LED fixtures.

1 – The Blizzard Puck RGB
2 – The CHAUVET® SlimPAR™ 56
3 – The CHAUVET® SlimPAR™ 64
4 – The ADJ P64LED Pro
5 – The Jamstar Elite
6 – The CHAUVET® Colorsplash 200B

There were other LED fixtures shown and discussed at our metting but those were in the “effects” category and not suitable for up lighting. I only wish our local Blizzard Lighting Rep would’ve shown and brought a Puck RGBA, Puck RGBAW and a newer Puck-3 with him, but he had to cancel for personal reasons.

Anyway, IMHO and that of everyone else in attendance, the “champ” among the listed fixtures was clearly the CHAUVET® SlimPAR™ 64 for physical size, brightness and purity of color. The closest competitor was the Jamstar Elite BUT since they’ve gone out of business and are no longer available, I have to list the ADJ P64 LED Pro as the runner up. There has been a lot of hoopla about the Puck around here but I’ll tell you this … even the smaller SlimPAR™ 56 blew away the Blizzard Puck RGB for brightness and purity of color. Additionally, the setup menus on the CHAUVET® SlimPAR™s were more intuitive and much easier to navigate than on the other fixtures when adjustments were necessary.

Every LED fixture in the list above had some “haloing” effect with mixed colors but that was easily remedied using a frost window film which I purchased at Home Depot and had layered it onto a 10″ square sheet of clear Lexan. Just laying it over the fixture output got rid of the haloing but reduced the output ever so slightly with nearly no impact at all on overall brightness or color. Again, this is my opinion and not that of Mobile Beat but to me, it’s another case that supports the old adage that you usually get what you pay for!  I’m passionate about my DJ business and have always felt that if you’re going to do something, at the very least, do it right even if it cost you a few extra bucks. Are there better and brighter fixtures for up lighting out there? Of course there are but for the average mobile DJ, “bang for your buck” and “return on your investment” seems to have real meaning so my hats off to CHAUVET® for the SlimPAR™ series.

Nick Burke (aka DJ NickyB)
Nicky-B Entertainment, LLC – Millersville,MD
Gear Board Co-Moderator for MobileBeat.com
40+ yrs computer experience for NASA
Musician ’65-’87 / DJ since ’87

1. Favorite CHAUVET® light/product: COLORdash™ Batten Tri.  I really like the work done with the tri-colored LEDs. I hated the red and green shadows on the three different color LEDs. I use them for frontlighting of live bands and really do not see a need to buy par cans anymore.

2. Favorite CHAUVET® YouTube video: Q-Beam™ 260-LED I would like to see a few of these in person.

3. Favorite DJ: DJ Drew in St. Louis.  He replaced the previous DJ at the bar I worked and by far is the best DJ I have ever worked with.

4. Favorite event/nightclub with lights: It used to be The Phoenix South County where I worked however, the best concert light show I have seen since has got to be Roger Waters.  I went to high school with the guy who designed the lighting for the Star Wars concert and have worked with, on occasion, another lighting designer from St. Louis who works for CTI and has designed lighting for acts like Aerosmith.

5. Favorite tip for new CHAUVET® DJs: Heed the warning of no more than 30 fixtures on a DMX chain, use terminators, and always optically isolate your controller from your fixtures.

6. Complete this sentence: A show without lights is like…feasting on bread and water when you could be having steak and lobster and champagne.

Want to be our Fan of the Month? Just “Like” CHAUVET® on Facebook and engage.

Last week (on 5/11/11) YouTube performed a design tweak which unfortunately resulted in the inability to view all of the video responses for a given video (only the two most recent show). Doubly unfortunate is the fact that this is the method by which we are accepting entries for our contest.

Never fear, part one. All the videos submitted are accounted for even if they can’t be viewed.

Never fear, part two. There is a work-around to see, and therefore view, these entries. Thanks to HappyCabbie. He also made a video.

The answer depends upon you and the bandleader. Every bride and groom has a different comfort level as far as input on this subject. Every bandleader has a different approach, as well.

Some bands are pretty set on the “usual” play list that they feel gets the job done. If that is your comfort level then, you have the right band(leader). On the other hand, if you prefer a more individual customized approach, you should discuss this with the bandleader BEFORE you book the band. Make sure he/she will genuinely welcome your input.

SONG LIST
Make sure you speak directly to the bandleader and ask for his/her list of songs. If you don’t find most of the songs you would like played on the band’s list, you probably should not book that band. On the other hand, if the list contains most of your song ideas, you are on the right track.

After you have chosen your band, spend time going through the list and make notes of styles or genres that appeal to you. You can also be specific about artists, eras and individual songs. What I strongly recommend you DO NOT do is try to pick every song that is played. If you do, then the bandleader’s hands will be tied and cannot make changes on-the-fly that will make your wedding more successful.

YOUR GUEST LIST
When making your selections keep in mind the guests that will be attending your wedding. What will excite them to get up and dance? What are the songs that your friends absolutely go crazy for? What have you seen at other weddings that works? It also helps to make a list of songs you would NOT want to hear at your wedding. On your wedding day you don’t want to turn to someone and say; “I can’t believe they are playing this song at my wedding”.

by Bill Morgan Messinetti
bandleader for Central Park Orchestra

I visited with our distributor in Panama, Distribuidora Musical.  They work with both our Club/DJ and Professional lines.  They mostly sell the Club/DJ products in their beautiful and excellently located store.  The PRO products are sold to rental companies and TV stations.

Panama has been going through a tremendous growth in the last five to eight years and has a skyline that rivals some of those found here in the U.S.

I will be going back in June or July to present a training seminar to customers and distributors as well as for a couple of possible and important projects.

Again, my trip in pictures:

Skyline of Panama.

More skyline.

Inside Distribuidora Musical.

Rigging inside Distribuidora Musical.

Setup inside Distribuidora Musical.

I traveled to Bogotá, Cali, Medellin and Barranquilla, Colombia. While I was there I gave a few seminars and saw first-hand our dealers and our product displayed and in action. Pictures say a thousand words, so here are some I took on my trip.

Seminar I gave to about 30 salespeople from Titanic Electronics in Bogotá, Colombia.

Bogotá from the airplane.

Beautiful city of Cali, surrounded by mountains. We have another distributor who covers that city and the small towns around it, Sound Light.

Luces Para Discoteca’s offices where he supplies product and service stores, discotheques, restaurants, bars, schools, churches, etc.

Beautiful Medellin.

More of beautiful Medellin.

Then I visited Barranquilla where we have Surti Stereo, no landscape pictures, but a store picture. I also gave a seminar to the salespeople there.

Ahh, the custom gobo. It’s probably the easiest upsell item for a DJ or mobile performer to employ when booking an event—especially a wedding. A bride and groom’s initials, the year of a graduating class or a corporate logo—the possibilities are nearly endless. Custom gobos are relatively inexpensive to make, easy to work with and some can be used over and over again (say that ‘Class of 2011′ gobo) which maximizes the revenue you can make on a single investment.

Gobos (which stands for goes before optics) are patterns, images, words, etc., that are projected onto a wall or other surface from a projector or light fixture—or between the light and the surface. Gobos are often included in gobo projectors and moving heads or you can have a custom gobo created. There are several online companies that create custom gobos or you can make your own using transparency film. The type of fixture you use, a moving head or a gobo projector, will determine which type of gobo to make and both types of fixtures can accommodate easy gobo changes. Once you purchase the custom gobo, you can sell it to your customer for more than what you paid, plus the use of the fixture, for an event.

Click here for more about creating custom gobos.

DJ University is an online resource for the DJ / mobile performer sponsored by CHAUVET®. Look for more helpful posts like this one to come.

What’s a show without lights? We asked rock stars, musicians, DJs and many more, at NAMM 2011 and compiled them into this video. Tell us your answer by commenting below.

Larz Hanson

Our March Facebook Fan of the Month is Larz Hanson of Detour DJ & Audio based in Cleveland, Tenn.
1. Favorite CHAUVET® light/product: This one’s EASY. The Q-Spot 260-LED! I just bought my 7th and am on my way to an even dozen by year-end. Best moving-head light for the money, hands down!
2. Favorite CHAUVET® YouTube video: Can’t think of a favorite by CHAUVET®, but this one and this video helped me to try my first pair of Q-Spot 260-LED’s.
3. Favorite DJ: DJ Larz w/ Detour DJ & Audio (I’m so humble…)
4. Favorite event/nightclub with lights: Any Phish concert. On a much smaller scale, Pokey’s in Cleveland, Tenn., whenever my band plays there!
5. Favorite tip for new CHAUVET® DJs: Always keep your eyes open for new ways  to improve your setup and show. There are zillions of DJ’s out there, but only a small number go the extra yard to really give their clients top-notch service.
6. Complete this sentence: A show without lights is like…dark. No, really, it’s like going on a date with a beautiful woman while you’re blindfolded!

Want to be our Fan of the Month? Just “Like” CHAUVET® on Facebook and engage.

Central Park Orchestra just performed at a wedding this past Friday evening at The Liberty House Restaurant, overlooking the Statue of Liberty and the New York City skyline. The bride and groom’s NO LIST included disco, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and many other songs and genres that are most often requested. Instead, they wanted the band to play ska, reggae and alternative rock. They also wanted Sinatra and Elvis and the groom is a big James Brown fan.

Guess what? We have gotten a great response on our Facebook page from that party. One guest said he never danced to ska or reggae music at a NY or NJ wedding before.

It is always fun for a wedding band to perform different music. The musicians find it more exciting. Playing the same cliches is more boring to musicians than to you, the audience or guests.

Get creative when choosing music for your wedding. Any good wedding band will be willing to learn a few new songs for your event.

As the owner of DJ Bri Swatek, Spinning with Style, I offer a variety of uplighting packages and ideas to match your wedding’s style and colors, as well as lighting to accent the look of your Hudson Valley wedding location.

All of DJ Bri‘s uplighting fixtures are eco-friendly LED lights which take up little room at your Hudson Valley wedding venue while creating a dramatic effect.

With endless color choices, walls, columns, or any other features at your venue can be enhanced on your wedding day with uplighting. Consider uplighting colors that coordinate with your wedding’s style . . .

. . . or use uplighting to create a dramatic effect.

Contact DJ Bri Swatek, Spinning with Style to find out more about how you can add a personal touch to your Hudson Valley wedding with uplighting.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding,
Bri

________________________________________________________

DJ Bri Swatek, Spinning with Style
Your DJ for Your Unique Style
in the Hudson Valley of New York

Email: briswatek@aol.com
Phone: 845.235.0080
Online: www.djbriswatek.com

I heard about a somewhat impressive incident that was orchestrated by a fortunate mobile DJ—a great example of excellent timing. He describes how he spent several hours setting up a complete uplighting system in a fairly large room to demonstrate to an individual “what pictures cannot describe.” The effect was so impressive, she summoned the hotel manager and regional manager, who just happened to be in town, to check it out. They were both so happy with how their hotel’s banquet facility had been so beautifully transformed, they wanted to take pictures. Photos were taken to be shared with interested clients illustrating what could be done when employing creativity and skill. Of course, this fortunate mobile DJ would be referred to these clients as the source of this exquisite lighting, plus recommended as a proficient Disc Jockey for their event.

Here’s another incident, one that’s not so impressive. In the late ’90s, I had arranged to set up my newest lighting in a banquet room of a posh Myrtle Beach resort for a private photo shoot. I had enough of an “in” with the property to have them accommodate what was supposed to be a completely unobtrusive afternoon session. I hired a skilled photographer to take pictures and it was going to look GREAT with the lights dimmed and with fog accentuating the multicolored beams. Though I had been given the impression from the maintenance department that the smoke detector-alarm system was temporarily disabled in this particular room . . . it wasn’t. The unexpected and surprising result was fire alarms, a loud, authoritative, mechanized voice instructing everyone to leave the building, a large, in-house group involved in their afternoon session having to interrupt their proceedings and vacate the premises, fully-clad, equipment-laden, scowling, and overtly annoyed fire fighters arriving on the scene, one even carrying a huge axe. (Talk about intimidating.) AND, then the Hotel’s General Manager along with the brand new 6′ 6″ Food and Beverage Director, who I was yet to meet, bursting into the room with disbelief and fit to be tied! Embarrassing? Put it this way: I was so confused, shaken and scared, I must have resembled a whipped puppy with its tail between its legs. Though obviously irritated, The GM and F&B were somewhat relieved that it was ONLY me. But, man! Those fireman were peeved! And I never did get those photos.

What made this flick especially compelling and an influence to today’s club scene was the use of lightning and effects with dance music. Dj lighting gear, dj laser lights, was pivotal in making the film a triumph and gave ideas about the use of Dj lighting and lighting effects. Dj stage lighting was not anymore static but dynamic and it paved the way for the progression of Dj lighting appliances and dj systems. Nowadays, with the advent of personal computers, lighting systems are attached to computers that orchestrate to lights to the beat of the music. Laser lights, strobes, rainbows, and leds act in unison with the sound. The whole experience of a Dj gig isn’t limited to the synchronization of music from one song to another, but to its relationship with the lighting. It isn’t just an auditory experience but also a visual one.

Most clubs nowadays have an array of Dj lighting kit that seems more like a dramatic stage show than a club with the difference being that these Dj lighting gear are targeted towards the crowd more than the stage. Among the parts are the following : beacons, black lights, rope lights, LE.D, fog lamps, laser lights, Fog Juice, Lamps, Intelligent Lighting Systems, Mirror Balls, Oscillators, Stage Lighting, Pin Lights, Par Cans, Strobes, Bubble Machines, center piece, Flash Tubes, Gels, Helicopters, hi-tech, Clamps, and other gear. All of these things are managed by a controller system or what used to be the mixer in the times of disco. There are a variety of controllers which the DJ may need to use within them are : Analog Controllers, Chase Controllers, Dimmer Controllers, DMX Controllers, DMX Software Control Controllers, Foot Controllers, Stage Controllers to name a couple.

The days of spinning vinyl records and mixing turntables have kind of given way to PCs with pre programmed mixes that queue the mist machines, lasers, dimmers, strobes, mirror balls, beacons, black lights, par cans, gels, choppers, bubble machines with the use of a DMX software. Technology has improved the experience but in a way, it is less human technology than ever. Maybe that’s doubtless the explanation why house, trance and techno music are ever so popular nowadays to the younger generation while those among us who were present when Studio 54 was the main club select a more human feeling where the DJ by hand does the spinning and classic disco and dance tunes are played. But regardless of what, the appearance of Dj lighting equipment can only add worth to the whole nice experience of dancing.

1. When folks start dancing, you hardly notice or see these effects anymore. You might see some splashes of colors and movement, (if you’re looking) but with all the activity on the dance floor, those effects definitely lose their impact and pretty much just disappear.

2. A lot of bright lights shining right on the floor can annoy people. It’s just too much bright stuff flashing in their eyes. After a dance for teenagers, where I had splashed the floor with those common mushroom effect lights, I candidly asked a kid how he liked the light show. I was expecting to get some praise for how cool the effects were. He just came out and said the lights hurt his eyes.

3. Concentrating on the dance floor without considering the rest of the room is only concerning yourself with 1/6 of the total area where good lighting could enhance the production.

HERE’S THE CONCEPTION: People do see the walls and even the ceiling. That’s five surfaces we can illuminate. So, in many applications, you want to first “paint” the walls and ceiling with color, and then project static or moving patterns over this initial color layer. As for the dance floor—wash it with color. A color wash serves to light up the dance floor with appropriate colors, and also serves to colorfully light up the dancers. Changing colors, sound-activated or in a chase sequence of different speeds, bathing the dance area, serves to draw folks to the floor, provide atmosphere, and doesn’t get lost in all the activity of moving bodies like gobos and a lot of bright flashes. Where there are lots of bodies moving around (as in DANCING), there’s no longer a flat surface which is necessary to distinguish gobos and patterns.

Customizing the light show to uniquely compliment each event takes more time and effort, however, the results are a much more impressive production and much more impressed clients