Need Some Help!!

[DJ FatMaster]

Alright I'm a Hip Hop Old Sckool Scratch DJ, who has had his head stuck into his turntables for so long that he hasn't researched his lights yet. I have a bunch of questions and so fourth that I'll ask as I get some answers to my first ones, lol so those of you who can help, Rep for all lol, First of all I do a lot of High School Dances, I need to know what lights will get the job done that arn't extremly overpriced, (I dont wanna be paying over 200$ for a single light, unless its really worth it.) Now what goes over popular with teh crowd I have my ideas with scanners and strobes but other input would be great. And as for this DMX controller stuff, lol I have no idea about it so before I go plunging into the depths of the internet I was wondering if someone could give me an abbreviated post, I have in the past just shut the lights on and shut em off, simple need some help regarding that. As for now thats all, thanks in advance peeacce


:dj: FAT

[DJNaviss]

Well if your really wanting to learn about DMX, And how it work's, You can check out Designer's, Post's...

School dance's? Eh... Talking about gym's? That's ALOT of open space to cover trust me.

As most DJ's and band's use Par Can's, Or As more knowly Stage lighting.

I use four par 56 can's, With 500 Watt bulb's in each, For my background lighting.

Par can's go for around 68$ or so with light I think.. I use MBT.
I think 4 gel's was like 8$.

As for Scanner's... Them are a nice effect. However getting into well built scanner's that will last you, You'll be going over your 200$ light limit range. :)
I use two Chauvet Navagator's. Which run around 340$ I think! I got mine for 279$... Due to some problem's I had with Srping Tree..

Anyway, When looking into scanner's mainly keep this in mind, With ALL Lighting!
You need AT LEAST a 250 - 300 watt bulb in a lighting unit for it to even show up.

Also try and go ALL DMX lighting, Even if you don't use a controller.
Why? Because all non DMX light's, Also known as effect light's, Have something called a Duty Cyle. 15 min's on 15 min's off.

This wont work well, As you'll only be able to use 1/3 of your lighting at a time.

As DMX Light's also par can's never have a duty cyle.

Also, You can look into some other Effect / DMX Light's, Such as the mushroom. I too use this unit, And it's great.. Not so much flashy but it is bright.
Remember to get the DMX Mushroom, By Chauvet, As it's sliver and has no duty cyle.
Goes for around 90$. And has two 300 Watt Bulb's.

Give it some time for some other member's to give some input on this... And then have fun shopping! :)

[Designer]

One thing worth bearing in mind is ad Naviss said you've got a lot of area to light. So you might want to consider going for fewer lights but more powerful like scanners with discharge lamps in the region of 300 watts as discharge lamps (albeit more expensive) have a much larger light output compared to conventional halogen dichroic lamps. I'll definately agree DMX is the way to go as this leaves you huge scope to upgrade things at a later date as/when your budget can stretch to adding more lighting or a decent controller.

[djscrizzle]

i would aslo use some fog to highlight the lights and give them a 'medium' to shine on/through. But, however, go easy on the fog (if the space has a smoke detector). a 5-second burst every 5-7 minutes should be enough for the lights and still not set off the fire alarm system, as you dont want an audience of 200+ to go running out the doors...

[Designer]

For that sized venue I'd probably choose a hazer over a fog machine, as you can just leave the hazer running all the time. If your not planning to use a controller (i think Naviss and me discussed this somewhere else) then try to avoid yokes as they will spend more time lighing the area's behind you and the roof than in front (internal programs) at least with a scanner normally the movement range is limited to about 180 deg pan and 90 deg tilt so you can physically aim the fixtures.