what lights would you suggest for this bar?

[DJ Matt]

im djing in a bar and the owner is keen on making some changes, he seems willing to take on anything i tell him as long as the price isnt too high

i bring in my own lights at the moment (just a few pars set to red, ADJ triphase, and a LED UV bar mostly facing up so as not to shine in peoples eyes)

and he was like "wow!"

i also know the guy who does all the handy work in the bar and he told me any suggestions i make he will do it right away

so, i want to make a few suggestions!

but my knowledge doesnt extend beyond a few mobile DJ lights i carry myself...... i have a few pars i need to sell anyway so i could give him those and get him to mount them high up, and shining almost straight down, it would certainly give better coverage.

but i thautht i would throw this one to any of you guys to see what response i might get

any cool but cost effective ideas??
thanks


heres the bar last friday taken with my camera with the flash on
http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/7083/54271110150688719430750.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/843/54271110150688719430750.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)


and here is the week prior taken with my phone which shows the light effect form my lights, but heavily saturated due to my phone cam not being very good
as you can see the light is very much concentrated over where i am based...

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/9567/42376810150675376690750.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/715/42376810150675376690750.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[Capt. Kirk]

Give me an hour or two and i can take that photo and add in where i think a few choice lights should go.

[windspeed36]

What are you hanging the fixtures from? Id say try using what you've got but change the angles to get a better crowd coverage.

[DJ Matt]

What are you hanging the fixtures from? Id say try using what you've got but change the angles to get a better crowd coverage.

im hanging them from a T bar ( i am using almost the only ground space i have there, im Djing from a small stage)


well there is a significant advantage in getting the owner to install lights.....

they could have a better effect than would be possible with mobile lights

but also it means i dont have to bring mine all of the time :)

(i also currently supply the sound aswell, its another thing i need to look into)

[DJ Matt]

Give me an hour or two and i can take that photo and add in where i think a few choice lights should go.

thankyou captain ! :D

we also need to light the stage for bands, but thats another thing, im more interested in creating some groovey 'clubby' effect

[Capt. Kirk]

Well I got the "clubby" effect I think and am uploading the pictures right now. A simple mega bar or Chauvet equivalent could be used to was the stage very effectively or just get some LED par cans like the P56 or P64 or similar to give that classical look of a full can style instead of a flat par which I think in a bar setting would look out of place and poor looking overall.

[Synaxis]

Well I got the "clubby" effect I think and am uploading the pictures right now. A simple mega bar or Chauvet equivalent could be used to was the stage very effectively or just get some LED par cans like the P56 or P64 or similar to give that classical look of a full can style instead of a flat par which I think in a bar setting would look out of place and poor looking overall.

I agree with this. Some Bar type wash lights would work nicely, since it's a larger area.

Then maybe get a couple effect lights, and if the owners have a nice budget, maybe some smaller moving heads would work mounted on the ceiling, such as the Intimidator Spot 150 LEDs.

[Capt. Kirk]

Idea 1

2 American DJ Vizi Scan LED's on each side of the screen with an American DJ Mega Bar in between and a Chauvet Rotosphere about center of the ceiling. This should give nice moving beams, a wash over the crowd, and a star-ball/mirror ball type effect as well. All of these lights can be run by DMX and can be switched out with their Chauvet or American DJ counter parts depending on which company you prefer.
http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/6476/baridea1.jpg
Idea 2
2 Chauvet Intimidator 200 LED scanners, these can be upgraded to 300LED's or an American DJ Vizi scan or the new InnoScans if more light output is needed. An American DJ Fun Factor in off to one side (or a Cubix) and then an American DJ Galaxian LED which is like the old Dual Gems. This will get the beam look, the effect wash over the crowd, a laser wash, and a dual moonflower look.
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/148/baridea2.jpg
Idea 3
same as 2 except with the addition of the Rotosphere in the center of the ceiling to add a mirror ball effect. Different Cubix, Galaxian LED, Fun Factor, or Mega bar can be placed in the front areas to get different coverage.
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/6876/baridea3.jpg
Idea 4
Just a Nucleus Pro LED placed in the center of the ceiling if money is an issue, this light should be able to cover the walls and dance floor all by itself if needed.
http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/6320/baridea5.jpg
Idea 5
Going further in the club feel by adding two more identical scanners to the first at the other side of the ceiling to give greater beams and coverage. The scanners can be any of your choice but I would say the Chauvet LED 200-300, American DJ vizi scans, or the inno scans or even the accu scans but I think that is pushing to a level of overkill in a small area so a low power LED scanner like the 200-300 or vizi may be a better option for a four light setup.
http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/3072/baridea7.jpg
Idea 6
Literally going all out throwing in the Nucleus and two extra scanners to fill every corner of the room with light. Most likely the most costly option out of them all.
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/6552/baridea6.jpg

I would suggest buying a haze machine as well to make the laser of use and also make the light show five times better, consult the bar owner to see if this will be okay and make sure they know it is not a fog machine. I recommend the Hurricane Haze 2D from Chauvet but their quality control seems to be lacking since two out of three units I have bought from them have come faulty out of the box including the haze machine so don't plan on actually using the haze machine right away when you get it as it could be faulty. The same goes for American DJ's Haze machine but I don't think it is a true haze machine like the Hurricane.

I think that the lights could all simply be bolted into the ceiling beams but I am no structure engineer or builder so that's just a guess. I would also think a small enough hole could be drilled in the beams so a safety cable could be put through the beam connecting the lights to the beam so there is no chance of falling, Again just a guess.

Let me know what you think of the ideas and also be sure to get some pictures of the decided upon setup when you do get a setup in the bar.

[DJ M&M]

Give us a price range

[Coronaoperator]

I would use what you got, paint the ceiling black, put visuals on the big screen (nothing too bright, try and darken the room) and change your pars to more of a magenta than a red. I'd also try and dim the behind the bar lights a touch if you could install a dimmer. Wouldn't hurt to dim all the booth and back hallway lights as well, get some dimmers.

The only light I would add would be a martin wizard extreme mounted up high on the freshly painted black ceiling. You could pick up a used one for around $600 US. Maybe a hazer as well(not a fogger).

[Dave Daschofsky]

Revo 4, micro galaxian, elation uv wash, and a couple pars would do nicely for pretty cheap.

[DJ Matt]

THANKS GUYS

i really appreciate it

i will take some time to go through the lights you mentioned and see exactly what effect they give, love the idea of the mirror ball type light in the middle

i was thinking of an old fashioned 4" UV bulb above the bar area, since those seem to have less glare on the eyes (on the other hand when its up so high maybe doesnt matter)

and also of using pars for wash

i sure would like a green lazer to be shining out towards the door so you see it when you come in but that complicates it as also need a hazer. in this case

im already using the projector screen for visuals and VJ

overall, since its a latin night which i DJ, minimalism is a good thing you dont need a lot of flashing lights, one or two

and also its a restauranty atmsphere during the day so need to be as discreet as possible with the fixtures an probably would not be able to paint the ceiling black

will let you guys know what i come up with !

[DJ Matt]

just a quick kinda wierd question guys

the REVO 4


can it be hung in the middle of the cieling shining directly downwards? or does it have to be at an angle to get a square pattern on the dancefloor ?


also whats your opinions on that option? its a kind of temporary dancefloor which is created by moving the tables away so im thinking this effect could highlight the dancefloor

[Whines]

Straight down should work fine. Revo 4's look great on dancefloors! :)

[DJ Matt]

Idea 1

2 American DJ Vizi Scan LED's on each side of the screen with an American DJ Mega Bar in between and a Chauvet Rotosphere about center of the ceiling. This should give nice moving beams, a wash over the crowd, and a star-ball/mirror ball type effect as well. All of these lights can be run by DMX and can be switched out with their Chauvet or American DJ counter parts depending on which company you prefer.
http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/6476/baridea1.jpg
......

......Let me know what you think of the ideas and also be sure to get some pictures of the decided upon setup when you do get a setup in the bar.

so... back to this gain,
never got around to actually installing the lights yet, baught a few bars and revo 4 but liked them too much so insted of selling to the bar i kept them for my mobile gigs. but there is another bar opening up on competition with us so its time to step things up a gear, and the owner is all for it.

option one here is not bad, but there is a problem in that this ball will probably project dots onto the projector screen, so im thinking revo 4 instead.
also the lights in the corner will possibly blind people who are looking at the screen, ..... maybe the left corner would be ok... (i dj in video, so the screen is part of the performance.)

also i realy should have uploaded a pic of the main wall .. this has a lot of potential for wash lighting i think.

what do you guys think?
all i can think of is placeing about 3 DMX linked mega-bars facing downward to wash the wall but im concerned that it will wash the seated area too much.
... is there a better subtler option? is there a "light strip" you can get that would go the whole length of the wall? or some kind of link-able LED bars that would make a strip?

perhaps i could set two bars on top of of the square features on the wall, this way they face up instead of down, but im not sure if it would look good cosmetically and its tricky for cables which could cause the owner to delay in getting it set up..



http://imageshack.us/a/img42/1408/photonkx.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/42/photonkx.jpg/)

[STLRiverCity]

Maybe you could install some flexible RGB LED ribbon?

LED Ribbon (http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/rgb-bars-and-strips/NFLS-RGB150-150-High-Power-RGB-LED-Flexible-Light-Strip/646/)

DMX Controller (http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/dmx-decoders/dmx-3ch-4a-4-amp-3-channel-led-dmx-controllerdecoder/114/523/)

Power Supply (http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-strips-and-bars/12vdc-enclosed-power-supply/70/)

If you want RGBW or RGBA you can use this DMX controller (http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/dmx-decoders/dmx-4ch-5a-5-amp-4-channel-led-dmx-controllerdecoder/824/2039/) and add this ribbon (http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/flexible-strips-and-bars/nfls-x30x3-series-30-high-power-led-flexible-light-strip/874/) in white or amber.

This obviously isn't as easy to install as bar lights, but would give you an even wash along the entire wall and it wouldn't be as bright.

[Capt. Kirk]

so... back to this gain,
never got around to actually installing the lights yet, bought a few bars and revo 4 but liked them too much so instead of selling to the bar i kept them for my mobile gigs. but there is another bar opening up on competition with us so its time to step things up a gear, and the owner is all for it.

option one here is not bad, but there is a problem in that this ball will probably project dots onto the projector screen, so im thinking revo 4 instead.
also the lights in the corner will possibly blind people who are looking at the screen, ..... maybe the left corner would be ok... (i dj in video, so the screen is part of the performance.)

also i realy should have uploaded a pic of the main wall .. this has a lot of potential for wash lighting i think.

what do you guys think?
all i can think of is placeing about 3 DMX linked mega-bars facing downward to wash the wall but im concerned that it will wash the seated area too much.
... is there a better subtler option? is there a "light strip" you can get that would go the whole length of the wall? or some kind of link-able LED bars that would make a strip?

perhaps i could set two bars on top of of the square features on the wall, this way they face up instead of down, but im not sure if it would look good cosmetically and its tricky for cables which could cause the owner to delay in getting it set up..



http://imageshack.us/a/img42/1408/photonkx.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/42/photonkx.jpg/)

I would have those already installed wall lights switched over to RGB LED changing ones and possibly have a par can or bar set up only on top of those areas (like at the top of the ceiling) to make those highlight areas. The entire wall does not have to be lit up. I think that would over-complicate things and detract a lot of attention from the actual centerpieces.