Minimum Lights

[doncolga]

Hey all,

What would you all consider minimum for lighting to do a good job on a wedding reception or school dance in a big room, roughly the size of a gym? Right now I've got two Chauvet FourBars that I use all the time and they're very easy to move and setup. I usually aim some to the ceiling for uplighting and then to the dance floor. This seems a bare minimum to get by for this size room to just light the dance floor, but I'd light to get your thoughts. I've actually got 8 more led cans, a disco ball effect thing, and three other pattern makers that all go on a truss. It's just a PITA to set that up though.

[Greg Plouvier]

Depends entirely on the client's budget - if you go in and do things like this word will get around

[Haysus]

I agree with Greg it's all about budget. I've tried to sell lighting using 8 par 56 LED with bar bands and wedding bands. I'm not good at selling lighting but It can get complicated and expensive quickly and 8 pars is only the start. Lights can require an extra person for not only setup but running the "show". I' m open to suggestions if one man ops have good light suggestions.

[Grant Bunter]

I learnt all I know from an exhibit lighting professional.

While lighting can seem difficult, it's really about creating illusions and multiple dimensions.
Think 3D
As a example: take one bar of four Par 56 LED.
As Donny said, point 2 into the ceiling and 2 down to the floor out onto the dance area. That becomes 2 dimensions.
To add the third dimension add some DIY floor stands (1 1/2" x 3/4" pine. Cut three pieces 1' long and make a capital H out of them. Hole in the centre for a 3/8" bolt) to 2 more 56's.
Now move your T bar forward say 6 feet, then point the ceiling 56's backwards instead of forwards. Put the 2 floor mount 56's behind you, crossfiring forward and up. Now that's three dimensions and will totally change lighting effect.
With some of todays DMX controllers, you can still do one man shows with your laptop (or create scenes with auto crossfade), so don't count that out.

I'm still using my old incandescent rig. Up to 12 56's and cyc's for wash, with some 2' UV tubes on battens etc, on little controllers. I have to change gels, I'm used to it. Adds 20 mins of setup time for me. With 8 cans on T bars and the rest on the floor or speaker cabs etc with my band. For me that needs finding 2 extra power circuits seperate to the band. If you have LED's and DMX control, you can change so much more and use a lot less juice.

Spend a day in your shed messing round with it all, play around with it. You'll know fast enough what you like and what you don't and that's as good a starting place as any...