I want to add some lights to a small stage just to enhance my show. I plan to get two 120w par lights for the floor and a black light flourescent also situated at the floor stage front. Would this do? I don't want to carry too much stuff.

When you say enhance, what exactly is already there?
What purpose do you want the lights to do?

I use a pair of Smith-Victor quartz video lights for my shows:

http://www.smithvictor.com/products/deta......nm=765UM

I got a pair in a kit with two light stands and 26" toolbox that holds it all:

http://www.smithvictor.com/products/deta......=K40+KIT

It's very convenient and puts out a lot of light.

Michael

Michael:


Thanks for the links.
Was wondering how long it takes those halogen lamps to cool down after the show so that you can pack them?

Can you turn off the house lights, like say in a banquet room, and light your performance area with those as the only light source?

Does the 600w per unit blow any normal breakers?

Lastly, I was wondering if the optional barndoors would help concentrate the light on the performing area?


Thanks for your input!

Chris

They don't take too long. I usually just turn them off immediately after the show and then leave them on the stands while I pack the show. It takes me about 30 minutes to pack my show and the lights are definitely cool by then. It probably doesn't take more than 15 minutes for them to cool but that's a guess. The Spider Lights have the advantage of a cooling fan (see the other thread about them) but they are 850 watt lights and two of them will overload a typical circuit.



You sure can. 1200 watts is a lot of light! I use them with portable stages that are typically 12' x 16' up to 16' x 24'. On the larger stages (16 x 20), you might have trouble getting an even light across the entire stage. I typically set each light at a corner of the stage and angle them toward the center. It keeps the stage pretty well lit and I tend to stay more in the central part of the stage.



I've used these lights for years and, before then, I used some lighter weight lights of the same wattage from Smith-Victor and I've never had them blow a breaker. (The lighter weight lights are still available but they are plastic and much smaller and aren't recommended for extended use.)

The only mistake I ever made with these lights was the time I had them both plugged into a multiple outlet strip and used an extension cord from both lights to the strip. (I had a cube tap connecting the two lights and extension cords.) I didn't think about the extension cord only being 16 gauge and after about two hours, the multi-outlet strip breaker shut down. I was really glad I had them connected to the strip and not directly to the extension cord as it could have started a fire. I immediately went out and bought some 14 gauge and 12 gauge extension cords to use with these.

(By the way, I wasn't doing a two-hour show. I did a 45-minute show and left the lights on because the school was doing a live auction and I wanted everyone to be able to see the auctioneer. Ironically, after a while, he asked if I could turn off the lights because they were too bright and they turned off on their own! That's when I realized the breaker had flipped on the multi-outlet strip.)



The barndoors definitely allow you to control the lighting more. You can keep some areas darker but I found I never used them with my older light setup. (I don't have barn doors for the current lights.) I'm not really using the lights to create any mood lighting so I am just looking for a general wash on the stage.

Smith-Victor also makes another light that is the same but is a focusing light so you can adjust the beam angle from 22 degrees to 36 degrees:

http://www.smithvictor.com/products/deta......nm=710SG

I'm not sure how much that helps in lighting a stage. (I don't know if that's enough of a variance.)




You're welcome!

Michael

Great feedback Michael - I think that I am definitely going to invest in a pair.

Chris

Glad to be of help. I definitely recommend running through a multi-outlet strip with a built-in breaker. I'm not really knowledgeable about electrical wiring but I'm pretty sure the breaker tripped because my extension cord got too hot and overloaded the strip. Keep the gauge of the extension cords in mind, too.

The nice part of using the outlet strip is that you can turn the lights on and off with one switch. Here's my set up. I put the light on a stand and connect the cord to a cube tap. I run a 20' 14-gauge extension cord from the cube tap to another connected the same way to the other light. I then run a final 14-gauge extension cord to the multi-outlet strip. The switches on the lights are on but the switch on the strip is off. After I plug the stip in, I turn it on and the lights turn on.

By the way, I've been doing this a long time but it's not my idea. I first read about it in a book called "The Super Show" put out by Magic, Inc. (They later included the book in "The Success Book.") The book has a section called "Lighting and Sound to carry around" and it was written by Dale Fletcher. The cool thing was I was already doing photography as a hobby and used these lights for some studio work before buying studio flash units.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Michael

OK!

You mentioned that you use them with portable stages. Are you talking about staging that you own, or that which might be provided by the venue?

If it is yours - what do you use and where is it available?

Thanks again,
Chris

I'm personally a huge fan of ETC source 4 Par Can's effectively a 1k par only sucking 575w of power!

AC

These are stages provided by the facility (usually hotels).

Michael

By enhance, I mean making it more magical and mysterious. There are already existing house lights (like in hotels). I want to make sort of a shadow effect and also to make slightly invisible the black color to some illusions. The black light is to enhance the white dancing hank effect.

I am talking about a small stage, I do not need 600 watts to achieve this.

Lou,

If you can have the house lights dimmed, you will need less wattage (it also focuses attention on the stage.

A quick rule of thumb on blowing circuit breakers: 1000watts = 8 amps of load to a circuit. Keep in mind, several outlets may be on the same circuit. If you happen to be the unlucky fellow plogged into a line also powering a 1200w microwave on a 15 amp circuit breaker, the results can leave you in the dark.

Dave

Etc equipment is my favorite. adding a little color adds to the focus of the show. well worth doing. I use two tri pod stands that are pre wired for the pars They then connect to a control pannel that is cued from a foot pedal board at the front of the stage. I work simnilar events and the lights realy bring it all together.
imnot a fan of video lights as they can be a bit harsh perhaps not so much if they had a gel in front to soften the glare from them.

I would really love to dive into this a bit more - I see these posts and realize that I could pass along some valuable information to help out in these types of situations. ( Power issues )
While I am working and designing shows that are pulling anywhere from 400 to 800 amps per show for lighting 150 to 200 amps for audio, I am constantly working out small details for making sure to not trip any circuits during a performance.
A simple equation to remember is this
Amps = Watts divided by Volts
Thus a 600W lamp draws 5 amps -this can be a variable number as you never know the wiring inside the building - to play it safe, stick with the idea that older building you play will most likely have older wiring so keeping your amperage under 15 per circuit would be a good plan.
Hope this helps a bit !
Any questions, please do nor hesitate to email me directly.
All the Best,
Steven