"Dancing With The Stars" gig - your input requested

[rickryan.com]

I'm doing a "Dancing With The Stars" fund-raiser this weekend at a local country club. Here's the room:

For sound, I'll be setup in the left-rear corner of the pic above and was thinking to put another top on the right-hand rear corner. Sub will be by my table. There are 5 competitors and I'm thinking to usie 3 source four jr zooms (wish I had a 4th) to light the dance floor during the competition. I'm thinking 2 fixtures at the front left and right corners (from the pic) of the dance floor and maybe another in the corner in front of my DJ table. Those lights will be on crank stands at around 9 ft and will be removed after the competition is over. I'm not the MC during the competition and will be supplying 3 wireless hand-helds (2 GTD and 1 Sennheiser) for the judges and MCs (shared). After the competition is over, I'll take down the SF fixtures, put up my pair of Martin Acrobats, then dancing until 11p. This is a basic DJ package so I won't be doing uplighting or monogram. Thought about blisslights but it's hard to reach the center ceiling with that 12 foot roof lip that goes around the room. By the way, the room will be packed full as they've already sold out 250 tickets. Space will be at a premium.

First question, would you use amber gels on the SF fixtures or just plain white? Any other suggestions that you guys think might be an improvement over what I'm describing? Thanks in advance.

 

[steve149]

If the judges are pro or semi-pro, I would probably rent some better mics than the GTDs (even if they do the job) .. image might be important.

 

[ahoustondj]

I'm doing a "Dancing With The Stars" fund-raiser this weekend at a local country club. Here's the room:

For sound, I'll be setup in the left-rear corner of the pic above and was thinking to put another top on the right-hand rear corner. Sub will be by my table. There are 5 competitors and I'm thinking to usie 3 source four jr zooms (wish I had a 4th) to light the dance floor during the competition. I'm thinking 2 fixtures at the front left and right corners (from the pic) of the dance floor and maybe another in the corner in front of my DJ table. Those lights will be on crank stands at around 9 ft and will be removed after the competition is over. I'm not the MC during the competition and will be supplying 3 wireless hand-helds (2 GTD and 1 Sennheiser) for the judges and MCs (shared). After the competition is over, I'll take down the SF fixtures, put up my pair of Martin Acrobats, then dancing until 11p. This is a basic DJ package so I won't be doing uplighting or monogram. Thought about blisslights but it's hard to reach the center ceiling with that 12 foot roof lip that goes around the room. By the way, the room will be packed full as they've already sold out 250 tickets. Space will be at a premium.

First question, would you use amber gels on the SF fixtures or just plain white? Any other suggestions that you guys think might be an improvement over what I'm describing? Thanks in advance.

That is too big a Dance Floor to be up in a corner. Better get with the Folks to be to ensure you have a proper spread and placement beforehand. You with the gear can be anywhere. A wider spread will give you better coverage with less volume. If they are going through all this trouble to have a splendid event be sure to make them aware of the importance of where your speakers need to be!

 

[rickryan.com]

That is too big a Dance Floor to be up in a corner. Better get with the Folks to be to ensure you have a proper spread and placement beforehand. You with the gear can be anywhere. A wider spread will give you better coverage with less volume. If they are going through all this trouble to have a splendid event be sure to make them aware of the importance of where your speakers need to be!

You might want to re-read what I wrote. I've already gotten approval for a 70-foot spread, a top in each corner of the room (one side).

 

[ahoustondj]

You might want to re-read what I wrote. I've already gotten approval for a 70-foot spread, a top in each corner of the room (one side).

I read it quite well, you never said you got approval. You were thinking! This is what you wrote "For sound, I'll be setup in the left-rear corner of the pic above and was thinking to put another top on the right-hand rear corner. "
No need to reply to prolong this. Just carry on!

 

[Ausumm]

First question, would you use amber gels on the SF fixtures or just plain white?

I would only use white if it were for TV.
But do a test in the room before you decide.

 

[rickryan.com]

I would only use white if it were for TV.
But do a test in the room before you decide.

You're probably correct. That room is heavy on amber (incandescent) lighting. We have to pull a white balance any time we're shooting photography there. Part of me is tempted to throw my 4 scanners on a bar and run my searchlight pattern during the competition. I think it'd be really cool-looking but the concern is it might be distracting to the dancers involved. My take on this thing is that the contestants will be kids of prominent members at the club. Each contestant will be paired with a "pro dancer" (i.e. part-time dance instructor) from the local dance academy. I want to make them look good as possible, although the lazy side of me doesn't want to fool with wiring an extra T-bar (it's a basic DJ service that they paid for).

 

[Ausumm]

You're probably correct. That room is heavy on amber (incandescent) lighting. We have to pull a white balance any time we're shooting photography there. Part of me is tempted to throw my 4 scanners on a bar and run my searchlight pattern during the competition. I think it'd be really cool-looking but the concern is it might be distracting to the dancers involved. My take on this thing is that the contestants will be kids of prominent members at the club. Each contestant will be paired with a "pro dancer" (i.e. part-time dance instructor) from the local dance academy. I want to make them look good as possible, although the lazy side of me doesn't want to fool with wiring an extra T-bar.

You are correct.
But searchlights would look cool BEFORE they dance, as they are being announced (or after)
And would be pretty good when announcing the winners.
But yes, it would be much easier to just not bring them.

 

[rickryan.com]

Well the DWTS event was a huge success and not to mention, easy, easy, easy on me. This room is roughly 75X50 and the tops spread to the corners on the long wall don't work as well as to put them both on a short wall (40 ft spread), although plenty of compliments on th sound tonight. I ended up using 2 GTD mics and 1 Sennheiser. It worked out perfectly, no errors and everything came off smooth and good-sounding. I picked up a Yamaha MG10XU mixer for this gig. I'm going back and buying the 12-channel version with faders on it. The built-in compression sounds really good for a little mixer and this thing is dead-quiet. The one negative I saw is the built-in USB port didn't automatically recognize on Windows 7. I hate having to install 3rd party drivers, specifically for a piece of gear. Overall though, the little mixer is an excellent value. Love the XLR outs.

 

[Ron]

Well the DWTS event was a huge success and not to mention, easy, easy, easy on me. This room is roughly 75X50 and the tops spread to the corners on the long wall don't work as well as to put them both on a short wall (40 ft spread), although plenty of compliments on th sound tonight. I ended up using 2 GTD mics and 1 Sennheiser. It worked out perfectly, no errors and everything came off smooth and good-sounding. I picked up a Yamaha MG10XU mixer for this gig. I'm going back and buying the 12-channel version with faders on it. The built-in compression sounds really good for a little mixer and this thing is dead-quiet. The one negative I saw is the built-in USB port didn't automatically recognize on Windows 7. I hate having to install 3rd party drivers, specifically for a piece of gear. Overall though, the little mixer is an excellent value. Love the XLR outs.

Great! Very interested in this mixer of which you speak. Definitely gonna check it out.

 

[oldschooldj]

Rick and Ron,

I have the Yamaha MG12XU mixer, bought it about a month ago, over the MG10XU because I wanted faders for these big, old hands. I downloaded the software from the Yamaha site on both my computers, I will say it did not go as smooth as I thought the software installs should have went.

It is as extremely flexible and quiet mixer, I love it for a mixer that cost me less than 3 bills after Nashville tax

 

[Ron]

Rick and Ron,

I have the Yamaha MG12XU mixer, bought it about a month ago, over the MG10XU because I wanted faders for these big, old hands. I downloaded the software from the Yamaha site on both my computers, I will say it did not go as smooth as I thought the software installs should have went.

It is as extremely flexible and quiet mixer, I love it for a mixer that cost me less than 3 bills after Nashville tax

Thanks for the information.
It looks a lot like the Peavey PV series. I have been using the PV8 USB (http://peavey.com/products/index.cfm/item/699/116921/PV 8 USB) and really like it. What I am curious about the Yamaha is, can apply the onboard FX to just the mic inputs. Sometimes my karaoke singers ask for some reverb on their vocals.

 

[rickryan.com]

Thanks for the information.
It looks a lot like the Peavey PV series. I have been using the PV8 USB (http://peavey.com/products/index.cfm/item/699/116921/PV 8 USB) and really like it. What I am curious about the Yamaha is, can apply the onboard FX to just the mic inputs. Sometimes my karaoke singers ask for some reverb on their vocals.

Yes, you have efx levels on each channel. This little yamaha is a winner. I think I'm going to pickup the slightly larger version with the faders on it as well.