Lighting question - Wash / Moving head locations

To many ads? Support ODJT and see no ads!
DJ Forbes

DJ Forbes

DJ Extraordinaire
Jul 30, 2021
299
722
46
So I can't seem to be able to find a solution I like to a question that others surely have had come up before. I am currently using an ADJ Pro Event Table II with the ADJ light trussing (as seen below but mine is all black).
750-ProEventBn_detail2.jpg

I would to have another solution as well. This is fine for some birthday parties or bars where I may be stuck in a tight spot, so I'll hang onto the truss probably forever. However, I much prefer the cleaner look of totems on either side of my speakers. I really like the Rockville totems. Great. I currently have a set of Wash FX Hex's. Great wash lights. I love them. I've seen plenty of setups with those sitting on the totems, no problem. They do a great job and the look is clean. I'm considering purchasing a set of moving heads. I know some couples like the "spotlight" dances, and they can add a little more movement to the room. Do I "NEED" them? No. But I'd like to have a set. My question, and reason for this post, is this.... if I buy a set of moving heads, where do I mount them? Do I get a second set of totems? Would it look bad to have the moving heads on top of the totems and the wash's mounted to the front of the totem, just below the top plate? I can weld a little, so I'm sure I could fab up something to affix a mounting bracket to the totem. I just think 4 totems plus a booth plus speakers, is starting to get to be a wide setup. That's great if there is room but if not, do I just have to choose one over the other?
I've recently seen some folks mounting the wash lights on the speaker poles, but then they are mounted about between 4'-5' off the ground, and to me that just screams blindness to anyone in the room. Those washes are BRIGHT.

Any suggestions?


sidenote - in case anyone was going to ask, I'm looking at the Chauvet intimidator spot 360x.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ittigger
DJ Forbes said:
So I can't seem to be able to find a solution I like to a question that others surely have had come up before. I am currently using an ADJ Pro Event Table II with the ADJ light trussing (as seen below but mine is all black).
View attachment 54475

I would to have another solution as well. This is fine for some birthday parties or bars where I may be stuck in a tight spot, so I'll hang onto the truss probably forever. However, I much prefer the cleaner look of totems on either side of my speakers. I really like the Rockville totems. Great. I currently have a set of Wash FX Hex's. Great wash lights. I love them. I've seen plenty of setups with those sitting on the totems, no problem. They do a great job and the look is clean. I'm considering purchasing a set of moving heads. I know some couples like the "spotlight" dances, and they can add a little more movement to the room. Do I "NEED" them? No. But I'd like to have a set. My question, and reason for this post, is this.... if I buy a set of moving heads, where do I mount them? Do I get a second set of totems? Would it look bad to have the moving heads on top of the totems and the wash's mounted to the front of the totem, just below the top plate? I can weld a little, so I'm sure I could fab up something to affix a mounting bracket to the totem. I just think 4 totems plus a booth plus speakers, is starting to get to be a wide setup. That's great if there is room but if not, do I just have to choose one over the other?
I've recently seen some folks mounting the wash lights on the speaker poles, but then they are mounted about between 4'-5' off the ground, and to me that just screams blindness to anyone in the room. Those washes are BRIGHT.

Any suggestions?


sidenote - in case anyone was going to ask, I'm looking at the Chauvet intimidator spot 360x.
Click to expand...
Are the wash effects necessary if using moving heads? If you program them well and always have them hitting the dance floor, a wash effect isn’t necessary really. I charge $450 for 2 heads only… nothing else… and they provide a great impact on the dance floor because that’s where the programming is mostly situated.

A welded on bracket may work well, but not really practical for times when you don’t need the wash effect or outgrow that look. I would look into a shelf like this… Global Truss DT-F34 Shelf - TRUSS SHELF FOR F34 SQUARE TRUSS https://a.co/d/hC4DeaS but I believe that will only work with the global truss towers. I have that shelf and it has been great for the few times it’s needed.

Lastly, if you haven’t yet, invest in wireless dmx control. In tight situations I put my trusses on the opposite side or in corners of the room.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ittigger
I'm not an expert in this area, I can suggest a few options. If you don't want to add a second set of totems, you could potentially mount the moving heads on the front of the existing totems, below the wash lights. Alternatively, you could try mounting the moving heads on your speaker poles, but you'll need to make sure they're not too high and causing blindness to your audience.
 
I have my moving heads on top of my totems and my wash FXs mounted on my speaker poles. The Wash lights of course are not on yet in the attached pic.
 

Attachments

  • 63D309C8-5FAE-400A-A9FC-7112F31FCB07.JPG
    63D309C8-5FAE-400A-A9FC-7112F31FCB07.JPG
    126.7 KB · Views: 4
Thanks for the feedback so far.
@djtaso - To answer some of your questions... So that bolt-on shelf is similar to what I was thinking. Not welding anything to the truss itself, just fabbing up a bracket, similar to that one. I'm not sure if I would need both Wash and Spots... but I like having the option. In smaller rooms with uplighting, I may not. I've been in some rooms where the uplighting washed the room pretty well. Also, I am currently using wireless DMX. I started out with wireless, and frankly, don't think I'll ever go to a wired dmx setup.

@BlueLineDJ - I've seen the washes set up on speaker poles like that before. My only fear is that if someone is dancing 5 or so feet in front of that light, it's going to blind them if they look in my direction. I prefer to have my wash lights mounted higher and angled down a little more if possible. There have been some venues with lower ceilings where I bounced light off the ceiling and that worked well also while keeping the direct light out of the people's eyes.

I'm also thinking maybe just a wider "top plate" on top of the truss could be a solution. Putting the spot and wash side by side. if the wash is on the inner side, the spot could still move around the room without interference. Just another thought, I guess.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlueLineDJ and ittigger
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back