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    Blog Series: Lighting Education

    CHAUVET Professional Team Offers MVP Training

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Our knowledgeable sales team went to Phoenix, Arizona, to show employees of Richter Scale Productions the value and performance of our MVP 12 modular video panels. CHAUVET staff demonstrated how easy the 48 modular panels included in their inventory interlock to form a high-definition video wall ideal for live video content and amazing animation graphics. Once up, Richter Scale Productions employees had a semi-transparent video wall with a breathable, flow-through design, ready to be used. Enjoy great pics:

     

     

     

     

     

     


    CHAUVET at USITT 2012

    Written by David on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    For the first time at the USITT show, CHAUVET attracted visitors with an array of lights, including our COLORado Series of powerful wash fixtures, ideal for stage use. On display we had the COLORado Zoom Tour, COLORado Zoom CW Tour, COLORado Zoom WW Tour, COLORado 2 Zoom Tour and COLORado 1-Quad Tour. Projecting beautiful saturated washes COLORado Zoom Tour and COLORado 2 Zoom Tour were among the most popular, next to the LED Followspot 75 light and Impulse 648 bright strobe light. COLORado Batten 72 Tour Tour and COLORado Batten 144 Tour linear wash lights impressed with their precise color temperatures, while the Q-Spot 560-LED demonstrated its brightness and even output.  Our professional dry ice machine Nimbus flooded the booth floor in thick fog and COLORado Ridge IP projected intense colors due to its red, green, blue, white and amber LEDs. Perfect for adding a lot of color to small performance venues, SlimPAR Pro RGBA was also showcased, for its complete spectrum in some of the harder-to-create warm colors.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Tech Talk: Don’t Ignore Preventative Maintenance

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Mike Graham looking pensive in front of MVP panels.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    Keeping your equipment running is critical in this day and age. No one can afford to have a broken fixture just sitting there collecting more dust than if it were in the rig. Scheduling preventative maintenance protects your investments and brings more money in the long run. Depending on your environment and on how much you are using your lights, you should plan for a preventative maintenance usually once a quarter. If your lights perform in a particularly harsh environment, then it would make sense to do it twice or more a quarter.

    1. Exterior inspection. This is the easiest to do, and to be quite honest, should actually happen every time you pack for a show. Watch for these steps when conducting the inspection:
    A. Cable and connection check: check that all of the connections are tight and that the power connector holds the power cable correctly. If it is not locking properly, or is falling out, then it may be time for a new connector. Make sure your DMX connections are sung, but don’t let the cables hang up when you are trying to release them. If you have tails coming from the light, inspect the cable strain relief to make sure it is not cracked. Also, verify that the wire and the connections are in good condition.

    B. Fan vent inspection: if your lights have fans, then there are fan vents. If the fan vents look like the lint trap on your dryer after you run a load of towels, then it is time for a cleaning! This can be done with a rag slightly moistened with glass cleaner.
    CAUTION! Never spray any kind of cleaner directly onto a fixture. Always spray it on a towel or rag, and then rub the fixture clean. NEVER use an air hose or caned air to blow into the fan vents. Spinning the fans may sound cool, but can create a positive voltage feedback into the main PCB and will for sure damage the bearings on the fan itself.

    C. Optics inspection: take a look at the lens and make sure it is free of garbage. Again, a little glass cleaner goes along way. Do not use anything abrasive to clean glass. It will scratch and you will cry.  While you are looking into the optics, check and make sure that there is no apparent heat damage on anything under the glass.

    2. Internal inspection. On any product that has a fan, internal inspections are important. For IP outdoor rated products, this is completely not necessary. Keep in mind that only qualified personnel should open IP products. Opening up a COLORado 1 IP is easy. Getting it back together and maintaining the IP rating is tricky. Also, opening up an IP rated fixture will void the warranty.

    A. Cable and connection check: visually assess the inside of the light to make sure that all of the connections are attached properly. You can give them a little wiggle—not a tug—to verify that they are not falling off. Make sure that no cables are pinched and that they are still flexible.

    B. Fan cleaning: always clean fans before you clean your optics. Once the head covers are off, you will see that you have a rat’s nest of hair, dust, dead skin cells, haze or fog fluid, and other nasty stuff stuck to your fans and heat sinks. To get this off, first put on a mask. You do not want to breath in the dust bunnies that you are about to blow out of here. If you are working on a fixture with an exposed lamp, such as a typical 250-watt or 575-watt moving head fixture, you may want to remove the lamp to avoid having dust stick to it. It’s not so much that the dust will start on fire when you turn the lamp back on, but it will stink as it burns off. So, to make it simple, just follow these steps:
    Step 1: make sure your fan is not going to spin freely. Use a screwdriver to put threw the blades to hold the fan in place.
    Step 2: put on your mask!
    Step 3: using an air compressor, blow the fans clean. Once the fans are clean, blow out the rest of the fixture head with the compressor. Check to see if there are clumps of gunk stuck to anything, especially to the optical path.

    C. Optics clean: make sure that your optics are clean. A little dirt and dust can go a long way to dropping your output. If you are using foggers and hazers, then you will want to pay close attention to this. For the glass gobos, fortunately for you, all CHAUVET glass gobos are on slot and lock gobo holders. Remove the gobo, clean it with a cotton cloth and a little glass cleaner, dry and replace. You can use a cotton swab to get the grime out of the outer edges. If you notice specs of black in the outside of the image when looking at a projected gobo after it has been cleaned, then you are dealing with gunk, which you can only remove with a swab. I like the ones with the long wooden stick like they have in the doctor’s office. For the color wheel, do not remove it. Just do your best to get it clean. Again, I like swabs for this too. Takes a little longer, but looks much better. Repeat process on the prism and other optics as needed.

    All of the above should be followed about once every four months. If you are in a higher usage area, more frequent maintenance might be necessary. Planning a routine like this will keep your rig working for you, and not you working for it.

    Zen and the Art of Entertainment Lighting, Part 2

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Mike Graham looking pensive in front of MVP panels.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    Question: How many grains of sand are in the desert?
    Answer: Not one more than there has to be.

    When you are working on your design of your light plot, it is important to not throw every single light you have at the stage…unless it absolutely calls for it. Once the set design is finished, your job is to make it look amazing. The key here is not to go over the top. Too often designers make the error of throwing the kitchen sink at a rig just to have more. This is not the way of Zen. Zen dictates that the design does not have to be stark, but the choices have to make sense.

    Plot with Care, Grasshopper.
    It is really easy to stray away from the plan during the plotting stage. Firstly, using software like WISYWIG, MSD, or Vector Works makes dropping in lights really easy. So easy in fact, that the temptation to go overboard is strong. For anyone who doubts this, check out the CHAUVET LDI 2009, 2010, and 2011 rigs. If there is an open square foot of truss, I am dropping a light in. For a trade show, this is important as the point of the rig is to show what the lights do and how they work together. That is the story line for a trade show, however, this is rarely the case in everyday life.

    Consider the Performance.
    When you are working on the plot, consider the act. Are you working with a smoky blues singer, or are you working on a Fortune 500 gala event. If you are working the blues singer, then having a few down lights, a little front light, and some back light are really effective and will look really cool. If you are working the gala event, then a much bigger rig may or may not be called for. It really depends on the event. Even if you are working on a straight play (a play with no music), there must be a balance. Classic front, side, and back lighting will work perfectly. Cover your acting areas evenly is the key. There is no need for any kind of excessive lighting in these situations.

    Get Practical.
    So let’s say I am plotting a show that will have a few practicals. A practical is a light on a set that would be seen in day-to-day life, like a table lamp or a wall sconce. It can either be controlled by an actor (bad idea) or by the lighting operator (good idea). Let’s say I have four wall sconces and two table lamps, I also have to light around them with theatrical light. This means that I have to take into account what kind of light the practical will put out in relation to what the design intent is when I place my theatrical lights.

    For example, in your house, a table lamp gives off enough light to read by, but not enough to light the whole room. A wall sconce will give off enough light to fill in the places that the table lamp does not. I would use my theatrical lights called specials.

    Stay Special.
    Specials are names for fixtures that are used to accent a specific thing. In this case, the special is used to give the impression that the practical is brighter than it is. A special is a functional light source, not an area light source. As I select my specials, I would choose soft, diffused edges and try to get the color temperature to come in around 3400 K so that it is a little cooler than the practicals will be. This will allow the practicals to be seen and function, but will allow the theatrical lights to give off enough output to let the action be seen. Combined with the basics of front, side, back, and down light, this will give the action the correct amount of light and will not overpower the light itself.

    The plot is set…Let’s start programming.

    Read Zen and the Art of Entertainment Lighting, Part 3
    Read Zen and the Art of Entertainment Lighting, Part 1

    CHAUVET Professional at PLASA Focus: Austin 2012

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    CHAUVET Professional showcased INfectious products at this year’s PLASA Focus: Austin 2012. Visitors of booth 206 had the opportunity to experience our MVP 12 modular video panel, Legend 412 moving yoke, COLORado 2 Zoom Tour and COLORado Zoom Tour static wash lights, as well as Q-Wash 560Z-LED moving head. Also featured was the practical wireless event LED luminaire WELL, and PowerStream 4, an INgenious splitter for powerCON connections. The versatile and bright COLORado 2 Zoom Tour and Legend 412, capable of amazing pixel-mapping effects, both received special attention from attendees.

    Dwight Slamp holding MVP 12 video panel for guests.

    Legend 412 pixel-mapping moving yoke.

    COLORado 2 Zoom Tour wash light.



    WELL fixture wirelessly uplights banner on the right as well as in images below.

    Tech Talk: Right Fixture in Your Design

    Written by David on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Mike Graham looking pensive in front of MVP panels.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    So here we are, LEDs are everywhere: RGB, RGBW, RGBWA, tri-colored, quad-colored, color temperature control. And what do we do with it all? Is there a standard for all of these colors and lensing combinations across the industry? Absolutely!….not. So, how is a designer or specifier supposed to know what to use with this vast sea of gear that is out there? Is there a shining beacon of hope, and if there is indeed, how many LEDs are in it and what wattage are they? A common question that I get is, “How do I get the incandescent crowd to understand and use LED fixtures?” That, my friends, is a really hard question to answer. I usually start with another question: “What is their design goal?” The suggestions below come after years of experience, so read them carefully:

    COLORado 1-Quad Tour is a compact, solid wash light equipped with 7 10-watt RGBW quad-colored LEDs.

    1. Tricks for front lighting. If I am looking to do front light, then I need to be able to blend colors easily.  For this, I am going to use tri-colored LEDs from a shorter throw distance. COLORado 1-Tri Tour is a great light for the first electric. The 25-degree beam angle lends itself nicely to about a 20-foot throw—distance from the light source to the object being lit—and will create a perfectly homogenized color blend. For a longer throw, I would look towards the COLORado 1-Quad Tour. Featuring RGBW LEDs, and an 11-degree beam angle, it is good for the house electric and can easily have a throw distance of 35 to 40 feet.

    COLORado 2 Zoom Tour impresses with its brightness, wide range zoom and flexibility.

    2. Know how to maintain flexibility. If I need something that is more flexible, I am going to switch up to the COLORado Zoom fixtures. COLORado Zoom Tour is great for distances of about 30 feet or less. Having the ability to adjust the beam angle by DMX, it allows the designer to use this as a utility fixture. Because of the zooming feature, the pool of light is really even, so it can be used as anything—from a side light, to front light, to downlight. With the zooming feature, you can even use it as an effect light from behind, to fake an iris effect. If you are shooting from a longer distance, then grab the COLORado 2 Zoom Tour. Same DMX layouts and field characteristics as the COLORado Zoom Tour, but a lot more output.

    COLORado Batten 72 Tour linear wash fixture includes 72 1-watt LEDs with RGBWA color mixing.

    3. Cyc lighting is easy! If you are trying to light a cyc or your have to replace border lights, then take a look at the COLORado Batten 72 Tour and COLORado Batten 144 Tour linear wash lights. COLORado Batten 72 Tour makes a great downlight, as well as a foot light. Having the standard 30-degree beam and RGBWA LEDs, it can mix to any hue or saturation that a designer may wish to create. If you need to have a combined power of 15- and 30-degree lensing, the COLORado Batten 144 Tour will fit the bill. This guy came from a customer suggestion to double the power of the COLORado Batten 72 Tour, thus able to do higher cycs of 40 or more feet evenly. In this case, mission accomplished.

    COLORado Zoom CW Tour has 37 3-watt cool and warm white LEDs for powerful output.

    4. Ideas for studio lighting. For the studio crowd, we have just unleashed the latest COLORado fixtures. COLORado Zoom CW Tour and COLORado Zoom WW Tour are just what the director of photography needs. These lights are designed with the limitations of binning in mind, giving off the perfect blend of color temperatures for both daylight and tungsten applications. Depending on what your environment is, we have you covered. Because of the zooming functionality, both of these fixtures are hands-down winners for the studio scene. Combining the zoom and the ability to get a higher output of either warm or cool color temperatures offers the most flexibility possible to lower the amount of fixtures needed to light a set. Perfect for indoor or outdoor applications, these lights are well worth taking a look at.

    So, next time a designer asks you why they should take a look at LED lighting, you have a solid answer: “I can show you any color you like! Oh, and what beam angle where you looking for?”

    COLORado Batten 144 Tour on JimonLightTV

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    We are thrilled to be in the premiere episode of JimonLightTV. Already an industry favorite, Jim Huthinson’s JimonLight blog has recently branched out into webisodes. These online sojourns will allow the blogger to spend some quality time with subjects like the in-depth review of the CHAUVET Professional COLORado Batten 144 Tour. Below is the teaser for the first episode. Enjoy!

    COLORdash Batten-Tri Colors Paris Trade Show

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Spreading the prettiest deep pink, 22 COLORdash Batten Tri linear wash lights were the stars in Paris, France, at the popular SIEL trade show – the Professional Trade Show of Staging and Event Solutions. Rental company Stars installed the fixtures in the center of the trade show, where they also lit an awards ceremony and amazed visitor with their intense pink color. A diffuser was placed on each batten to produce homogeneous shades of color.





     

     

    Event Live Expo 2012

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    We participated in Event Live Expo 2012 in L.A. last week. A great show overall with interesting discussions, such as a festival panel featuring representatives of Coachella, Electric Daisy Carnival, Hangout, Voodoo, and Burning Man.

    CHAUVET Professional also had a booth where we showed off our MVP Series of modular video panels, COLORado Zoom Tour and COLORado 2 Zoom Tour static wash lights, Legend 412, Q-Spot 560 LED and Q-Wash 560Z LED moving heads. Our own Jamey Brock, director of sales for CHAUVET, took these shots below.

    Matrix of Legend 412 on left, MVP Series on right.

    Closer (albeit softer) view of above.

    Tech Talk: Tooling Around

    Written by on . Posted in Uncategorized.

    Mike Graham looking pensive in front of MVP panels.

    Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

    A universal theme among us in this industry is that we have to travel to do our jobs. Planes, trains, and automobiles, that’s us. I have to say; sometimes I really envy people who only go on planes for vacations. Since the unfortunate events of September 2001, airplane travel has become a bit of a challenge. I had a fit the first time I had to check my tools.  (Sorry, but a $5,000 Fluke Meter is not something I wanted to have in my checked baggage.) If my tools don’t show up, I might as well not show up either.

    As a work around, here is my suggestion: I check the probes for my meter in my baggage and I pack the meter itself in my computer bag, which I carry on. There is no way I am losing it. I have my tool bag that travels separately from my luggage, but I put a few backup tools (screwdrivers, C wrench, side cutters) in my luggage. I figure that this ensures a better chance of at least one bag showing up at my destination. If you are taking any kind of butane or battery operated soldering irons, make sure the fluid chamber is empty and that the batteries are taken out.

    When it comes to carry-on luggage, I have a backpack and tow-behind travel case that can be zipped together to become one unit—or a wheeled backpack. I put my laptop in the backpack and my meters, books, and a change of clothes into the tow-behind. This works great because if I am on a flight where the gate people are telling me there is only one carry-on and your laptop bag counts, then I zip them together. It still fits in the overhead. If I am in Europe and they are weighing my carry-on, I keep them separate. (Shameless Plug Alert: CHAUVET also has a line of VIP Gear Bags to consider, see below for more information.)

    This is the backpack / tow-behind combo that I use.

    This also comes in handy for taking tools and parts to and from shows. If I am going to a show, most of the time, I have already packed a road case full of whatever I need so I am not really traveling with tools anyway. The only tools I fly with are ones I will need before my case shows up. For example, I know for trade shows, I will need a good tape measure with at least 25’ of tape on it, a sharp knife, and chalk before anything else shows up. I make sure the chalk and tape measure are in my carry-on, and the knife is in my luggage. For international shows, I have no road case, so I have to pack tools. However, I don’t bring the kitchen sink when I travel internationally. I only take what I need so I do not have to pay an over-weight-limit luggage fee.  All I really need are:

    • 2x Phillips head screwdrivers ( a # 1 and #2 size is good)
    • 2x Flat-head screwdrivers (one big, one small)
    • 1x Complete set of Allen keys—this can be the style that folds down or a t-handle kit
    • 2x Crescent wrenches (8” and 6”)
    • 1x Medium-sized vice-grip
    • 1x Soldering iron*
    • 1x Solder
    • 2x Small cutters
    • 1x Set nut drivers (metric or imperial, depending on your need)
    • 1x True RMS multi-meter

    * Here is the catch: If you are going international, soldering irons are not auto-ranging, auto-sensing, or auto-anything in terms of power. You have to know what voltage you are going to need to make sure you have the right iron. Or, you can get a battery-powered one, which is what I choose. Chances are good you won’t have to do a lot of soldering. If you do, buy one on site.

    I also like to take a few parts kits for the lights I have on my show as well so in the case something breaks, I am ready to go.

    Keep in mind your friendly TSA gate agent is not going to be too happy with you if the above tools are in your carry-on. Make sure that if you are using your carry-on for a tool case while at your show, you take them back out and put them in your luggage or traveling tool kit bag. Here is a link for an up-to-date list of what you can and can’t bring on a flight.

    Oddly enough, according to this site, cattle prods and gel shoe inserts have to be checked in your luggage and not carried on the plane. I can see the gel shoe inserts, but I will need that cattle prod to get through the inspection lines.

    CHAUVET VIP Gear Bags
    CHAUVET created a series of soft-sided gear bags for some of the more lightweight fixtures (that don’t require a road case) found in both the CHAUVET Professional line and CHAUVET DJ line.

    These would also be great for tools and cables as there are built-in, movable interior dividers and side pockets to keep everything in their place. There are four sizes to choose from and worth checking out.