Hall/Drama lighting - suppliers?

[Bananas]

Don't suppose anyone can recommend a good theatrical lighting supplier/installer able to cover Norfolk? We need new wiring, desk, dimmers and i'd like to look at motorised LED lights as well.

 

Any advice appreciated, thanks

[mb2k01]

We use Stage Electrics - used them in our old school, plus engaged with them to design our custom Theatre and additional performance/music spaces in our new school (non-BSF/PFI). Very technically able, pricing is.... reasonable - but we've found you really do get what you pay for in this area!

[Oaktech]

for your neck of the woods, yeah, stage electrics... if you are feeling flush you could talk to autograph... Autograph

[localzuk]

Another vote for Stage here. They're pretty much the standard supplier for stage lighting in education - I've yet to find a school who don't use them.

[Oaktech]

My school don't, they use me, and my former employer! But we are an exception!

 

There are lots of school around dorset/hants/wilts who use CPS, and Stage Craft, as by the time Stage Electrics have put on their travel costs on to get down from London or Bristol for example they price themselves out of the job!

[Little-Miss]

@RTS (RTS Technology Solutions - Audio-Visual and IT Integration for Businesses, Hotels, Conference Centres, Event Venues and Education)

[Bananas]

Thanks everyone i'll ping an email off to a few of those places. I've emailed Viking and a couple of other locals I knew about but always handy to have some others to try as well. I think it's going to be quite a big job

[Andrew_C]

I'd go with Stage, or maybe AC Lighting.

 

Not so sure I'd go with the LED movers though. Check that they dim nicely, and don't change colour as they fade, and consider the on-costs of having the things serviced. They ARE NOT the panacea that some make them out to be.

[Oaktech]

the only arguements for LED are heat, and lamp life. If you are considering it for any other reasons, don't use it!

[Bananas]

Heat, lamp life - kind of goes with it but gaining access to change the bulbs = H&S nightmare these days (when I did Drama GCSEs we put our own scaffolding together then climbed up it, carrying lights up/down, changing bulbs etc all under minimal supervision, these days as an adult i'm not allowed to even climb the scaffolding let alone do any of the other stuff LOL!!), convenience of moving head.

 

I know what you mean about ongoing costs, servicing etc and i'm not talking about replacing ALL our lights with LED ones just adding a couple in for now and running with the best (ie usable) of our "old" ones I can always hire in more LED movers if I need to for a production as long as we've got the infrastructure etc in place.

 

I imagine a mix of traditional and LEDs would be the best compromise, still that's why I want to get the Pro's in. Thanks for all the advice much appreciated!!

[plexer]

these days as an adult i'm not allowed to even climb the scaffolding let alone do any of the other stuff LOL!!), convenience of moving head.

 

How come? with relevant training, risk assessments and equipment you are or could you look at being able to lower the lighting rig to do these things?

 

Ben

Edited May 23, 2012 by plexer

[Bananas]

Same reason I don't do PAT testing training:

 

1. because I don't want to

2. because it means I will get crapped on with it forever more

3. I have more than enough to keep me busy (as do most of us)

4. I was a fearless teen back then, since then I have discovered a sensible fear of falling off of high places

 

I could look at the new system on the stage having a lowering system but that wouldn't help with the lighting bar that runs across the roof of the hall, nah that's what contractors were invented for

[plexer]

@Bananas ok fair enough allthough a portable scaff tower PASMA course would be more benificial than a PAT course, how do you service/clean projectors or other high level IT assets?

 

Ben

[Bananas]

All of our projectors etc are reachable with a small set of steps which we're trained/allowed to use. The hall projector is chest height rear projection mount so that's not too high. We're lucky in that regard that we don't actually have anything in "our side of things" (ie the actual IT stuff) that is up high.

 

I can't honestly think of anything that we need to service that is higher than a little over my head height (stage lighting excepted) which is very fortunate.

 

Previous schools i've worked in we had a ceiling mount projector in the hall and when that needed the lamp replacing we called a contractor in for it, they did fit a high end DLP projector in there that didn't have filters so at least it didn't need those cleaning regularly.

 

Funnily enough I worked in a cinema in my late teens and we had this very cool bit of kit called a Tall-o-scope, base of scaffolding on 4 wheels you pulled the thing upright and put two bolts in to hold it up which gave you a ladder with a platform at the top then you pulled on a rope and the ladder telescoped up and you then climbed up to the top to change the bulbs, this thing used to sway around something rotten when you were up there, used to terrify me. Then we had the big outdoor sign that you needed a ladder to climb up, that then had a balcony round it you could walk on but to change the top part of the sign you had to pull the ladder up behind you and use that, not massive fun.

 

Come to think of it those 2 jobs is probably what gave me my healthy fear of doing such things now LOL!!

[Oaktech]

Jeez, a tallescope is enough to put the fear of heights into a free climber! they are B-oun-ceeee! You want to try being on the end of one of these...

 

[Bananas]

Wonder if I can cram one of those into the Hall lighting budget.......

[TLARWise]

I am currently looking in to replacing our lighting system in our hall aswell. If you want some some other alternatives try AJS - Theatre Supplies - All your theatre supplies from one place and School Stage Lighting, Audio Visual Installation and Design, Theatrical Suppliers, Stage Curtains, Staging Systems, Stage Hire. We have used AJS before and they did a good job and when we had the owner of SchoolStage in he seemed very knowledgeable plus they specialize in education establishments. We have had quotes from Stage Electrics a few years ago and they were usually more expensive than other companies.

[Bananas]

Cheers i'll have a look at those too

 

Thanks again everyone

[Oaktech]

I would warn against AJS. They were big players in the 80s and 90s but they have gone seriously downhill. They aredificult to deal with as they are essentially just 2 or 3 people these days and they no longer have the buying power they once did and the installs i've seen recently were pretty poor.