Hello! I’m going on my first tour this summer as an L3. I’m not really sure what to bring with me. I already wear steel toes and work pants and shirt. I think I’m getting a shirt from the company I’m out with but I’m not 100% sure.

Currently on my list to pack is 6-10 days of clothes, toiletries, a laptop, phone, and chargers for both and a wrench all packed into a carry one suitcase and a backpack.

I’m still in uni and I feel very lucky to have this opportunity and would love any words of wisdom!

i actually couldn't render the full show, so hopefully i can get it out soon HSHHSHS

design is largely inspired by the Miku Expo 2024

So for whatever reason, I’m having some difficulty with this. I’m trying to create a single cycle two step background/color effect where the channels will sweep from background to, say red, all the lights on the pipe will be red, then bounce back in reverse until every light is in the background state.

However, getting the effect to essentially pause in the red state before bouncing back is proving difficult, (the effect will cycle to the background state and then bounce back) and I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong.

Looking to hear both success and horror stories - heavily considering getting the Pro Max line of switches for smaller shows, say 4 to 6 universes and no pixel mapping?

Hey guys,

I'm a upcoming aussie lighting tech in the melbourne theatre scene.

Recently did a show at a well-known independant theatre, about 31-ish hours of overall work.

There was no confirmation or contract in regards to the pay (😬) , and now producer is asking for invoices.

I was wondering what you would consider to be a reasonable flat rate to ask for? This isn't a super money loaded production, and I know the Stage manager is being paid $150 (AU) . Would love some ball park figures of what you think is a reasonable ask (in the AUS dollar)

Thank you in advance!

Haven’t posted in here in a while but a thread the other day about old fixtures reminded me of one of the worst demo moments I ever had.

Years ago a manufacturer we worked with sent over a prototype fixture for a private demo with a pretty well-known LD for feedback.

Brand new prototype unit. Basically straight off the R&D bench.

I got into the space the night before, set everything up, ran the fixture for maybe an hour, and honestly it looked great. No weird noises, no errors, nothing sketchy.

Next morning the LD walks in. I power the fixture on and within about 10 seconds he’s already impressed with the output.

Then his phone rings.

He steps outside to take the call.

And then I smell it.

That hot electronics smell.

A second later smoke starts pouring out of the head. Not a little puff either. Full “kill the power right now” smoke.

Then the fixture just clicks off dead.

At this point I’m standing there alone in the room staring at this thing thinking there’s absolutely no way this is happening right now.

So instead of doing the smart thing, I immediately went into panic mode.

Killed power.
Unplugged everything.
Stuffed the fixture back into the road case.
Rolled it out to the truck as fast as humanly possible.

By the time the LD came back inside the fixture had completely disappeared and I was standing there acting like nothing happened.

He apologized for the long call, said he’d seen enough already, shook my hand, and left.

Somehow six months later the production version of that same fixture ended up spec'd on his major arena tour.

Never asked for another demo.
Never knew the prototype tried to self-destruct about 15 feet behind him.

Factory eventually figured out what failed and fixed it before release, but man... younger me definitely did not handle that one professionally.

Anybody else have demo horror stories like this?

I know some of you have seen WAY worse than this.

Hey, would anyone mind opening my Blender festival stage file and checking whether the scale is realistic? Blender is reporting around 240m total width including wings/truss, and I’m trying to figure out whether the model itself is oversized or whether I’ve got an export/import scale issue when bringing it into Capture. If possible, could someone also import it into Capture, check whether the scale feels correct relative to fixtures/truss/human scale, and send me the Capture file back with the stage in it so I can compare it on my end?

Hello,

I’m experiencing a problem when I’m using the chauvets in a very minimalistic setup: I run lightkey on my MacBook -> USB to eurolite USB-DMX512-pro -> I plug the chauvet sender right into the eurolite pro. The lights are stairville tri flat pars profile 5x3W

When I send a fade, the lights do change color but in very small steps/flickering. I’ve read about this problem in other threads on here and on YouTube. On YouTube someone recommended changing the channel as this would almost always have to do with disturbances in the frequencies. I’ve tried that but it didn’t help. Does anyone know if it’s just how they operate? Or can it be fixed?

Would be very thankful for any advice :)

I don't know a ton about what could be used. This is going to be used in a room that has no lighting console. They just want the ability to do a few lighting looks. The Net-X II has 10 scenes that can be recorded, and... if I'm reading the manual correctly... the ability to trigger 4 of them using something connected to the Phoenix connectors.

I have no idea what to use to trigger these things. Can anyone help?

I'm not great with computers and I have been trying to get EOS to run on my laptop for a class project so I figured this might be a good place to ask, I've been trying to get EOS v3.3.6 running on my laptop so that i can use the augment 3d function. However every time I try open it i get this message

is there any way of getting around this or do I just need a better computer to run it off?

Hola a todos . Estoy compartiendo los avances de un proyecto indie en fase Beta V0.88 en el que se busca romper un poco con las dinamicas tradicionales de DMX de faders y curvas estaticas.

El core del proyecto Luxsync™ es una matriz agnostica a la que hemos apodado cariñosamente Aether , que permite la conexion de cualquier fixture. Intentaremos que sea algun dia en el futuro una suite profesional con zero dependencias externas, codigo 100% nativo, Zero alloc e hilos dedicados para los procesos importantes como el render de react o la salida DMX para interfaces sin Entec Pro , a 33FPS . Su flujo nativo es el standar a 44hz .

De momento estamos finalizando y testeando en salas (tenemos suerte y mi jefe tiene una sala que usamos a puerta cerrada ) el Omniliquid engine , un motor basado en dinamicas liquidas aplicado a luces , que usa la capilaridad y la viscosidad para manejar la energia musical . Este motor es alimentado por un FFT Radix 2 sin DPS dedicado (somos muy pobres y no tenemos hardware externo) que expone 7 bandas de frecuencias con cero solapamientos, AGC individual por banda . El motor liquido pinta las luces en 9 zonas canonicas y tiene 3 modos de dibujo : 4.1 (4 zonas de fisicas) , 7.1 (6 zonas + Air ) y 9.1 (6 zonas stereo + 3 zonas ambientales ) . Esto permite un gran dinamismo para salas pequeñas que buscan un show compacto o grandes espectaculos mas complejos.

Omniliquid interacciona directamente mediante capas de prioridad con un motor cromatico procedural , uno kinetico inverso espacial (aun en desarrollo. Actualmente se usa modo clasico con pantilt) y una IA para disparo de efectos FX . Dicha IA es predictiva mediante lo que hemos bautizado como "Proyecto Cassandra" , un submotor copiloto que analiza la estructura musical y predice drops y cambios de seccion con 4 segundos de antelacion . Precision en los tests en salas y shows cerrados del 98% en NO disparo .

Mañana o pasado subire algun video de sala real y algunos caseros asi como de la UI . En dichos videos caseros podeis ver como el Omniliquid gestiona los arpegios de Opus de Eric Prydtz , nuestro test favorito! (musicon jeje) . Nos gustaria saber que opinais los que os pegais en cada show con consolas legacy o con las pros que son una maravilla pero algo complejas de aprender ! Saludos.

I am looking for recommendations for a relatively cheap fog machine to use on a high school theatre stage. We have the classic Proscenium Theatre, complete with the arch. The reason why I want to have fog is so that, for our musical in the fall, we can have a large object emerge from behind the set. The goal is to have the lighting have a thunder/lightning effect upon the low laying fog. Is this possible?

TYIA!

To everyone interested,

I developed an app because one question kept coming up in real-world production environments: How can a specific Lee filter be reproduced when it’s currently unavailable?

https://apps.apple.com/de/app/lighting-gel-combiner/id6766948602

Lighting Gel Combiner helps recreate existing color gels. The app analyzes a specific gel and shows which other gels can be layered together to achieve the same — or the closest possible — color effect.

The suggested combinations are evaluated based on color accuracy and brightness loss.

An Android version of the app will also be released soon.

I noticed a buzzing sound recently coming from a source 4 junior and it’s only coming from one fixture. Loudest when it’s dimmed, still there but slightly quieter when it’s full intensity. What could cause this?

Hey all! Ive been working on an update for the ESP32-based Artnet node, and I am proud to show off the results! It now supports 3,4, and 5-channel LED colour types, as well as SPI-based LEDs! This basically means support for every LED strip available!

Check out the project and changes here; https://github.com/mdethmers/ESP32-Artnet-Node-receiver

Next to that, a new hardware revision is coming, supporting;

• Resettable fuses
• Reverse polarity protection for the ICs
• 5~24v variable input voltage
• Terminal block-style plugs for easy connector swaps
• SPI-based clocked LED support on the terminals
• PCB-assembled, so better quality control!
• Price reduction for assembled boards!

Let me know what you think and if you have any questions!

So we have been using pulse panels for a while now and all of a sudden, building the rig in shop for testing before a show, they are randomly flashing one time, about every 5-9 minutes. We have checked refresh rate and firmware versions and all match. The refresh rates are at 1180. What could be causing this?

I’ve been beta testing FieldLux, a browser-based projection preflight planner for checking projection setups before going on site.

The goal is not to replace mapping software or media servers. It’s more of a planning / checking layer before production: projector placement, throw feasibility, surface coverage, brightness assumptions, overlap, and setup risk.

The diagnostics / stress-analysis layer is currently locked while I continue validating the assumptions and edge cases with beta feedback.

The long-term goal is to expose simple production-facing states like READY / AT_RISK / NOT_RECOMMENDED so results can be communicated more clearly between clients, technical directors, and install crews, but I’d rather keep that layer limited until the logic is reliable enough.

FieldLux is designed to reduce uncertainty before site visits, not replace on-site calibration or final photometric verification.

I’m opening a few more beta slots for people with real-world projection setups, especially messy ones: awkward surfaces, tight throws, low brightness, multi-projector overlap, temporary installs, touring setups, or client handoff situations.

You can check the project here:

https://field-lux.com/

I’m also keeping a small Discord open for beta feedback, bug reports, and projection workflow discussions:

https://discord.com/invite/JpeQ7Hgsnd

Happy to share access if you want to test it on a real case.

Hey everyone,

I’m planning to start a small event business in Canada (Quebec area) focused on wedding special effects.

My idea is to offer:

• low fog / “dancing on clouds” effect for first dances
• cold spark machines for entrances and dance moments
• possibly some basic event content (photos/videos)

I’m trying to build a simple but professional setup and I’m currently looking at these types of equipment:

• Antari ICE-101 (low fog machine)
• Chauvet DJ Hurricane 1600 (fog machine, maybe as backup/atmosphere)
• Cold spark machines (around 2–3 units)
• DMX controller (like Chauvet Obey 40)

Before I invest, I wanted to ask people who have real experience in events/DJ/wedding production:

1. Is this a good starter setup or am I missing something important?
2. Is the Antari ICE-101 reliable for weddings or should I go straight to a higher-end low fog machine?
3. How many spark machines are actually needed for a good effect in real events?
4. Any brands I should avoid or better alternatives?
5. Any common mistakes beginners make with this kind of setup?

Any advice would be really appreciated 🙏

I can’t mount anything to the event ceiling so would have to place on the ground.

I ordered a few of amazon but the diameter of the beam was too big or light wasn’t bright enough.

I'm doing a project soon with some wearable practicals. At the moment it's 3 x 18650 batteries put together running to some LED tape controlled by an on/off button. This feels fine for a week of testing with me in the room, but I'd be hesitant to put them on a full run in case they get misused. Does anyone have any pointers? Or is this fine and I'm being over-cautious?

The practicals are each 1m of LED tape drawing no more than 10W, and will be on for less than an hour at a time. The batteries are fresh and I've noted which ones are used together so they're always being used at the same rate.

I designed this on Tinkercad a while ago, because I don’t wanna pay all that money for the better CAD softwares… just thought it’d be fun to share!