# rehearsal/work lights



## JustAShadow (May 21, 2009)

Hi all, 
I'm hoping to get some suggestions/recommendations for fixtures that can be used as rehearsal lights and or work lights in both a small proscenium theatre and a small blackbox. I've been using 6" Altman Fresnels for the last couple of years without much issue, but recently on of the directors/faculty members has been complaining of the glare. I'm trying to search out a non-theatrical fixture, but any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers, 
~shadow


----------



## theILLUMINATEDfrog (May 21, 2009)

If you're simply looking for work lights, have some fluorescents installed for their efficiency; you're stage can then be lit during builds, rehearsals, etc w/o the extra heat or $$. This is pretty standard practice for general illumination in work spaces and theatres. But, if you are looking to do somewhat temporary lighting, I'd say either scoops or 2/4 cell cyc lights would work best for general illumination, but again there's higher operating costs and heat output associated with these instruments.


----------



## sk8rsdad (May 21, 2009)

We use flourescents and a couple of PAR 64s. If glare is an issue you could add egg crate louvres to your existing fresnels.


----------



## Thefoxygranpa (May 22, 2009)

I agree, if possible get some florescent installed. Very cost effective in the long run compared to running other lighting.


----------



## derekleffew (May 23, 2009)

L&E Worklite™

CDM Metal Halide has even more luminous efficacy's than fluorescents.

Consider also HID High Bay fixtures. Other than the warm-up time, superior in every way to fluorescent units.


----------



## gafftaper (May 23, 2009)

Running Fresnels gets REALLY expensive on lamp life. Get some Florescents, scoops, or that L&E work light. If you have access to an electrician there are many options at the home depot in the out door flood light department that can be installed to work. If you want to go fluorescent tubes the fixtures are really cheap. However be sure to get a model with some sort of safety cover installed in it (there are lots of options)... you don't want tubes falling 20 feet to the deck and exploding. 

Also as a temporary fix, don't forget the frost. A little frost gel would probably fix your complaints. But still doesn't solve the fact you are burning a lot of electricity and expensive lamps.


----------



## willbb123 (May 23, 2009)

at my theater, we have halogen flood lights mounted on the second catwalk. Its not the best solution, because they hit the tabs when they are pulled, but it does light off stage well. When ever we need alot of light on stage we turn on the offstage works, and N/C ETC PARS that I've worked into our REP Plot.


----------



## Beans45601 (Jul 2, 2011)

derekleffew said:


> L&E Worklite™
> 
> CDM Metal Halide has even more luminous efficacy's than fluorescents.
> 
> Consider also HID High Bay fixtures. Other than the warm-up time, superior in every way to fluorescent units.


 
I just made a post regarding this L&E Worklite. We had 4 of these units and after 2.5 years, we have had 3 ballasts go out. I am expecting the 4th to go out sometime this month. The lamps are lasing longer than the ballasts.... Avoid these.


----------



## nffy212 (Jul 2, 2011)

Personally I like the Altman Q-Lite Jr. or the L&E Mini-Flood. Nice compact fixtures with barn doors. There are several Broadway tours that also use these fixtures for work lights.


----------



## rochem (Jul 3, 2011)

I agree with Nffy. At a roadhouse near my home, we have Altman Q-lites from the FOH and Mini-10s around the stage area. Also, most touring shows I've seen carry Mini-10s in the truss. They're VERY small and can fit nicely on a crowded truss or pipe, and they can be easily run through a switch box without the need for ballasts.


----------



## techieman33 (Jul 4, 2011)

we use a mix of altman q-lites, and various other cheap halogen work lights that have been modified to accept a c-clamp and safety cable for down light. The cheap halogens tend to break down, melt a wire, etc at least once or twice a year so we just keep a couple spares around and rotate them. We also used 4 parcans from the FOH positions for some front light.


----------



## Toffee (Jul 4, 2011)

derekleffew said:


> L&E Worklite™
> 
> CDM Metal Halide has even more luminous efficacy's than fluorescents.
> 
> Consider also HID High Bay fixtures. Other than the warm-up time, superior in every way to fluorescent units.


 

I use these in my theatre on our electrics for our overhead work lights and then FOH we have 4 par 64s as work lights in our large and medium space. In the other two spaces one runs florescent and the other is 4 large scoops. I haven't really seen that big of an issue with using any of these methods and we haven't gotten any complaints.


----------



## Volunteer (Mar 14, 2012)

*Worklights (yet again)*

Does anyone make a CFL worklight the size of a short can PAR 64, but brighter than a PAR 64, with the warmth of a quartz, but 50,000 + hours?
Small size, fast on, slightly aimable, tons of light per amp, long life, warm color.... any suggestions? 
Did I forget to mention free? (kidding)

Are any of the new LED PAR type fixtures bright enough? We wouldn't need the multi color expense. Is a white LED par an option? Are they comparable to a 1K MFL PAR or are they going to be too expensive?


----------



## Les (Mar 14, 2012)

*Re: Worklights (yet again)*


Volunteer said:


> Does anyone make a CFL worklight the size of a short can PAR 64, but brighter than a PAR 64, with the warmth of a quartz, but 50,000 + hours?
> Small size, fast on, slightly aimable, tons of light per amp, long life, warm color.... any suggestions?
> Did I forget to mention free? (kidding)
> 
> Are any of the new LED PAR type fixtures bright enough? We wouldn't need the multi color expense. Is a white LED par an option? Are they comparable to a 1K MFL PAR or are they going to be too expensive?



Unfortunately, I think the answer to all of your questions are "no" . You might find HID lighting to be the closest to what you are looking for, but you'll still lose out on the color temp (although the CRI of Metal Halide is usually quite good - I wouldn't use it to paint under).

LED pars may work, but nowhere near as bright as a 1K, and you'd still get that cool white effect unless you went with a "tunable white" unit. That would set you back about $1,000 per work light though, so it would not be cost effective at all. Remember also, that you'd have to feed DMX to them.

There are CFL floodlights out there which look much like the large T3 halogens, but still again, the color temp is pretty high.


----------



## Call911 (Mar 14, 2012)

How would I attach fluorescents to my electrics with out getting in the way of my other lights?


----------



## chausman (Mar 14, 2012)

Call911 said:


> How would I attach fluorescents to my electrics with out getting in the way of my other lights?



If you have two pipes on your electrics, you could hang the fluorescents from the upper bar.


----------



## Volunteer (Mar 15, 2012)

We only have 1 bar per electric, so size and brightness is more important than color temperature. We can't go $1,000 per fixture, don't want to run DMX for worklights... If we let go of the color temp, is there a good CFL? Or is Metal Halide going to be the best option? But they are usually slow to warm up, right? Does anyone use a Fast On Metal Halide such as what Derek suggests, but what, not the L&E?

I just looked at the L&E "the Worklight" from above. $500+ for a worklight? Holy Cow. I guess I have to get out of the woods more often.

While I'm here... are we shooting for 50 footcandles at waist high for worklight, or is that unrealistic? What is the minimum we should avoid?


----------



## Les (Mar 15, 2012)

They do make fluorescent lights (4' T8) which are designed to be used as work lights. They have a safety cage around the lamps and a hanging iron on each end. Any time I've seen them, they're yoked/side-hung from the electric. You still have to be careful about them catching on things since they stick out from the side of the electric a good 6-8". If you have two pipes (pipe/raceway/pipe), you can hang them from the top pipe as chausman suggested. Otherwise, you will be hanging them from the same pipe as your theatrical instruments, and they'll still get in the way.


----------



## erwaggoner (Mar 25, 2012)

I know it has already been suggested, but we use 8 scoops. 6 on the catwalk and two overhead lights beautifully and the bulbs are cheap. Most stages would pribably require less, but our stage is 65' wide so lighting with anything is a pain. There is a run on 4 tube fluorescent fixtures the whole width of the stage (with all new bulbs this year) but they just don't light enough area and when big sets are moved out all you have is shadows. I actually have salvaged ancient scoops in the past for this purpose because I love how much area I can cover easily.

Sent from my BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps using Tapatalk


----------



## CleverDream (Mar 27, 2012)

In my theater, we use TimesSquare W150's. We have 3 on a first electric, and then 2 on each jump, either side of the stage. They work wonderfully. TimesSquare W150 Worklight (TimesSquare W150)


----------



## mstaylor (Apr 9, 2012)

CFLs would absolutely be the last option I would consider. I would try to figure a way to use T8s in either 4ft or 8ft lengths. If you want to use CFLs from any height at all, buy a tractor trailer load.


----------

