PDA

View Full Version : Lights or not



bobgadjet
21st-February-2005, 01:01 AM
Having danced many a night, but being annoyed at lights flashing in my eyes, I wanted to know YOUR opinion as to what YOU would prefer.

I personally think that rotating and/or flashing lights, if they get in your eyes, should NOT be there.

I would prefer to see a nice ambient coloured glow, and if there were any projectors, them being played on the ceiling so as not to distract from the pleasure of dancing.

I can understand lots of flashing lights at a "disco", but for dancing would not prefer it. I have also been asked to turn off flashing lights during the lessons(I should have known better ! ! )
and
I have been told by a growing number it would be better without flashing lights as hands and signals can be seen easier.

So what do YOU think ?

El Salsero Gringo
21st-February-2005, 02:49 AM
I have also been asked to turn off flashing lights during the lessons(I should have known better ! ! )


Seeing as it was I who asked you to turn off the lights in Simon's class last night, I might as well throw in an opinion. I like the flashing and coloured lights and I think they're much preferable to broad unatmospheric flood-lighting or to dim rooms where it's difficult to recognise who you're dancing with.

I've spent a lot of time working with stage and 'party' lights and it's something I always notice about a venue. I know it's difficult with limited set up times and budgets, and that it's always going to play second fiddle to the sound system - but this customer really rates a well designed lighting rig at a dance.

Gadget
21st-February-2005, 02:49 AM
I have been told by a growing number it would be better without flashing lights as hands and signals can be seen easier.
Keep them on then!! let's get rid of those hand signals and learn to lead properly!

I't actually handy - Most folks keep the area closest to the lights fairly free so that they aren't blinded: I can dance near the lights and close my eyes; lots of space :D
I think you need some sort of lighting to give a venue 'atmosphere': the flashing lights go with faster paced music, the ambeant lighting with the slower stuff. If you've got a specific lighting rig that reads the music output, then it can be programmed to do this. Most DJ's would rather spend the cash on music or sound equipment tho.
The other thing you could do is bounce the lights off the ceiling rather than aiming them at the dance floor - but if you have a large dance floor or high ceiling, then it dosn't really work.

I know: spotlight on Sparkles in the middle of the floor: a moving glitterball! :D

Yliander
21st-February-2005, 08:27 AM
I think flashing lights and general ambient lighting have their place. Ambient lighting because it's nice to be able to actually SEE your dance partner. And flashing lights - becasue they are pretty and fun.

i do however object to flashing lights aimed so that the beams of light blind me or my partner or those around me - as it makes it very dangerous!!EKKK!! *has flash back to horror night when while blinded by flashing lights spun all wobbly and another dancer also so blinded ran into her*

bobgadjet
21st-February-2005, 10:36 AM
The other thing you could do is bounce the lights off the ceiling rather than aiming them at the dance floor - but if you have a large dance floor or high ceiling, then it dosn't really work.

This was one of the options.
Last Saturday I was given limited options and the lighting supplied could not be positioned without any flashing lights on the dancers, them being in a round ball.
If these had been a half ball there would have been no problem.

I PERSONALLY didn't like them, so I thought I would get a general opinion on what was liked/wanted at a venue.

Recently I aimed lighting at the ceiling at Bognor, and it increased the atmosphere of the hall 100%, but as said before in this thread, that was a relatively low ceiling.

High ceilings lose light "bounce", but if quite high the effect from lighting pointed down would not be overpowering.

It really does depend on a fine balance of venue and equipment available.

I hope this feedback will help others understand that the organiser is not just there to take your money at the door, and that there are so many other aspects of running a successful night out for dancers.

Paul F
21st-February-2005, 10:43 AM
Interesting thread. This is something i have often wondered about too.

On saturday in the blues room towards the end of the night, the video screens were turned off and we simply had a slowly rotating mirror ball - and that was it.
The effect in a room such as that was brilliant. Very simple, but brilliant.
Im a great lover of (slowly rotating :) ) mirror balls. They really can create a great effect when used with the right kind of music.

Andy McGregor
21st-February-2005, 10:51 AM
Interesting thread. This is something i have often wondered about too.

On saturday in the blues room towards the end of the night, the video screens were turned off and we simply had a slowly rotating mirror ball - and that was it.
The effect in a room such as that was brilliant. Very simple, but brilliant.
Im a great lover of (slowly rotating :) ) mirror balls. They really can create a great effect when used with the right kind of music.

I agree about the mirror ball. So long as it's slow. One venue I use has a fast rotating mirror ball and you get dizzy just standing still :sick:

The other thing I think is important is to not have the room too dark in the first place. If it's really dark and you get flashed in your eyes it blinds you for a moment or two. If it's a sort of twilight the odd flash doesn't seem to have the same effect.

Paul F
21st-February-2005, 11:23 AM
I agree about the mirror ball. So long as it's slow. One venue I use has a fast rotating mirror ball and you get dizzy just standing still :sick:



Funny you should mention that Andy. When i was living down near London i decided (for some strange reason) to put up a mirror ball in the spare room of my house with the plan of practicing dancing on the laminate floor :blush:
Trouble was, it was only a 10 inch mirror ball with a huge great big motor powering the rotation.

In my infinite wisdom i decided to give visitors to one of my parties the pleasure of seeing my mirror ball in action.
Have you ever watched cars wizzing past on a motorway at night :D Thats the kind of effect i got :tears: :tears: :)
It looked like some kind of sad 1970's star trek effect .

Trish
21st-February-2005, 11:43 AM
I think flashing lights and general ambient lighting have their place. Ambient lighting because it's nice to be able to actually SEE your dance partner. And flashing lights - becasue they are pretty and fun.

i do however object to flashing lights aimed so that the beams of light blind me or my partner or those around me - as it makes it very dangerous!!EKKK!! *has flash back to horror night when while blinded by flashing lights spun all wobbly and another dancer also so blinded ran into her*

:yeah: I really hate having lights in my eyes. They tend to blind me, and I can't see whether/or where the guy's offering you a hand. This is especially true when the room is very dark anyway.

I agree with the guys about mirror balls though, they're nice and atmospheric, especially for blues :waycool: .

El Salsero Gringo
21st-February-2005, 01:23 PM
It really does depend on a fine balance of venue and equipment available.

I hope this feedback will help others understand that the organiser is not just there to take your money at the door, and that there are so many other aspects of running a successful night out for dancers.
The point is well made.

Andy McGregor also makes a good point about the balance of 'flashing' lights and ambient light. The moving lights ('wobbly-mirror' lights, and the rotating balls) should only be used as decoration on top of a good lighting set-up.

Without wanting to offend any venue operators, I think there is much that can be done at practically all the venues I've attended to improve the lighting.

Provide some coloured fill lighting, rather than relying on the fluorescent battens, room lights, or worse, no fill at all. Three or four 1kW floods, gelled (coloured) and bounced off the ceiling will do an average sized venue.

Use Parcans (the "car headlight in a bucket" to provide coloured splotches across the dance floor. They can chase, flash, fade up and down, or simply be static, according to what control systems are available. The difficulty is usually to obtain sufficient height for the lanterns. Tripod stands are awful (wobbly, expensive, or too low - or all three) but often the only way to do it. In some venues there is a gallery overlooking the dance floor which is ideal. Don't bother with any lantern less that 500Watts. The (getting technical) 150 Par38 units are useless and not worth they time it takes to set up. Ideally stick to traditional 1kW Par64's with a broad beam (typically CP62 12 x 24 degrees)

Use wobbly-mirror lights to project onto the ceiling and high walls - that keeps their focused, moving beams out of the eyes of dancers.

Use some floor mounted parcans to hilight architectural features of the room - arches, alcoves columns and so on. The parcans with the double yokes that turn into floor stands are idea. I do know there are problems with running cables across floors, and having hot lanterns where the uninitiated can burn themselves or their clothes or bags. There are situations where floor-standing lights can be rigged safely though.

Mirror-balls, rotating spot balls (like the ones you had on Saturday) are all great on top of, but not instead of, sufficient wash lighting.

Use what the venue has available to best advantage. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen the same lanterns week after week with dead filaments, burnt-out colour, or just pointing at the nearest wall. Or, in night-club situations, a huge lighting rig hanging in the ceiling but all switched off.

Finally, a plea about the lighting for classes. Having the teacher standing in a pool of darkness on stage just so that he or she can see the class is pointless. The more effort I have to put in to distinguish the teachers limbs through the on-stage gloom the less attention I can pay to learning the move. Ballet is danced brightly lit from the sides and top because it gives the greatest definition and pulls the dancers away from the scenery. Ceroc lessons need to avoid dazzling the teacher as much as possible but strong top-light and some high side-front light avoids this pitfall while still making the teacher visible in good relief, all the way from the back of a large hall. I know it isn't always possible to arrange this ideal set-up, but sometimes it is possible the lights are already in place - in which case it *should* be done.

bigdjiver
21st-February-2005, 01:33 PM
The best lighting matches the venue and the mood of the music being played. There has to be enough ambient light and as little dazzle as to keep the dancing safe. It is an art.

I have my uses -- Shade

Lynn
21st-February-2005, 02:24 PM
I really hate having lights in my eyes. They tend to blind me, and I can't see whether/or where the guy's offering you a hand. This is especially true when the room is very dark anyway. :yeah:
I have experienced this and it makes it very difficult to enjoy the dance. I think I usually mention it and we move a bit so its not a problem, but on a crowded floor that might not be an option.

I'm afraid I'm one of those people who notice the overall effect, rather than actually where the lights are and what they are. I only notice the lights themselves if they are shining in my eyes. I think good lighting is an art and can go a long way to creating the right atmosphere at a party night.

bobgadjet
21st-February-2005, 07:16 PM
It is an art.


How good the outcome depends on

The Artist
The Canvas
The Brushes

:D

Little Monkey
21st-February-2005, 07:34 PM
I agree about the mirror ball. So long as it's slow. One venue I use has a fast rotating mirror ball and you get dizzy just standing still :sick:

The other thing I think is important is to not have the room too dark in the first place. If it's really dark and you get flashed in your eyes it blinds you for a moment or two. If it's a sort of twilight the odd flash doesn't seem to have the same effect.

:yeah:

Too dark rooms, fast rotating mirror balls, flashing lights...... It all makes me a Dizzy Monkey. And I'm bad enough already, without special light effects to "help" me!! :sad:

Monkey

Baruch
21st-February-2005, 08:34 PM
I've spent a lot of time working with stage and 'party' lights and it's something I always notice about a venue. I know it's difficult with limited set up times and budgets, and that it's always going to play second fiddle to the sound system - but this customer really rates a well designed lighting rig at a dance.
I think the key words there are "well designed". A great many lighting rigs look like they've just been chucked up any old way, sadly. The venue where I dance has its own lighting on the dance floor, put in by the venue owners rather than the Le Roc club, and it's annoying, with spots shining in your eyes. The mirror ball is nice, though.

mick
22nd-February-2005, 03:51 PM
Pleasant coloured glow/alternating colours
What a load of bores!

bobgadjet
22nd-February-2005, 04:00 PM
Pleasant coloured glow/alternating colours
What a load of bores!
only a 70% load :rofl:

Andy McGregor
22nd-February-2005, 04:22 PM
Pleasant coloured glow/alternating colours
What a load of bores!I think Mick has just told us he doesn't do spins. In my experience, it's when you spin that the flashing lights cause disorientation. If you don't do spins you don't have a problem unless you're epileptic.

There is a venue near me where they have the room very dark and lights flashing in your eyes. The last time I went there I sometimes had trouble finding my partner after a spin - but I had no trouble finding the lights. We're spoilt for choice in our area so that was the last time I went to that particular venue ...

MartinHarper
22nd-February-2005, 06:07 PM
It would be better without flashing lights as hands and signals can be seen easier.

Conversely, if you learn to cope with flashing lights, you can dance in more places, if you want to.

Depressingly, this poll has left no way for me to express my support for unpleasant coloured glows.

bobgadjet
23rd-February-2005, 01:36 PM
Depressingly, this poll has left no way for me to express my support for unpleasant coloured glows.
you just have :D