#208 JULY MOBILEBEAT.COM 2019 EYE FOR YOUR CROWDS LIGHTING AND MORE QSC .................... www.qsc.com QSC .................... www.qsc.com Mixware www.mixware.net EYE CANDY FOR YOUR CROWDS PLAYLIST A DIFFERENT BEAT ����������������������������������������������������6 By Stu Chisholm EYE CANDY �������������������������������������������������������������� 8 By Geoff Short, Global Brand Manager, CHAUVET DJ INSIDE THE INDUSTRY �������������������������������������������� 12 By Kevin Freese INSIDE THE INDUSTRY �������������������������������������������� 18 ADVERTISERS By Kevin Freese Audio-Technica www.audio-technica.com 9 MUSIC NEWS ����������������������������������������������������������20 Denon DJ www.denondj.com 5 By Mike Cordeiro DJ Trivia www.djtrivia.com 27 iDJPool www.idjpool.com 7 MOBILE MATTERS ���������������������������������������������������24 Innovative LED www.innovativeledsales.com 17 By Matt Martindale Mixware www.mixware.net 3 Mobile Beat Las Vegas www.mobilebeatlasvegas.com 28 BRILLIANT DEDUCTIONS �����������������������������������������26 PCDJ www.pcdj.com 11 By Mark E. Battersby Play Something We Can www.mobilebeat.com/store 26 Dance To! QSC www.qsc.com 2 Wedding Word Search Call 970-302-0747 26 Publisher Editor-in-Chief Events Director Emeritus Ryan Burger Dan Walsh Michael Buonaccorso Mobile Beat Editorial Assistant / Events Director Writer Jake Feldman Rebecca Burger TO ADVERTISE IN MOBILE BEAT OR EXHIBIT AT A MOBILE BEAT EVENT, CALL 515-986-3344 x300 OR EMAIL [email protected] 4 MOBILEBEAT.COM ▷ JULY 2019 Denon DJ www.denondj.com A DIFFERENT BEAT Your Lighting Strategy HOW TO ANALYZE THE SITUATION BEFORE BEFORE INVESTING IN LIGHTS By Stu Chisholm an older, less “cool” fixture with a hot new one. Your options aren’t t seems like every week there’s some new whiz- limited. Your time is. I bang “must have” light being introduced. And, PREPARATION IS EVERYTHING of course, they’re very cool. If you’re not careful, If you do choose to go the “hang what we want” route, a little bit you’ll soon be hauling around a truckload of “cool” of prep can go a long way. Pre-wire your trussing with power and lighting for no other reason than you liked it when control cables so that all you have to do is hang the light, plug it in you saw it. (Yes, I admit it: I was once there, too.) and go. Wireless control options can eliminate a lot of wiring in the In order to bring some sanity to the situation, not to mention cap first place. the amount of damage you do to your wallet, some sort of coherent It also makes sense to shop the various lighting control software strategy is required. Such a strategy brings structure to your light show, packages to find something that will meet your needs and grow with defines what you need most and, most importantly, controls cost. you. Or not grow, but be flexible enough to change with the times. For instance, if you’re going to include uplighting, the time issue ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS expands. So do your options. If a venue offers its own uplighting The first question, then, is this: What is your goal (or goals)? For the packages, they almost never can be incorporated into your dance weekend warriors among us who spin wedding receptions, our #1 music program. This is a selling point! When it comes time to dance, lighting goal is usually to bring some color and excitement to the having the room lighting (uplighting) tied into the dance area light dance area. How elaborate that show is, of course, is your decision, show program can make the whole venue become a part of the but there are some important considerations to keep in mind. They show! This will only happen if they buy their uplighting from you! might look a little something like this: Speaking of uplighting, you again need to calculate how many square feet, and by extension, how many lighting fixtures you’re 1. What is the average size of the area do I need to cover? likely to need on average. Get enough for your typical banquet hall, (In other words, what’s my average crowd size?) and maybe a lobby or entryway, and make that a hard limit. Get 2. How much time do I want to devote to setting up enough fixtures to do the job AND enough spares should a fixture lighting? Is speed an issue? or two fail. A hard limit need not restrict the size of the job you can 3. Do my clients have special requirements, like follow take, but will dictate how much extra you’ll need to charge in order spots or monograms? to accommodate a larger than usual group/venue. Make the bigger 4. What does my budget allow, and will I see any real return parties pay for the extra fixtures. on my investment? YOUR SHOW DETERMINES THE SPECIFICS I admit that I’m being a bit vague, but I understand how For me, the size of the dance area at most venues has seldom different DJs and their companies can be. If you do mostly high exceeded that of an average tennis court, so I’ve used that as my school dances and proms, you’re going to have different needs than standard. The second question is often answered not by me, but by the wedding entertainers, and you’ll both have different needs the venues I play. In days gone by, I’d spend nearly two hours just than the club DJ/owner, whose light show doesn’t have to travel. setting up lighting! These days, venues may charge extra if setup and What IS important is to apply limits to fit the needs of your clientele teardown takes an unusually long time. Some may “stack” parties, with and avoid vanity purchases—those things we’ve often grabbed a new group coming in within an hour of the conclusion of a previous that won’t make us an extra dollar or get us one more “ooh!” but we event, effectively eliminating the possibility of a large lighting setup. just HAD to have it. Because, well...”cool!” Our lighting must justify Thankfully, the same lighting companies who toss lots and lots its existence by making us money. If the effect you’re spending a of cool products at us have also given us some great options for whole month’s lighting budget on won’t return its cost in extra quick lighting setups. CHAUVET DJ’s Gigbar II, for example, takes revenue over the course of a year, then it’s probably a bad purchase. almost no time to set up; it may be too basic for many situations, Another trap to avoid is the “I’ll lose money if I don’t have one though.. At the other end of the spectrum are the lighting truss and the guy down the street offers it” myth. No single light has that systems where you can add whatever fixtures you choose and kind of impact. Remember: Your lighting supports YOU, not the run them either manually or via other way around. You are the a DMX controller. What works show. Your lighting is just a tool best for you is open-ended; how Stu Chisholm had been collecting music since he was about you use to help set the mood much time do you want to spend age 8 and began his DJ career in 1979. After a stint at the and create some fun. on lighting setup? Make your Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts, he studied the choice a hard limit. If it takes DJ arts with famous Michigan broadcaster Bill Henning, So ask those questions, longer than that, it’s time to start interned at Detroit's rock powerhouse, WRIF, and later stick to your plan, and have solid added voiceover work and club gigs at Detroit's best narrowing your options to run reasons for what you bring in, venues. He has shared his extensive DJ experience through what you retire and what you as efficiently, yet completely, as MB columns, as a seminar speaker and through his book, possible. Yes, it can be painful. take a pass on. Until next time, The Complete Disc Jockey: A Comprehensive Manual for the safe lighting! Or you can strategize, replacing Professional DJ. 6 MOBILEBEAT.COM ▷ JULY 2019 iDJPool www.idjpool.com EYE CANDY Starting Your Lighting Journey By Geoff Short, Global Brand Manager, CHAUVET DJ EYE CANDY o you’re just starting out on your journey to add S lighting to your already impressive array of event entertainment services. You’ve heard the buzz and seen your competitors and even venues adding excitement to events and dollars to their bottom lines through lighting. But going from zero to dynamic event lighting can seem overwhelming. So where do you start? Fortunately, adding lighting doesn’t have to be complicated. Starting A good place to start is to understand and consider a few simple concepts. When you do, you’ll be better informed to take your first steps. Think about these: Your • Realize that you don’t need to invest in a lot of lighting gear all at once. • Understand the basic categories of lighting and which Lighting ones serve your business the best. • Consider how you’d prefer to control your lights. NOT A LOT OF MOOLAH Journey One of the biggest hurdles any mobile entertainer faces is the financial investment in their capital gear expenses. The good news is that making a big lighting impact doesn’t require big dollars for a lot of gear all at once. Of course, what’s “big” is relative when By Geoff Short, it comes to expenses, but the point is you don’t need to overdo Global Brand Manager, CHAUVET DJ things with a giant arsenal of fixtures.