Tag Archives: lasers

Update – MiN™ on the Move

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Do you recall the post about Justin Polachek and the laser show in his car? To create the show, Polacheck initally installed MiN™ Laser RGX and MiN™ Laser FX lasers in his black, tricked out 2010 Scion xB.

Since the original post, Polacheck added a third MiN™ Laser and a Hurricane™ 700 fog machine to enhance his laser show. The additional laser projects effects onto the dashboard and can point out any of the four doors or rear hatch. The spot-mounted Hurricane™ 700 fits perfectly under the front passenger seat and operates off of a 1,000-watt power inverter. Additionally, he spent more than 150 hours hand soldering  RGB LED strips. The strips, which are mounted in 3/8 polycarbonate tubing, are located under the dash, as well as the front and rear seats, to light the footwells. He also installed LED strips in the two central AC vents located on either side of the stereo where a solid mirror creates an infinity LED effect. Check out the latest photos below.

3 Steps to Create a Beginner’s Rig

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Become a professional DJ and have a setup like Jay Fitzgerald of The D’Jay Company. He uses SlimPAR™ 56 wash lights to illuminate this wedding at The Mission Inn in Riverside, Calif.

As a DJ who is just starting out, you should know that your lighting rig is as
important as your sound system. Including lighting in your DJ setup makes you
look more professional and can significantly increase your profit potential. To
upsell a client on a lighting package, every rig should include a variety of wash
and effect lights.

Of course we have to suggest some of our favorite fixtures. Some of our favorite wash lights include DJ Bank™, any of the SlimPAR™ fixtures and 4BAR™ Flex. Adding a Comet™ LED or any of the MiN™ or Scorpion™ lasers to your rig will create movement and colorful effects. Read on for tips on building a rig.

DJ University is an online resource for the DJ/mobile performer sponsored by CHAUVET® DJ.

CHAUVET® at Dealer Event in South Africa

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South Africa dealer Audiosure invited 150 distributors for an evening of showcase, interaction and prizes. On display and the talk of the evening were a variety of CHAUVET® fixtures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAUVET® shines at Pitters Mud House

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Lucas Beine of STS Mobile Lighting shared this great photo with us on Facebook. He uses two Scorpion™ lasers and two Intimidator™ fixtures to light a performance by Monstars at Pitters Mud House in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Scorpion™ Storm FX Lights 4NZX

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Don Audio shared this photo that was taken at Painter’s Restaurant in New York. The Forensics (4NZX), an electronica band, gave a special performance as laser beams from a Scorpion™ Storm FX filled the venue.

DJ Profile: Tom and Diane Gollnick

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Tom and Diane Gollnick are a DJ team and own Night Dancin’ DJ, a service company based in Wisconsin specializing in weddings, proms, outdoor events and more.

1. How and when did you get started as a DJ? What types of events do you do?
I started my DJ business in 1962 originally doing school and community dances. Over the past 50 years we have grown into a popular DJ service for upscale weddings and corporate parties and events. We specialize in weddings and travel throughout the upper Midwest. My wife Diane and I are a DJ team and we work together on all of our gigs. I call Diane my “roadie,” but she is actually more involved in the public relations part of the business.

2. Is this a full-time job or something you do on the side? If it’s a side job, please let us know what you do full time.
We are fully dedicated to our business, but we also do sound system consulting, commercial installations and some rentals.

3. What fixtures are included in your setup? What are you looking to add?
We use 24 CHAUVET® PAR 56 cans and the appropriate colored gels. We prefer the warm look of these front-facing lights as opposed to the LED lighting because the incandescent fixtures are more “viewer-friendly” when looking directly into them. Our typical sound and light show requires 120 Amps of AC power. However, we use 10 SlimPAR™ 64 fixtures for wall washes and uplighting. These lights are by far the finest fixtures for this purpose. We enclosed all the SlimPAR™ 64 lights in decorative planter-style housings, so cords and connections are concealed in attractive enclosures matching the upscale venues. The SlimPAR™ 64 fixtures are controlled by CHAUVET® wireless D-Fi™ PLUS transmitter/receiver. The transmitter is laced at our control dimmer cabinet. We also use four COLORtube™ 3.0 EQ linear lights, which we have installed in custom-made walnut enclosures, and have them running along the length of our tables. These are programmed for various static and multicolored effects. Our moving heads inventory includes a CHAUVET® Legend™ 250RX – the fixture that won’t die! – and we also use a Vue™ 3.1 as top and center and a Scorpion™ Storm FX. All fixtures are controlled by DMX. We have two CHAUVET® controllers: an Obey™ 3 and an Obey™ 70. None of the fixtures run on automatic; they are controlled by over 150 DMX programs that I created and tied into the music mixer. On my Christmas wish list is to add four or six Q-Beam™ 260 LED fixtures.

4. What is your favorite fixture and why?
By far, the finest fixture we ever purchased is the Scorpion™ Storm FX. This laser fills the entire dance floor, the walls, ceiling and floor combined!

5. Best advice you can give someone just getting started in the DJ industry?
My advice to any startup DJ is to know your music and to make sound and lighting a top priority. Do not downsize to make it easier to set up and take down. Upscale and become a really big show. Get a bigger trailer, and keep buying more equipment – your audience will love it.

6. What are your top three most requested songs?
I have been a DJ for almost 50 years, so it is hard to pick a top three most requested songs. But my top three requested artists are Elvis, the Bee Gees and Michael Jackson.

 

CHAUVET® Brightens Vintage Gardens

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An event at Vintage Gardens in Modesto, Calif. takes place under an enormous tent illuminated with four SlimPAR™ 56 wash lights, two COLORstrip™ linear lights and a MiN™ Laser FX laser controlled with an Obey™ 70 control board.

Photo courtesy of Jason Gulley

DJ Profile: DJ Borracho

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Charles Gardella, aka DJ Borracho, is a versatile DJ in Montebello, Calif. who DJs everything in English and Spanish. He owns his own DJ business, has 17 years of experience and knows how to get party goers on their feet and keep them moving to the music.

1. How and when did you get started as a DJ? What types of events do you do?
I got started around the age of 15 with one of my friends who happen to be a DJ. I bought speakers, then a mixer, and I just kept adding to it. Now, 17 years later, I have DJ gigs at clubs and a few radio stations.

2. Is this a full-time job or something you do on the side?
I own my own DJ business, so this is a full-time job for me.

3. What fixtures are included in your setup? What are you looking to add?
I have too many fixtures to remember all of them. From what I can recall, these are the CHAUVET® fixtures included in my setup: two Scorpion™ lasers, the whole line of Vue™ effect lights which includes Vue™ 1.1, Vue™ 3.1, and Vue™ 6.1, Mega Moon™, Elan™, J-Five™ and more. I would really like to add the 6SPOT™  or the 4PLAY™.

4. What is your favorite CHAUVET® fixture and why?
Well, I have a few favorite lights, so I can’t list just one. I think if I had to pick one right now it would be Cubix™. I really want the Circus™.

5. Best advice you can give someone just getting started in the DJ industry?
Don’t start your own business because there is so much competition nowadays. If you really want to get started, make sure you play all kinds of music so when people ask if you can play certain things, you can say “yes I can.”

6. What are your top three most requested songs?
Suavemente, Escandalo, and songs by Snoop Dogg

MiN™ on the Move

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Justin Polachek is a 19-year-old who spends a lot of time and money on his car. He cruises the streets of Oregon in a black, tricked out 2010 Scion xB fully equipped with a bass-pumpin’system, black-and-brushed steel rims and a laser show. Yes, you read correctly — Polachek created a laser show in his car by permanently installing a MiN™ Laser RGX and a MiN™ Laser FX.

Polachek is part of the West Coast car show scene. He has been to many car shows in the last eight months and while attending evening shows became fascinated by the custom lighting displays. The cars with these elaborate lighting displays received a lot of attention, but he noticed none of them used lasers. He also noticed lasers were never a topic discussed on the Scion forums he follows either. He wanted to do something unique to his car that would also represent him as a DJ and thought a laser system would be the perfect addition. *Note: the laser show is only functioning when Polachek’s car is on display at car shows — he does not operate the vehicle and the laser show at the same time.

“I wanted to do a more advanced set-up with a DMX-controlled laser and run DMX 512 throughout my car but those laser systems were just way too big,” Polachek said. “The MiN™ series fit the bill by having the widest spread, the brightest output, the most functionality and the most aesthetically pleasing case. I am very happy with this product and I can’t wait to pick up the MiN™ Laser Star soon.”

Polachek is a member of Street Art Revolution, an active member within the West Coast Scion community and regularly participates in several related forums (ScionLife, Clubxb.com, NewScionxB, and Hela Fass Dooo) all at only 19. Within two years, Polachek would like to show his car at SEMA, one of the industry’s biggest shows. He would like a Digital Air ride system, custom body kit and high-end, 20-inch wheels. Oh, and he would also like to add two MiN™ Spot RGBW moving heads on his rear hatch because they will be a great addition to the slide-out DJ table he wants!


Disclaimer: All lasers, including MiN™ lasers, are designed to be temporarily installed on rigs or permanently installed in venues and are for entertainment purposes only and should be operated using extreme caution.

CHAUVET® Lighting is “INfectious”

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We traveled to Orlando, Fla.to take part in one of the industry’s largest trade shows: LDI. Team CHAUVET® spent months preparing for the show and introduced more than a dozen new products to the Club/DJ market. The show took place on Halloween weekend so we gave our booth an “infected” theme in hopes that LDI attendees would find our new fixtures “infectious.”

The 400-square-foot DJ booth included just over 200 mounted fixtures. The light show, which was programmed using ShowXpress™ and operated wirelessly using D-Fi™ 2.4GHz, ran in sync with a special mega-mix video created especially for us by DVDJ Unique. Just before the trade show floor opened, our product development team started the Arena™ 2100 Flex and we were ready to rock day one. As soon as clips from Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me” music video came on, the elaborate light show began and attendees were instantly infected. SlimPAR™ Tri 7 IRC  and SlimPAR™ Tri 12 IRC wash lights and Intimidator™ Wash LED 150 moving heads created vibrant, saturated washes throughout the booth. At the same time, bright, colorful beams from Rotosphere™ LED and DMF-10 effect lights,  MiN™ Laser FX 2.0 and MiN™ Laser RGX 2.0 lasers, TriShot™ LED color changer and Intimidator™ Spot LED 150 moving head danced wildly throughout the air.

Additional fixtures mounted to tree-like truss designs located within the booth gave attendees the opportunity to get hands-on with the new products. Booth goers went crazy for the battery-operated, 100% TRUE wireless Freedom™ Par  and Freedom™ Strip Mini wash lights, and the convenience of controlling COLORrail™ IRC linear wash light with a wireless remote left them addicted. LED Followspot 75 was mounted to a CH-W28 stand and attendees were invited to try their hand at altering the beam diameter by moving the mechanical iris and changing the beam color simply by pushing a button. Impulse™ 648, an ultra-bright strobe light powered by 648 LEDs, proved to be a crowd favorite. To give the ultimate CHAUVET® experience and top off the visit to our booth, we put Nimbus™  dry-iced machine to work and flooded the floor with thick, white clouds.

Overall, LDI was an unbelievable show for CHAUVET®. Not only did we successfully infect attendees with our lighting fixtures, we had a blast doing it. It should also be noted that the CHAUVET® Pro booth received the award for Best Large Booth — woo hoo! Thank you to everyone who stopped by and supported CHAUVET®. See you in 2012!