Get Your DMX Lights Up in the Air: How to Hang Small Fixtures

[@Tigerofthenight]

Around 1980, we used big heavy movie lights at art school. I was trained to never put my thumb around the vertical pole supporting the light, in case the light came down and sliced my hand. I think this advice applies also to modern stage lighting.

[@LearnLizard]

Appreciate the good advice. Thankfully these lights are much smaller and lighter :)

[@Tigerofthenight]

Thank you for explaining the C clamp. I had previously just pushed the bolts supplied by ADJ through the holes in the T bar.

[@LearnLizard]

Sometimes I use the holes in the T bar, but a big advantage of the C clamp is that you can place the light in any position along the length of the bar. Thanks for watching!

[@catwhatcher]

Very informative! Thank you! Keep up the great work. 👍

[@LearnLizard]

Thanks for the kind words and really appreciate you watching!

[@Savagetechie]

As a guide on how NOT to attach a truss to a ceiling that's a good one. What you've ended up with there is an unpredictable system with no load rating; your whole truss is held up by 3 wood screws, all of which a pulling directly on the thread. When attaching truss to wooden beams you want a fixing going perpendicular to the load or even better going right around the beam. You certainly don't want to use some metal plates from the hardware store which aren't actually connected to the truss as your pick-up assembly, you have movement from the lights and potential vibrations which could easily result in your truss landing on the ground. I appreciate you've put a warning on this section but the example shown is so wrong you should have taken your own advice.

[@LearnLizard]

Thats very helpful perspective and I truly appreciate your professional advice. My setup has been working great for me. My mini moving heads and Pars weigh less than 70 lbs total and the steel 3/8 lag bolts are rated to hold 200 pounds per inch of thread so I’m personally feeling pretty safe but certainly don’t want to ever risk the health and safety of others. Appreciate you watching!

[@christiansmith8529]

@@LearnLizard I watched your video about moving heads and it’s apparent you don’t have much industry knowledge and that’s fine. Where you crossed the line is this video showing people how to rig. If you are doing a lift with crank stands the truss should ALWAYS be level. DO NOT use random stuff from the hardware store to mount things. This goes beyond sketchy wiring in the Chinese light clones, you’re trying to teach people things that you do not know yourself and are going to get people hurt. If anyone would like to learn how to do this properly there are multiple courses available. Use tuv certified hardware or things with engineering stamps and make sure you have the proper insurance for what you are doing. Edit: just watched some of your laser stuff and holy crap your going head level and occasionally actually putting your face in front of 1w+ lasers. For your sake and others do not do that or crowd scan… please, go take some courses on how to do this stuff properly before trying to “teach” people.

[@ColinDean1]

I mount my lights on my QSC K10 speakers via the rigging mounts, Looks a little silly but saves me from having additional stands. Oh and yes I do have a safety on them.

[@LearnLizard]

Cool- I've seen lights mounted above speakers and it totally makes sense (I have K10's too- love em) Makes sense to minimize the number of stands you need to haul to a gig...

[@DjJeffo78]

Fantastic video Steve. Even though I don’t use Trust or T-Bar Stand. Shame I can’t share my set up on here to show you.

[@LearnLizard]

Thanks for all the words of encouragement! (would love to see your setup sometime)

[@owenpeters3874]

great video

[@LearnLizard]

Thanks for the kind words and appreciate you watching!

[@CarlosKaiman]

Thanks for such a great video!!!

[@LearnLizard]

Appreciate you watching!

[@ericcruz2009]

Thank u teacher..!! U are a genius..!!

[@LearnLizard]

Thank you for watching!!

[@Inspignant]

@@LearnLizard what's the best location when mounting to the ceiling? I have a high V shaped ceiling in the center. Is it better to have them on the side of the room facing in or center ceiling facing down? BTW they are all moving head lights and laser gobo.

[@LearnLizard]

@@Inspignant I guess it depends on how you want to light your stage. If you want to front light it might work best to mount to the slant- make SURE your truss or mounts have the structural integrity to support the weight of your rig. Appreciate you watching!

[@Martinmoore87]

Great video as always

[@LearnLizard]

Really appreciate the words of encouragement- thanks for watching

[@marcosartori9213]

Thank you

[@LearnLizard]

Thank you for watching!

[@BOMBTYPE]

always great info in these!

[@LearnLizard]

Appreciate the kind words and thanks for watching!

[@maslahmoha5442]

Goog Job🎉

[@LearnLizard]

Thank you!

[@siel.castillo]

Hey! Could you do a video about a disco ball light that I found on Amazon? It looks very cool and has a great price! It's called: "Galapara Digital LED RGB Crystal Magic Ball Effect Light DMX 512 Disco DJ Stage Lighting"

[@LearnLizard]

That light looks pretty cool- I can't believe it has DMX control and it costs less than $20!!

[@siel.castillo]

@@LearnLizard That's exactly what I thought! But I don't know if it's too good to be true.

[@Gigmeister1]

Good video. How about mounting an old Par style power supply controller to the T bar stand? Thanks .

[@LearnLizard]

I'm not sure exactly what kind of power supply you have, but I frequently use velcro ties to hold up cables and connectors. You might try that. Appreciate you watching!

[@Gigmeister1]

@@LearnLizard it's a Lightcraft Mobile 460- very old school.

[@kissmulti]

How do I know for sure that my small mini moving head wash lights wont make a t-stand topple over?

[@LearnLizard]

If you have a decent T-stand that is made for mounting DMX lights and have the legs spread properly, you might get a small amount of wobble with a very fast pan and tilt cue, but I've never come even close to having a stand topple over in any of my rigs.

[@SynthAddict]

excellent vid and ideas as usual :-)

[@LearnLizard]

Thanks for the kind words and I appreciate you watching!

[@GRUNGER]

what length steel hanger bolts did you use?

[@LearnLizard]

They are 4" total length, with half being threaded up into the wood beam. By the way, I weigh about 150 lbs and as a test I could easily hand from just one bolt, so the truss held by 3 bolts is quite strong.

[@chopsie4078]

How do you attach safety cables to spinning head disco light because it has no eye for the safety cables to go through………so if something malfunctions what will stop the light from falling to the ground because they can be very dangerous and expensive so please respond Anyway keep up the good work 😊😅

[@chopsie4078]

Also if you can please make it into a video

[@LearnLizard]

Hi- Typically if there is no safety eyelet, a rigger would wrap the safety cable around the yoke or handle of the fixture and the truss it is attached to. Appreciate your kind words and thanks for watching!

[@chopsie4078]

Thanks again

[@chopsie4078]

I would of never thought of that 👍🏻😁😆😃😄😀

[@chopsie4078]

@@LearnLizard you are the nicest person I have ever met

[@iansanchez1470]

what can i use to hide the cables if i'm using a truss or a T stand

[@LearnLizard]

I use hook loop cable ties like this: amzn.to/42a82eg Once all the cables are run I gather them and attach them to the poles. You can reuse them too- works great.

[@deejayshmoove]

Any advise for replacing lost mounting brackets for your mini moving head??

[@LearnLizard]

I was looking for the same thing once and had a very hard time finding any options. You could try here: www.stagelightingstore.com In the end I ended up using a mounting bracket from another light I was wasn't using any more. Good luck and if you find a good source I'd love to hear back from you here in the comment section. Thanks.

[@lauraortega8028]

Can you do the poker pro head light

[@LearnLizard]

Hi- do you mean the ADJ pocket pro?

[@lightfox1718]

What moving heads are you using?

[@LearnLizard]

Hi- They are: 1) Lixada Mini Beam Moving Head bit.ly/37NfTkf 2) Lixada Mini Gobo Moving Head bit.ly/34az6Ol You can learn more about both of them in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5zPdaeQgdB0hcU Thanks for watching!

[@Larberm]

Question can you recommend a c clamp to hang a laser Cube for a 2" truss pipe. Thank you.

[@LearnLizard]

That's a good question. Because the LaserCube is set up with more of a camera tripod type mount, you would need some kind of screw adapter to attach it to a more standard 2" truss clamp. If anyone out there has any suggestions, I would really like to know.

[@User-bp1bc]

Are there any products you can use on moving heads to attach them to a T bar if you have lost or not received the mount that usually comes with it?

[@LearnLizard]

Someone recently asked a similar question and I did a little research. For some reason, those little mounting brackets are really difficult (if not impossible) to find online. You could try your local DJ supply store or if you know someone who can bend and drill metal, you could maybe have them make you one. Sorry I'm not more help on this-- let me know if you figure out a better solution...

[@Circus_Stefan_Brumbach]

Is it possible to hang them sideways?

[@LearnLizard]

On smaller moving heads its not generally recommended as it can put more stress on the motors and bearings, and might shorten the life of the fixture. That said, I've seen a lot of lights mounted that way that seem to work fine.

[@Circus_Stefan_Brumbach]

@@LearnLizard Thank you

[@ChrisGarby]

Hi, i know its off subject, but do you know or know anyone who can create a light profile for Vibrio? Thanks

[@LearnLizard]

Vibrio really makes it simple to create your own profiles. Here's a video that shows how: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qp_ch3uFapWAnJI

[@puppet022]

What model is the small moving head light that you showed?

[@LearnLizard]

Hi - its a Lixada mini gobo light that is almost identical to this one: amzn.to/3QDmjJl

[@siel.castillo]

Do you have any tips for attaching lights to the ceiling itself?

[@LearnLizard]

You could screw a hanger bolt into the ceiling (joist) and then attach the mounting bracket on the light directly to the bolt. I think that would work really well, but of course you wouldn't be able to adjust the position of where it was located.

[@siel.castillo]

@@LearnLizard 👍🏻

[@mateomiosic844]

gj man

[@GvanDorst]

Try looking at the cam, instead of at your monitor

[@LearnLizard]

Well actually I am looking at my notes/outline. Next time I'll put them closer to the camera lens. Can I hire you as my director?

[@bedinthehead4987]

try wording that a little nicer next time