Category: Lighting

Preset Lighting

10/20/2020

Another very important element to the Summit lighting system was the Preset wallplate.

The Doug Fleenor Preset Wallplate can save up to 10 of your favorite lighting presets in the DMX based PRE10-Ethernet system from Doug Fleenor Designs. Working in conjunction with a lighting console, presets are captured via programmed output and available for quick use. The PRE10-Ethernet can operate independently from the lighting console, holding a look if one unit goes offline or simplifying control when needed. Its an easy way to save your best looks or general stage looks for visiting artists, or easy lighting for day to day use. Each preset can be assigned a unique fadetime and simply recalled at the touch of a button.

Using this wallplate, not only tied perfectly into the rest of the AV system for Summit, but allowed anyone to access certain preset lighting without the need of a lighting director in the room. It saves time and ensures that even simple events or gatherings will still be well lit.

Lighting the Room At Summit

10/20/2020

Lighting was the last major piece Lambda designed and installed for Summit Church earlier this year. It made an incredible visual difference and impact to their main room. It was so much fun to see this design come to life and how incredible it looked.
For a more in-depth case study, we asked Brad Helzer, our main systems schematics designer, to write a little about what building the lighting system for Summit looked like:

“Summit Church was such a great project to work on. It presented unique challenges and a need for a fresh update in their look. The first thing I noticed when looking at the room for Summit is how wide it was. I imagine all the church attendees also got the feeling they were far away from the people on the other side of the room due to the width. So, to mitigate some of that width in the room I wanted to design something that had a central focus and moved outward from the stage toward the audience. With this in mind, we chose to use truss flown from the ceiling on a raked angle to create the sense of height and a dynamic depth for lighting fixtures to be hung from.

Training with Lambda

10/9/2020

Did you know you can schedule a training day with Lambda too?

The cost is reasonable because we believe your team is your greatest asset! You can ask us for more specific and advanced training depending on your team's needs. We have experts across our Lambda in Audio, Video, and Lighting who are passionate about what they do and love to share every tip and trick they have. We make these training sessions unique to you and can build on skills that you want your team to have.

If there’s anything you’re looking to learn or maybe even help training new volunteers, contact us any time. We’d love to discuss different Training options for your team!

Contact us today to learn more!

Using Equipment To It's Capacity

5/5/2020

During social distancing we at Lambda have made sure to include lots of training into our days! Not only have we brushed up on our OSHA training, but we’ve virtually attended a Danley Sound Labs seminar, BTX’s Stem Audio systems and so much more! Now is a great time to learn more about your equipment or do some trainings you’ve been putting off until you have more time. We hope to come out of this social distancing equipped with more knowledge and information on new systems and refreshed on our favorite ones. We hope you can do the same!

Why You Need an Audio Visual Integrator for You Next Project

4/1/2020

What does it matter? I can do it myself...

There are some who feel like they do not need a professional integration company or an Audio Visual design engineer when they change the AV system in their business. Perhaps they have a background in operating tech or maybe they are quick learners and feel confident they can easily plug new equipment in and start using it for a new project. Where there is a possibility you could get away with this once, chances are things won’t go according to plan. We’d like to take a minute to tell you why you need to consider having a professional Audio Visual Integration company for your next system install.

One.

What does an Audio Visual Integrator or design Engineer do for you anyway? AV engineers have specific skills and usually specialize in a certain area. Perhaps you’ve heard the saying that it takes a village to put on a production, just so, it takes a village of experts to design, process and install an AV system. What’s the benefit? With each person involved they bring skills to the table to take you from the very beginning design steps through to completion. They have the knowledge to make sure the equipment you buy will not only work but has the functionality to do what you want. They can come alongside your team and understand what your ultimate goals are. Armed with the big picture, an AV engineer can then find the balance between function and budget.

In addition, they will make sure that the new items are compatible with existing equipment. Maybe you’ve found the perfect lighting control wall plates, but just aren’t sure they will work with your network. Or your camera is in perfect working condition, but you need a different memory card. Perhaps someone in your organization already spent the money on new projectors, but you have no idea how to mount them properly or at the correct distance. These are problems we’ve been able to solve or spot in advance of them becoming problems. This is where an Integrator can come alongside you to help! There’s nothing like getting a new piece of tech and finding out the rest of your components won’t work with it.

When to Update to the Latest Equipment

2/17/2020

It's New and Fancy, but is it Right For You?

Last week we looked at knowing when it’s time to replace your equipment or if you could “hold it together” with a repair or a patched in new part. This week we wanted to take a different look at updating equipment. How do you know when you should update your equipment with the latest and greatest?

This line of thought is much like when you are considering to update your phone to the most recent model that just came out. You know it’s out, fancy and new, everyone is talking about it and everything in you is screaming, “I want one too! I want to be like the cool kids!” We all want to have the newest tech on the street, but sometimes it’s a hard decision to make when we have limited funds and our outdated equipment is still working. So, how do you know when to go for it and get that new piece of tech and when to wait?

To Upgrade? Or Create Something New?

2/17/2020

Deciding When Your Old System Needs Something New

If your main Audio Visual system has been installed for a while you might be starting to wonder if it’s time to upgrade your system or start from scratch. We all try to save money if we can and Audio Visual is certainly an area we want to save money in. Sometimes a simple update in a piece of equipment is all you might need. Other times it might save you money over time to create a whole new system. How do you know when you can no longer upgrade? When is it time to tear out your legacy system and start over from scratch?

With older systems there are several options you might take: wait it out, simply maintain, or eliminate completely. Each has its pros and cons. Let’s walk you through each one.

If you wait as long as you possibly can to upgrade, it may save you money now but will probably cost you in the future. Many times, these systems are relied on a weekly, if not a daily basis. By waiting until pieces of your system fail, you put yourself in a position where you must make a quick, pressured decision to get the system back up and running. And sometimes you must settle for a piece of equipment that you might not like as much because the one that you want isn’t available that quickly. Or you might have to spend extra money to rent equipment until your new equipment can be ordered and installed.

Lighting Maintenance Pt. 2

1/25/2020

To continue with our Lighting Maintenance Checklist we wanted to highlight cleaning your console area. Where cleaning your actual lights may only need to be done every 3-6 months, the console gets used all the time! We’d suggest doing these items every 1-2 months.

The obvious points are to clean off the dust and fingerprints from your equipment, so often it may be the software updates, etc. that are more easily ignored. We all know it’s never good when your equipment forces itself into an update. At that point who knows how long it will take to restart?
Just like we mentioned in our Audio Maintenance articles, it’s a good idea to back up your show now and again for the same reasons. You never want to make it to the day of the show and an update to erase everything, or for an accidental mistake to delete everything you worked so hard on. It’ a simple task, but paramount in making sure your show and equipment continue to run smoothly for years to come.

We asked John Tabor, a lighting professional who runs shows across the country, for his pro tips to care for lighting equipment to write these articles. Be sure to check your inbox again if you missed last week's Checklist on caring for your lights.

"John has worked on projects as big as the world’s largest aquarium, a Super Bowl halftime show and the Grammy’s."

Check out
@zebraproductionslive
on Instagram!

Lighting Maintenance

1/25/2020

If you’ve worked with Lambda, you know we are big fans of taking care of your equipment so it will last longer and serve you well while you have it. We’ve put together several resources for you about maintenance (Click here for free Resources), so what could be better than to continue with Lighting Maintenance? This time, we brought in a good friend, a lighting expert, to help us put together this information. John Tabor put together a list of things he sees as important to maintaining your lighting equipment. Tabor owns Zebra Productions Live and with over a decade of lighting experience he has worked on projects as big as the world’s largest aquarium, a Superbowl halftime show and the Grammy’s. John now puts on many Christian conferences across the nation and supplies us with much of our LED lighting fixtures. Ryan has worked alongside John Tabor to produce shows across the country for many years now, so it seemed only natural that when we wanted lighting tips, we would ask John.

"John has worked on projects as big as the world’s largest aquarium, a Superbowl halftime show and the Grammy’s."

Check out @zebraproductionslive on Instagram!

Or visit www.zebraproductionslive.biz

Using Equipment To It's Fullest

5/6/2019

One of the biggest things we like to push at Lambda Audio Visual is using your equipment to its fullest. Almost every piece of equipment we work with and sell is positioned not only fill your needs but to grow with you. Our tech tip this week is non-other than the equipment user Manual!
We affectionately speak of this amazing tool on our crews as our most important and knowledgeable crew member ‘El Manuel’ (of course we say it with an accent). “Have you checked with Manuel”, is a common day to day saying for us. This is because while our training's do a great job of getting teams started and helping to solve problems, it’s only when you dig in to what the manufacturer has designed the equipment for that you can fully understand it.

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Resources

Check out our resources page for FREE checklists and tools we mention in articles! We are here to help you improve and maintain your Audio Visual Systems!

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