The Paradise Garage Retrospection; Sound and Lights - Pt2
Lighting:
What made The Paradise Garage stand out among all other nightclubs technically?
In my last post, I went over the Sound System at the Club. This section is a discussion of the Lighting System at the Paradise Garage based on my 30 years as a Lighting Designer and Production Technician. This Blog post is going to be done in 2 parts because I am going into heavy detail about the Paradise Garage lighting system, and it may be somewhat lengthy. So if you are a tech nerd, strap in because this is going to be good!
Hello, my name is Ralph Curtis and welcome to my Blog.
Lighting System:
The Lighting system at the Paradise Garage was tremendous to say the least. No other club in the city had a system like this. The Dancefloor alone had over 730 lighting fixtures rigged from the ceiling. The stage and other lounges had a base set up of about 25 to 40 fixtures minimum. During special parties and events, the number of lighting fixtures in the lounges would increase in size depending on the complexity of the design.
The 730 fixtures were broken down into 10 separate system modules which had a power consumption of 1087 amps. This is a basic figure of amperage use, as an actual reading was not possible, but the combined wattage of the majority of fixtures on the dancefloor came close to this number. If we broke this down into a 3-phase power distribution, that would distribute the load to 362 amps per leg. Now remember that this is power consumption base on the assumption that all the lighting would be turned on full, which as we know was not the case, my point here is just to give you an idea of the potential power that was being generated on dance-floor lighting alone.
As awesome as the lighting system turned out to be, it was not so in the beginning. From what I understand, the design started off very small with a dozen or so pin spots and a basic wash. This earlier system was before my time at the club, so I really couldn’t tell you who installed it or what was put in first. However I can tell you that the lighting system and its design, evolved constantly right up until the time the club closed. The final look of the dance-floor lighting towards the end in 1987 was redesigned by Peter Munoz and put in place by Derek and Myself.
The Lighting system over the Garage dancefloor consisted of 4 separate lighting concepts: Color Washes, Streak Effects, Psych Effects, and Mood Lighting. These 4 separate lighting disciplines were distributed into 10 separate lighting modules, these modules in turn had their own system controllers and were slaved to 2 separate master controllers, one at the lighting desk itself, and the other master was on a traveller track which Larry used often.
The first lighting effect to discuss is the color wash. The main purpose of this color wash was to saturate the dance floor with as much color as possible. At the Garage we used 2 system modules to accomplish this task.
The second system used for the color wash effect were the "Strip Lights". These Lighting fixtures ran along the perimeter of the room. There were 8 units total, 4 pairs of 2, that hung over the dancefloor exit signs. Each unit was comprised of 6, 300-watt incandescent flood lamps and produced a 3 color wash. This module was very effective at washing the room just above head level. The concept of the strip-light goes back to the earlier days of theater to a distant cousin called ‘foot lights. This design was mainly used as front lighting for stage performances and in some cases, the only lighting on the stage. Anyway, what we used at the Garage was a bit more advanced than the candle powered version of days gone by. The strip lights we used were not a very elegant fixture nor did it have a gamut of running programs, but it did do a quick flood of blue, red and magenta at a moment's notice, and I myself got a kick out of using them in a pinch.
The next lighting effect used at the Garage was spot lighting or streak effects. This method wasn’t used to saturate the dancefloor but rather highlight the base color wash with a complimentary accent.
The streak effect was also used as an atmospheric look, which produced a shaft of light that was able to cut through the crowd at all angles, spot lighting different areas of the room. This result was most prominent when used with smoke. The Garage used 3 system modules that produced this result.
The main module we used for this effect, and one the Garage crowd will remember, was the "Ring System". There were (9 Rings) on the ceiling at the Garage, 8 were set in an oval pattern, and the 9th ring was centered. The Rings were designed to cover the dance-floor area and be used as a rigging structure for lighting. The most common fixture to be placed on the Rings was the Pin Beam or F1 Spot. Each spot used a 25-watt, narrow beam Par 36 bulb.
On each Ring we used a total of 64 pin beams, for 512 units total. “Very nice”!
These 64 fixtures were broken up into sections of 8 with 8 lamps per section. In this 8-lamp section we used 4 different colors, so you had 2 pairs of matching lamps for every 8 lamps, for every 8 sections.
don’t get lost, stick with me.
The Board that operated this ring system was phenomenal, it was called the L6400, and the chasing sequences were unlimited. Not only were you able to chase each lamp one by one, you could also chase them in pairs or in color pairs, or by fours, or by four pairs, times 64. Not only could you chase the individual lamps on each Ring, but you could chase the Rings as well. You could chase them one by one clockwise, or clockwise in pairs, opposing pairs or side by side pairs. You could chase the rings at random or chase them inverted. You could chase them with all 64 fixtures on or just one fixture on, or whatever color you wanted. The Ring System was the baby of the Paradise Garage, it was versatile and an awesome effect, you could go the entire night just using this system and never get bored.
The second streak effect used at the Garage were called "Spinners". These fixtures were not a very massive effect like the Rings, but they had a niche’ of their own. They used the same par 36 narrow beam bulb as did the Pin-Beams, producing a shaft of white light which cut through the crowd. However, instead of pointing in a single stagnant direction, the spinners job was to rotate on its axis in a 360-degree motion, producing a swirling effect. The spinners were set in pairs of 2 and located in front and behind each Ring. They could chase in sequence or come on all together via a separate toggle board which had a single chase loop program. This module was primarily used to cause a chaotic look during parts of a song when it reached its crescendo but would work well in any upbeat temp transition.
The last streak effect was a favorite to all of us, these were the "Beacons". The beacons (police beacons) were a huge effect on their own, when they came on, you knew about it. Their main function was to cut the room into sections in rotating angles so that no inch of the dancefloor was untouched by them. They also used the Par36 Narrow Beam bulb in pairs; their motion was slower than the spinners and produced a more intense sweeping effect. The double-beacons that were in the center of the rings were mounted on rotating motors to achieve this coverage effect. The chase program for these fixtures was fairly simple; they either chased in random sequence ordered sequence or all on full blast...
funny side note: when we were doing the clubs preset for the party's, Peter and I would smoke a bit to catch a buzz, throw some smoke machine mist onto the dancefloor, turn on the beacons, and try to see if we could cross the opposite side of the dancefloor without being touched by the beams... lol good times.
This next lighting effect to cover would be the Psych effects. The Garage had 2 lighting modules that gave us this psychedelic envelope, these were the strobing effects.
The Primary module was an all-time favorite of mine, "The Super Strobe". yes, where would we be without the strobe effect? The Paradise Garage probably used more strobes than any nightclub in the city, and we used them well. The Super Strobe utilized a 1000-watt quarts bulb, it was that famous bulb that if you touched it with your fingers and didn't wipe it off, the skin oils would immediately cause a bubble to form on the glass surface and burn out the bulb when you used it. These fixtures were mounted on the ceiling in a circular pattern around the center ring. The Strobes had 2 chase patterns, sequential, (one at a time) or in sync. They also had dimmers that would affect the intensity and speed of the strobing effect. This first set was 6 units in white chasing clockwise, the second set of 6 was in yellow, chasing counterclockwise. All together there were 12 Super Strobes mounted on the ceiling, and when these babies started going it was totally insane. . .
The second module used was called the "Egg Strobe". The (Egg-Strobes) were a subtle strobing effect, the flashes were not as bright and was more of a popping look. These fixtures were mounted on the perimeter of the center ring at various heights which made the effect more interesting, there where 20 fixtures total. The placement of these units on the center ring gave a nice popping effect you could see throughout the room, and it was a good hazing effect for trancing.
The last lighting effect to discuss is our Mood lighting section. The Garage had 3 separate lighting modules which enhanced the other effect and could be left on permanently throughout effect changes.
For me they enhanced what was happening on the floor already, but could also run as an effect on their own.
This is without a doubt the best lighting effect at the Garage, "The Gobo Rotators".
For me they enhanced what was happening on the floor already, but could also run as an effect on their own.
The (Gobo Rotators) were mounted on the center Ring, their main function was to sweep the room in a slow and deliberate pace, gently spotlighting large areas on the dancefloor. We used a total of 12 fixtures and set them into three groups of four, 2 cool color sets and 1 hot.
The Gobo Rotator was a simple design, it utilized a single 6x12 Altman Leko, mounted on a wide based yoke, The fixture was pointed up, focused at a 12" mirror. That mirror was attached to a rotating motor via a ball and pivot stem, so you could adjust the angles of the mirror, a simple design.
I'd like to think the Gobo Rotator was the forerunner of today's modern “intelligent lighting fixtures”. The Intelli-beam, Vari-Lite, Martin, Clay-Paky, all the modern moving light fixtures are derived from this basic gobo rotation idea.
The Gobo Rotator was a simple design, it utilized a single 6x12 Altman Leko, mounted on a wide based yoke, The fixture was pointed up, focused at a 12" mirror. That mirror was attached to a rotating motor via a ball and pivot stem, so you could adjust the angles of the mirror, a simple design.
I'd like to think the Gobo Rotator was the forerunner of today's modern “intelligent lighting fixtures”. The Intelli-beam, Vari-Lite, Martin, Clay-Paky, all the modern moving light fixtures are derived from this basic gobo rotation idea.
This lighting effect just looked cool when they came on, very smart, very elegant. I loved to use them by themselves with a small amount of smoke on the dancefloor. The image of these beams of light sweeping the room from the booth was *Awesome*. Larry enjoyed this effect also, it filled in the orchestral melodies of songs very well.
The second mood effect we used at the club were "The Black lights."
I wish I had tons to say about these fixtures, but they were just black lights. The only neat thing I can say about them is, we sure did use a lot of them, and they burnt out often. We used a total of 41 Black light fixtures, 4 were used in each ring utilizing a cross pattern and 9 were used on the center ring, 8 around the perimeter and one hanging vertically in the very center that was attached to a rotating motor, so it could revolve.
small note: our bulb order for the entire club was about 5,000 dollars every 8 months or so)
The last mood effect we will talk about is the "Mirror Balls".
And boy oh boy did Larry love these things, big shinny Balls, just kidding. The 30-inch mirror ball were a work horse of an era gone by. Most night clubs would put a single pin beam or a small spot on the ball, this would give you that nice pin shard effect that you remember,
but NO, not us!
but NO, not us!
At the Paradise Garage, we used big ‘ol fixtures. We use Par56 500-watt medium beam bulbs, and we sure did use a lot of them. It wasn’t good enough to have just one light on these balls, we had 4 of them, which meant we had 4 different colors, times 4 mirror balls. To be honest, the mirror ball effect was grand, the lighting filled the center of the room with a myriad of brilliant shards of light, it was spectacular no doubt.
( Trivia: Larry was the only one who could use the Mirror Balls during the evening. It was at his request that the effect was saved until he got there.)
I never turned the mirror balls on unless it was a night that Larry didn’t come in, it was a taboo effect and very much hands off for everyone, those were Larry's signature lights.
And so there you have it, that was the bulk of the lighting system used on the Paradise Garage dancefloor. Below is a quick illustration of how the lighting plot looked.
The last lighting effect at the club, wasn't really a "Lighting Effect" at all, oddly enough they were utility working lights, or house lights.
We had 8 of them spread out on the ceiling, they used 1000-watt quarts flood lamps. We used them during the party as a white light bump effect.
It flooded the room with blinding white light for a moment then was usually followed by a black out.
We had 8 of them spread out on the ceiling, they used 1000-watt quarts flood lamps. We used them during the party as a white light bump effect.
It flooded the room with blinding white light for a moment then was usually followed by a black out.
In 1986, there was a redesign to the ring system done by my good friend Peter Munoz. We place 4 steel beams inside each ring that radiated from the center of each ring, in the end it looked like a big cross in the center of the rings. From the 64 pin beams that was on each ring, we took all of the even numbered fixtures and moved them to these cross beams in sequence, 8 fixtures per beam times 4 beams, 32 fixtures total. All the cool colors were on the ring, and the warm colors were on the cross. That was the last design change made on the dancefloor before the club closed.
In Part III of this discussion, we will cover the Lighting boards and the Dancefloor.
Thanks for hanging in there with me
In Part III of this discussion, we will cover the Lighting boards and the Dancefloor.
Thanks for hanging in there with me
originally posted by Ralph Curtis in 2005 from the website A Garage Tribute
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