Weddings 11 July 2015 Wedding Giglog at CFB Esquimalt Wardroom

[Navydiver]

Had a great opportunity to go back to my old hangout at the Naval Officer Wardroom (aka Officers Mess or O-Club) to do yet another wedding. Reconsidering renewing my (inexpensive) membership at the club as my day job is less than 500 feet away on the waterfront and they offer fabulous meals there. Here is my video giglog for last night's event. Of note:
- My sub crapped out on me right at setup (getting power but was deader than a post for sound despite trying everything - didn't want to haul it away so just left it there - they were none the wiser.)
- I hauled out a spare 15 incher powered speaker that I usually use just for speeches and it worked great as a sub despite being an el cheapo Edison M2000 for speeches only I got at Costco during an early lapse in judgement. It actually pounded very well which was surprising. My tops were only 12 incher EV ELX112P so the 15 helped out a bit - plenty bottom end for the room I was in...
- Need more scrims (getting wifey to sew some up after I bought some material on Thursday) to hide all the added tripods I now have for light stands and Video monitor stands.
- Added a second matching video monitor that I bought at Costco that morning from proceeds of last weeks gig. I used to go with one and if I needed more I used a projector with screen (takes up too much space as mine is not ultra short throw)
- need to work on housekeeping still (my insistence on redundancy cause lots of extra wires - it has saved my bacon on more than one occasion so there is value added)!
- This wedding was an absolute blast. The couple couldn't thank me enough. They were a fun and very easy going couple who appreciated the whole setup and the video setup - that always makes my evening.
- These video giglogs are proving handy for customers. I have enough of them posted for various venues that new customers can easily visualize what a setup could look like. I now maintain a bank of photos and video vignettes for each venue I go to to help folks visualize things etc...
- another similar sized wedding next week (can't wait)!

View: http://youtu.be/HjI7dpPtnH4

 

[steve149]

Looks nice .. only thing I would change from a stability and liability standpoint, those tripod legs should go wider. Depending on the model, the support arms should normally be parallel to the ground or perpendicular to the leg for maximum stability.

 

[DJ TJ]

Looks nice .. only thing I would change from a stability and liability standpoint, those tripod legs should go wider. Depending on the model, the support arms should normally be parallel to the ground or perpendicular to the leg for maximum stability.

This seems to be an issue worth discussing.
I remember you mentioning this in at least one other thread and if you look at the pics/videos where you have commented on this, each of the venues seems to have limited setup space. While I agree you should have them setup as per your comment whenever possible, look at how close the chairs on the right side are to the video stand at the start of this video. Having the legs fully extended actually creates a bigger tripping hazard due to the wider footprint.

Any decent quality stand worth it's salt should have no problem carrying the recommended weight even without the legs fully extended.

Obviously at a minimum I would never extend them to anything less than a 30 degree angle (and more where practical), I just don't think that using them fully extended always needs to be practiced as a cardinal rule. It depends on your available setup space.

Personally, I wouldn't have been comfortable with those video stands setup there regardless of how those legs are extended. Imo, still too much of a chance that someone will trip over them as they are running up to you to request a song or whatever. In this case I think I would have used truss columns setup directly in front of the pillars with the video screens mounted on top and the speakers mounted in the middle.

Even though I use tripod stands (ADJ cranks), I only set them up in a manner where there is little possibility of "interaction" with the drinking public, legs fully extended or not. If I can't keep them out of the line of fire so to speak, I will explore alternatives, such as the truss columns with heavy assed base plates.

I know it's kind of a "catch 22" situation. What do you do?

Only extend them to 30 degrees and lose some stability, increasing the chances it will tip over completely if someone trips over one of the legs?

Or fully extend them, increasing the footprint and thereby increasing the chances that someone will trip over a leg?

 

[Navydiver]

Appreciate the comments very much - this is absolutely how I learn so keep the comments flowing if anyone else sees something amiss. And here I always thought 45 degrees would be optimum (i knew they weren't at 45 degrees going in) to give both lateral and vertical support to the main support pole - this using basic Trig from my old school days??? I tried to butt the stands up as close to those support pillars as possible but as TJ surmised I was also trying to keep them away from the seated guests so as to allow space for folks to pass. The video doesn't show all the little ones running around earlier in the night I don't think. The tripods I used for the monitors were the ones from my ADJ LTS-50T Truss System as they fly the screens much higher than my standard speaker stands. Will research this all a little further.

 

[steve149]

This seems to be an issue worth discussing.
I remember you mentioning this in at least one other thread and if you look at the pics/videos where you have commented on this, each of the venues seems to have limited setup space. While I agree you should have them setup as per your comment whenever possible, look at how close the chairs on the right side are to the video stand at the start of this video. Having the legs fully extended actually creates a bigger tripping hazard due to the wider footprint.

Any decent quality stand worth it's salt should have no problem carrying the recommended weight even without the legs fully extended.

Obviously at a minimum I would never extend them to anything less than a 30 degree angle (and more where practical), I just don't think that using them fully extended always needs to be practiced as a cardinal rule. It depends on your available setup space.

Personally, I wouldn't have been comfortable with those video stands setup there regardless of how those legs are extended. Imo, still too much of a chance that someone will trip over them as they are running up to you to request a song or whatever. In this case I think I would have used truss columns setup directly in front of the pillars with the video screens mounted on top and the speakers mounted in the middle.

Even though I use tripod stands (ADJ cranks), I only set them up in a manner where there is little possibility of "interaction" with the drinking public, legs fully extended or not. If I can't keep them out of the line of fire so to speak, I will explore alternatives, such as the truss columns with heavy assed base plates.

I know it's kind of a "catch 22" situation. What do you do?

Only extend them to 30 degrees and lose some stability, increasing the chances it will tip over completely if someone trips over one of the legs?

Or fully extend them, increasing the footprint and thereby increasing the chances that someone will trip over a leg?

If you set up a tripod with 2 legs forward, parallel to your table, there should be no tripping hazard. I understand about space .. just need to point out to those lurking here that it is not the "proper" way to use a tripod. Anything that isn't deployed properly, that can be a liability, may come back to bite you should there be a problem. Just pointing out things for those to think about.

 

[steve149]

Appreciate the comments very much - this is absolutely how I learn so keep the comments flowing if anyone else sees something amiss. And here I always thought 45 degrees would be optimum (i knew they weren't at 45 degrees going in) to give both lateral and vertical support to the main support pole - this using basic Trig from my old school days??? I tried to butt the stands up as close to those support pillars as possible but as TJ surmised I was also trying to keep them away from the seated guests so as to allow space for folks to pass. The video doesn't show all the little ones running around earlier in the night I don't think. The tripods I used for the monitors were the ones from my ADJ LTS-50T Truss System as they fly the screens much higher than my standard speaker stands. Will research this all a little further.

Every tripod is different, so it would be difficult to specify an angle. Stability is especially important for the LCD screens or lighting as we tend to put them higher than speaker tripods.

I'm not admonishing, nor am I proselytizing .. just giving out food for thought.

 

[DJ TJ]

If you set up a tripod with 2 legs forward, parallel to your table, there should be no tripping hazard.

Sorry Steve, I'm having a brain fart here.
I'm sure it's obvious, I just can't picture what you mean by this.

 

[steve149]

Sorry Steve, I'm having a brain fart here.
I'm sure it's obvious, I just can't picture what you mean by this.

2 legs forward even with the front of the table and parallel to it ...

sort of like this...

 

[DJ TJ]

Ok, I get it now. However unlike how its depicted in your pic, in most cases I would not have the stands spaced that close together (regardless of what was on them) in order to be able to use the table as a blocker to force people to go around.

 

[steve149]

I agree. It was an image I found to show the leg orientation. As for speaker spread, I would have gone to the left and right sides with a min of 12 feet if possible.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[DJ TJ]

I guess I'm a little tired today. Reading what you said again, it makes sense now. The stands don't have to be in front of the table just have the legs positioned as in the pic with the two forward legs actually even with the front of the table or even a little behind no matter how spaced apart.

 

[DJ TJ]

I totally agree with what you are saying about extending legs fully , it's just not always possible in an imperfect world, and since drunk people (and even not so drunk people) around tripods scare the hell out of me, I think a bigger issue of liability comes from making sure they are out of "traffic's way" more than being opened fully or not imo.

 

[Navydiver]

Another interesting one. I have always been told by other locals here that you should always have the single leg pointing forward facing the crowd. If the tripod takes a tumble, it will not fall forward into the crowd. If 0 degrees is straight forward facing onto the dance floor then if it falls it will generally go in one of three directions. It will "usually" fall at the 60, 180 (directly back) or 300 degree points, assuming it is not shifted, so odds are less that it will fall into the most crowded part of the venue. Thoughts?

 

[bombdhell89]

Great gig log! The selfie stick with a wide angle view (gopro?) Is genius! Great way to catch the whole view every once in a while! I think gig logs are worth their weight in gold when it comes to showcasing the experience you can provide. I had a bride call off her search for a wedding DJ when she saw one of my gig logs and told me specifically that she wanted me based on what she watched. That felt nice! By the way, what light is that sitting on the sub? Kind of a cool effect projected on the ceiling!

As to the stands, I think middle ground is good and we're only going to agree to disagree. Personally, I do the three sided scrim as well and put the middle leg facing the audience but as close to in-line with the plane of my table as I can so it's not sticking out. This is how I usually do it and haven't had a problem with a drunk guest so far. Of course, I'm usually in the corner somewhere or out of the way so guests usually come ask for requests from across the table, which is A-OK with me.

 

[rickryan.com]

Welcome, Navy. Nice setup and looks like you did a great job. I don't have a big problem with the setup as you had the columns to work with. I probably would scoot the speakers and screens in tighter again the columns. I'd also bring my table up parallel with the speakers, if only to eliminate any kind of path that a drunk might try to walk through. Overall though, nice job and thanks for sharing it.

 

[Djderik]

I won't comment on the stand issue, but I have to say that it still amazes me that DJ's use dance lighting when a couple does their first dance. Every photographer i know hates dance lights that hit the bride and groom during those special dances.

Beyond that....nice job......

 

[Navydiver]

First and foremost I very much appreciate the comment: In actual fact I am of the same feeling. In this case, they expressly wanted it so I went with it. The photographer in this case said it would not affect the outcome and his back bore the brunt of the effect anyway as he was standing quite close to the light cones pointed upward. There was still quite a bit of ambient light given the time of year and the big glass windows at the back. I only used two very low power (3 watt) rotating LED bulbs in lamp fixtures for that sequence so the flash easily over-powers the LED effect. I didn't turn on the powerful stuff until much later...
It is one of the first things I ask all the photographers when we meet up - surprisingly some don't care but do appreciate the gesture of making things less difficult for them. In actuality the effect was less pronounced than what appears on my vid sequences because I was shooting through the light.

I was only using two of these (see link below) which work very well in standard clamp lamps to adorn my DIY facade. You can see them pointed skyward in the setup vids as to exactly how they are arranged:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1PC-New-Perf...210?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5b150d12a2

 

[Djderik]

EXCELLENT.....then you did what the clien asked for....PERFECT! Again....nice job..... Ever think about trussing for the Monitors? That would be a cleaner touch?....my 2 cents.

First and foremost I very much appreciate the comment: In actual fact I am of the same feeling. In this case, they expressly wanted it - who am I to say n0? The photographer in this case said it would not affect the outcome. I only used two very low power (3 watt) rotating LED bulbs in lamp fixtures for that sequence so I am thinking the flash easily over-powers the LED effect. I didn't turn on the powerful stuff until much later...
It is one of the first things I ask all the photographers when we meet up - surprisingly most don't care but appreciate the gesture of making things less difficult for them...

I was only using two of these (see link below) which work very well in standard clamp lamps to adorn my DIY facade. You can see them pointed skyward in the setup vids as to exactly how they are arranged:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1PC-New-Perf...210?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5b150d12a2

 

[JamminDownJD]

Tripods are difficult to deal with in high-traffic areas. I cover the bottom legs in scrim so that they are more noticeable, plus the tepee hides the extra slack of cords. I get mine from Stretchy Screens. They go for $99/pair for speakers, $110 for lighting stands. http://www.stretchyscreens.com/speaker-stand-covers/tripod-stand-cover-large

However, for your specific case, I would consider the Trusst Glo Totem series. They look like Global Truss, but they can be disassembled into smaller pieces so they can fit in your car. Look up Trusst Glo Totem on DJ Jer's channel on YouTube, and you can see how he used it for his TVs.

 

[Navydiver]

EXCELLENT.....then you did what the clien asked for....PERFECT! Again....nice job..... Ever think about trussing for the Monitors? That would be a cleaner touch?....my 2 cents.

I did - I do have a truss which is too lightweight and complicated for setup as a Truss system IMHO. In fact the Tripods you see holding up the monitors are from the ADJ LTS-50T truss system I have minus the lattice span that I leave at home.
http://www.amazon.com/ADJ-Products-LTS-50T-Portable-System/dp/B003ZAOQBQ
I like the stands in stand alone mode as they are pretty stable and quite tall to get them above the crowd for viewing at all angles. The LED TV/Monitors are actually surprisingly light at 23.1 pounds each so I'm not concerned at all about weight. The Truss system is rated to 200 pounds but is a pain to assemble and disassemble each time. I could easily mount the monitors halfway up the tripod stands and cap off the truss with the lattice beam member but that is a lot to do as a solo setup guy. I would eventually like to a get to a more solid global truss arrangement but then I have to start thinking about vehicles/trailers and expense for all these bigger items. Right now I just bought a brand new full sized pickup truck crew 4X4 with short box (mainly for hauling my big boat but it does double duty as my gig hauler). Also everything you see in the above vid I took just barely squeezes into the truck (with Tonneau cover on and Crew cab with seats up). Soon I hope to be employing my son as a helper but at 19 I can't count on him being available all the time - too many friends to hang out with ;-)