What's the next "trend"?

[rth_discos]

OK, so I can pretty much name a "professional" disco setup these day (and this is for the guys charging a decent fee)

Starlit booth
Vertical Truss either side of the booth with moving heads/starballs
+ uplighting behind the DJ
Some might include a Martin rush on sticks either side of the booth

So that's the current "look" for a mobile DJ (plus/minus some extras).

What's the signs of the next trend? What can be done to stand out (in the right way)

Thinking mainly wedding look here.

[funkymook]

OK, so I can pretty much name a "professional" disco setup these day (and this is for the guys charging a decent fee)

Starlit booth
Vertical Truss either side of the booth with moving heads/starballs
+ uplighting behind the DJ
Some might include a Martin rush on sticks either side of the booth

So that's the current "look" for a mobile DJ (plus/minus some extras).

What's the signs of the next trend? What can be done to stand out (in the right way)

Thinking mainly wedding look here.

If anyone has an idea about that they’re not going to tell you.....:)

[musicology]

Seems to me it's moved from starcloth to the booths that are made of truss with a plastic screen at the front or the wrap-around plastic screens.

[DazzyD]

If anyone has an idea about that they’re not going to tell you.....:)

I totally agree with Martin. No-one is going to think "I've just come up with the one thing that will revolutionise my business and set me streets ahead of the competition. I've got a good idea. I'll go and share that idea free of charge on a DJ forum!". :eek:

Sadly, I've no idea what the next big thing might be - I'm not a trendsetter!! :(

[Nakatomi]

How unique can this stuff get? It's always essentially just a portable table to hold the gear and hide cables. If it looks inoffensive, better still. With the exception of (imho) moving heads, no disco light is appealing to the eye when it's off & loads aren't even good looking on (stares at a smashed up Revo)

One way to stand out in future might be to not look LED backlit, plastic & tacky. Neon pink was never a good look for anyone IMHO.

Layout of a system is all about getting the sound & light to the right place. There are some ways more 'classy' than others but there's only so much you can do as a mobile operator.

[Excalibur]

Next trend? I'm hoping it's cheesy DJs who are fond of the sound of their own voice. :D

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

ROPE LIGHTS AND TRAFFIC BOXES

[Nakatomi]

Shabby chic?

You know, equipment with distressed paintwork, dents & the odd bit missing here or there. Oh and lasers for first dance lighting. Absolute craptons of dots & beams going haywire all over the white gown!

Oh and whatever the next big thing is, you can bet that at least one of the 120 new products ADJ announce next month will be bang on trend!

[Andy P]

Virtual Disco - its all a projection and not actually there

[funkymook]

With the exception of (imho) moving heads, no disco light is appealing to the eye when it's off & loads aren't even good looking on (stares at a smashed up Revo).

The humble mirrorball is very pretty when the lights are up - the modern equivalent, Spherion’s etc, look like naval mines though.

[Benny Smyth]

Just look at what theatres use. There'll be a DJ equivalent to it in a year or so.

[ckpr2]

Next trend? I'm hoping it's cheesy DJs who are fond of the sound of their own voice. :D

There was one local disco DJ who thought he could sing.
He would sing over most of the songs.
But he was terrible, completely off key.

[Nakatomi]

There was one local disco DJ who thought he could sing.
He would sing over most of the songs.
But he was terrible, completely off key.

He's on Radio 2 these days isn't he? Steve Wright?

[Imagine]

ROPE LIGHTS AND TRAFFIC BOXES

Erm....that's my 80's package Jim, and business is definitely picking up on that front ;)

As for the next trend - who knows. Probably a pop-up booth that all comes out of a single flightcase.
Am I going to follow the trend - nope. I've spent enough on my various flavours of rig now and I'm more than happy with how it looks.

[TONYTIGER]

Just look at what theatres use. There'll be a DJ equivalent to it in a year or so.

Spot on,to be honest mobile discos are way behind in new technolgy compaired with USA thats why i find plasa a much better bet you will see lots of new ideas that will take at least 4 years to feed down to mobiles.

[Nakatomi]

Have you seen what the likes of Calibar Entertainment are doing for massive weddings? Complete staging & bespoke lighting rigs. Absolutely amazing, but it'll never scale down to gigs for 100 people.

[Pe7e]

Have you seen what the likes of Calibar Entertainment are doing for massive weddings? Complete staging & bespoke lighting rigs. Absolutely amazing, but it'll never scale down to gigs for 100 people.

Totally agree, the average mobile DJ is limited to the amount od kit they can fit into their transport, and of course the cost. Having said that, technology is getting cheaper all the time and I predict HD star cloths will soon be available for a sensible price, thus enabling some fancy backdrops. Another prediction is 'wearable lighting' ie RC controlled LED wrist/ankle/arm bands either sound to light or under the direct control of the DJ, thereby turning the guests into part of the light show. This is already here, I've actually seen the prototypes, but the price of the LED bands need to come down to almost 'disposable level' to make it a viable proposition as many would fail to be recovered post gig. I also think advanced video projection will feature more in the shows of DJs doing the larger gigs instead of only being used by the Hi-End production/event companies. Time will tell.

[ppentertainments]

Latest trend seems to be people raking out old ladders out their loft, splashing a bit white paint on, filing the steps with loads of cr@p then putting them out as 'love ladders'

[funkymook]

I think we’ll gradually get away from having our lighting by our stands/booths.

We’ve all experienced lights that look awesome from our viewpoint but are totally underwhelming when we take a walk around the room and look at them from the audiences perspective - the lights should really be at the opposite end of the room for maximum crowd impact.

The more battery and wireless DMX lights that come on the market the less we are restricted to where we can place them. Battery isn’t that vital actually, I manage to place my Solar 250’s around most rooms if there’s handy plug points.

Imagine having podiums in each corner of the room with wireless DMX moving heads on them, it’d be a much more sophisticated light-show. (and how about a larger battery pack for moving heads and other high power heavy that would sit in the truss to completely avoid a mains lead).

But that also means we’d have less hardware and lights around our stands and booths so we may need to do something there to give ourselves more of a presence, that’s where people could really start being inventive.

[djrikki]

Play out wise I fell Stems could be an exciting new avenue for creative DJs should it catch on with producers.
If you don't know what Stems are just imagine 4-channel software like Octamed on Amigas, modern equivalent of a MOD file or even MIDI; you have the Beat, the Kick, the Drum and the vocal as separate elements which can easily be manipulated during playback. Taking something from the past and bringing into the current.
Personally right now I am not indulging, but they do sound intriguing.

[funktions]

Virtual Disco - its all a projection and not actually there

and how many of us for one minute thought ... if only ..

[musicology]

I think we’ll gradually get away from having our lighting by our stands/booths.

We’ve all experienced lights that look awesome from our viewpoint but are totally underwhelming when we take a walk around the room and look at them from the audiences perspective - the lights should really be at the opposite end of the room for maximum crowd impact.

The more battery and wireless DMX lights that come on the market the less we are restricted to where we can place them. Battery isn’t that vital actually, I manage to place my Solar 250’s around most rooms if there’s handy plug points.

Imagine having podiums in each corner of the room with wireless DMX moving heads on them, it’d be a much more sophisticated light-show. (and how about a larger battery pack for moving heads and other high power heavy that would sit in the truss to completely avoid a mains lead).

But that also means we’d have less hardware and lights around our stands and booths so we may need to do something there to give ourselves more of a presence, that’s where people could really start being inventive.

I don't think we're too far away from a revolution in battery technology with developments in Lithium Ion bringing forth a lighter battery solution.

[Nakatomi]

From what I saw at bpm, wireless DMX is going to be abundant pretty soon. I love what DMX allows, but another 2 cables per fixture is a bind if you can't prewire much.

[TONYTIGER]

I don't think we're too far away from a revolution in battery technology with developments in Lithium Ion bringing forth a lighter battery solution.

Chauvet already do battery uplighters with a run time of 22 hours,plenty long enough for me.

[Pe7e]

Chauvet already do battery uplighters with a run time of 22 hours,plenty long enough for me.

The 21 hours run time is for single colour usage i.e. Red, Green or Blue, if you choose to mix colours, it drops dramatically to around 8 hours. The other major factor to consider is the cost, a typical installation of 16 units suitable for a medium size venue would cost in the region of £4.5K including the controller and transport bags. In these days of clients wanting free/cheap uplighting including in their disco price, I personally think it would be difficult to recover this outlay and make a profit. In all likelihood by then, the rechargeable batteries would be needing replacement, the LED expected lifespan quoted is OK, but no info is provided on the number of recharge cycles you can expect, based on past experience with rechargeable devices I doubt it will be good. Don't get me wrong, I would love a set, it's the way forward, but only if the price and performance add up, and I think that's a year or so away yet.

[funkymook]

I’m sure I saw some battery/wireless DMX moving heads at BPM. Give it a few years (when battery technology has improved and trickled down to be affordable) and there’ll be a whole range of completely wireless moving heads, scanners, moon flowers etc available which will completely change where we position our lights.

[TONYTIGER]

The 21 hours run time is for single colour usage i.e. Red, Green or Blue, if you choose to mix colours, it drops dramatically to around 8 hours. The other major factor to consider is the cost, a typical installation of 16 units suitable for a medium size venue would cost in the region of £4.5K including the controller and transport bags. In these days of clients wanting free/cheap uplighting including in their disco price, I personally think it would be difficult to recover this outlay and make a profit. In all likelihood by then, the rechargeable batteries would be needing replacement, the LED expected lifespan quoted is OK, but no info is provided on the number of recharge cycles you can expect, based on past experience with rechargeable devices I doubt it will be good. Don't get me wrong, I would love a set, it's the way forward, but only if the price and performance add up, and I think that's a year or so away yet.

Hi,i dont know were you got that info from but the EZ tri light will run for 20 hours on any mode and at just over a grand for 10 units is pretty cost effective.

[rth_discos]

Hi,i dont know were you got that info from but the EZ tri light will run for 20 hours on any mode and at just over a grand for 10 units is pretty cost effective.

• Maximum Run Time (all on): up to 8 hours
• Maximum Run Time (single color): up to 20 hours

[Pe7e]

Hi,i dont know were you got that info from but the EZ tri light will run for 20 hours on any mode and at just over a grand for 10 units is pretty cost effective.

I got the specs for the wireless, battery uplighters from the official Chauvet site and the prices from djkit.com (https://www.djkit.com/chauvet/chauvet-freedom-par-tri-6.html?cat=623) The price/specs were for uplighters, not the triangular truss warmers, if you want quad LEDs instead of basic RGB ones, add another £800 to the £4.5K

[Corabar Steve]

There was one local disco DJ who thought he could sing.
He would sing over most of the songs.
But he was terrible, completely off key.

I never realised Carlisle was that close to Edinburgh

[TONYTIGER]

I got the specs for the wireless, battery uplighters from the official Chauvet site and the prices from djkit.com (https://www.djkit.com/chauvet/chauvet-freedom-par-tri-6.html?cat=623) The price/specs were for uplighters, not the triangular truss warmers, if you want quad LEDs instead of basic RGB ones, add another £800 to the £4.5K

The triangular ones are ideal as uplighters i have been hiring out a package of 10 for £ 80 and have got my money back after 6 months and all clients are very happy,and i am going to add another set .

[DazzyD]

I never realised Carlisle was that close to Edinburgh

:eek: :zip:

[ukpartydj]

Hmm what about those skype robots that go around offices on wheels I've seen on the TV ... surely your Aussie Aunt who couldn't make it to attend in robotic form!
I thought they'd never take off but apparently they're a bit of a thing now??