DJ and Stage Lighting

Wash light, strobe or haze machine?

A wash light floods a stage or dance floor with color, which is the usual starting point. A strobe adds flashes, so consider the venue and your audience, since fast flashing is a problem for people sensitive to it. A haze machine adds fine particles that make light beams visible; it is lighter than a dense fog machine and lingers longer in the air. Water-based haze fluid is specific to machines built for it. Add up each fixture's wattage before sharing a circuit.

DMX connectors, adapters and safety cables

DMX is the control signal for stage lighting. Fixtures link in a chain with a data cable, each is set to a start address, and the last unit is usually terminated. Connectors come as three-pin or five-pin XLR, so a three-pin to five-pin adapter cable is often needed to join equipment. Data cable is built for control signals, unlike a microphone cable, which may work only over short runs. Anything hung overhead needs a rated safety cable as well as its clamp.

Questions about DJ and Stage Lighting

Can stage lights run without a DMX controller?

Often yes. Many fixtures have built-in sound-active or automatic programs and need only power. A DMX controller gives you control over color, intensity and effects, and is needed to run several fixtures in a planned show.

What is the difference between haze and fog?

Fog is dense and billowing and fades quickly; haze is a thin, even mist that stays suspended and makes beams visible without a visible cloud. Each machine uses its own fluid type, so match the fluid to the machine.

Why do some lighting cables have different plugs at each end?

Some lighting equipment uses three-pin DMX connectors and some uses five-pin. A cable with a three-pin female on one end and a five-pin male on the other joins the two types, so the fixtures can sit in one chain.