Creation of up lighting

Prior to about 2007, the only lighting for weddings or formal affairs in hotel ballrooms were the chandeliers mounted in the ballroom ceilings and the stage lights for the band or DJ. Things have changed for the better since then and now we have UP LIGHTING.

Description of up lighting

Up Lighting is simply a light fixture sitting on the floor, next to a wall and pointing up against the wall. The light fixture usually has a color gel over it to project a colored beam against the wall that gets wider as it reaches the ceiling. Up Lighting can be as simple as one light fixture or as elaborate as 1000 light fixtures and a controller that makes them slowly change colors to the music or time. It can be as subtle as the sunset or as dramatic as a tornado. It's all up to you.

Basic up lighting

The first Up Lights were standard stage lighting flood cans with color gels, mounted on a small flat base that held them up, aiming at the ceiling, against a wall. The next generation of Up Lighting came when the new LED stage flood lights were introduced about one year later.

More elaborate up lighting

With LED stage lighting flood cans, you have the ability to create a multitude of colors on each fixture and you can add a controller to the system that allows you to create millions of colors as well as having them all change colors together or in sequence and brighten or dim as you desire. These Universal DMX controllers have the ability for you to program hundreds of different scenes to be played back whenever you want.

Getting started

To get started with Up Lighting, you need to decide if you want to simply select a color on each light and place them around the room, or if you want to have the colors and brightness change during the night. The cheaper cheapest option is to rent or buy basic LED Wash Lights and set them to your desired color, then place them around the room. The more elaborate option is to buy or rent LED Wash Lights that include a wireless remote control or can receive a wireless signal from a universal DMX light controller.

These LED stage wash lights allow you to chose from millions of colors to be created at the touch of a button (starting at about $40 each). Each of these types of lights has a standard power cord that plugs into a wall socket. There are more expensive lights that run off of a built in battery.

How much up lighting is right for you?

The next step is to determine how many Up Lighting fixtures you need. You can have one, two, four, twelve, 24, or more. Only you can decide what is right for your application. If you use more than one fixture, you then need to decide if you want to set the color on each fixture or get a controller and program the lights to change colors, brighten, dim, flash, or strobe. If you use a controller, you will need to run a DMX cable from the controller to the first Up Lighting fixture, another DMX cable from the first Up Lighting fixture to the second fixture and so on. This is called "Daisy Chaining" the fixtures. Another option, as mentioned above is to buy or rent LED wash lights that are capable of receiving a wireless signal from a remote controller.

Buy or rent?

Usually it's cheaper to rent these fixtures than to buy them, if you only need them for one or two nights. We offer LED Wash Lights for rent as low as $5 for a 3 day rental. We offer smaller LED Wash Lights for sale as low as $40.

More info

For more info on up lighting give Joey a call, he’s a pro! 281-880-9922