How can I control floodlights via a foot-switch whilst on stage?

November 17, 2011 4:12 PM

How can I control floodlights via a foot-switch whilst on stage?

I play in a band and we want to step up our live shows for a european tour we have coming up. We want to have floodlights/lights behind our amps and be able to make them come on/turn off via a footswitch.

This is already quite a common thing, an example is this band at 40 seconds in.

The sort of lights are these ones. I'm based in the UK and I think they sell them in B&Q/Homebase etc, and i've found them on eBay, so my question is which lights should I buy and how can I make them turn on/off by just hitting a foot pedal/switch. We're willing to put some money into getting custom built pedals, and I know some people who'll be able to do this for us, but yeah any suggestions on how this could be achieved would be greatly appreciated!

posted by FuckingAwesome to Technology (4 answers total)

One word (well acronym): DMX. It's a theatrical lighting control protocol. You'll need a "dimmer pack," which controls the light, and a DMX pedalboard. On my phone so can't go search just now, but that should get you started.
posted by Alterscape at 4:16 PM on November 17, 2011

MIDI controlled lighting system + MIDI foot controller.
posted by Sys Rq at 5:30 PM on November 17, 2011

(You could also just plug the lights into a plain old power strip and switch them with your feet.)
posted by Sys Rq at 5:50 PM on November 17, 2011

You are in luck! 'Tis the season for Christmas tree foot switch extension cords!
posted by 4ster at 6:45 PM on November 17, 2011