Key takeaway
Key takeaways
- T-4 weeks: Fixture specification
- T-3 weeks: Power and data schedule
- T-4 days: Warehouse pre-build
- Show day −1: Hang and address
How intelligent moving head lights is actually delivered
This is the fixture rig itself: the hardware, the trussing it hangs on, the power and data that feed it, and the technicians who keep every unit alive. A moving head rig is specified by fixture type against the job each one does. Beam fixtures like the Clay Paky Sharpy class throw a tight, dense column that reads as a solid shaft in haze. Spots carry gobos, prisms, animation wheels and a sharp focus for mid-air and surface texture. Washes flood the stage and the audience with colour. Hybrids such as the Robe MegaPointe and Clay Paky Mythos do all three at the cost of being a compromise at each — frequently the right compromise when truss space and budget are both finite.
From enquiry to load-out
- T-4 weeks
Fixture specification
Fixture types matched to their jobs — beam, spot, wash, hybrid — against the plot and the available truss space.
- T-3 weeks
Power and data schedule
Circuit-by-circuit load calculation, phase balance, node placement and the addressing plan issued.
- T-4 days
Warehouse pre-build
Every fixture burned in, calibrated, optics cleaned, addressed and tested as a complete rig before it is cased.
- Show day −1
Hang and address
Fixtures hung to plot with safety bonds, data chains terminated, addresses verified unit by unit against the patch sheet.
- Show day −1 evening
Focus
Each fixture focused to its purpose with the set in place, and any mechanical fault found and swapped before programming.
- Show day to +4 hours
Show and strike
Technicians hold positions during the show to catch a failure, then the rig is struck and cased in hang order.
Who is on site
- Fixture technician
Pre-builds and burns in every unit, checks pan and tilt calibration and gobo alignment, and swaps a failing fixture mid-run.
- Dimmer and power technician
Builds the distribution, balances load across phases and monitors current draw as the rig comes up.
- Data technician
Places sACN nodes, keeps DMX chains short and terminated, and traces a flickering fixture back to its cable rather than its body.
- Rigger
Hangs fixtures to the plot, checks clamp and safety-bond discipline on every unit and manages truss trim.
- Followspot operator
Works a long-throw profile on cue, holding a performer in frame through movement and changes of level.
What you should receive
Deliverables
- Fixture inventory listing make, model and quantity by position
- Printed and digital patch sheet with every DMX address
- Power schedule with circuit-level loads and phase balance
- Data topology drawing showing node placement and chain lengths
- Pre-build and burn-in test record for the rig as despatched
- Focus notes recording each fixture's assigned purpose
- Fault log recording any unit swapped during the run
What we plan around
What can go wrong
How we prevent it
- What can go wrong
One long DMX daisy chain across sixty fixtures produces intermittent flicker nobody can locate.
How we prevent itData is distributed from multiple sACN nodes into short terminated chains, so a fault is isolated to a handful of fixtures and found in minutes.
- What can go wrong
A mixed rig of discharge profiles and LED washes trips a circuit because load was estimated by fixture count.
How we prevent itLoad is calculated fixture by fixture from actual draw, not averaged, with phases balanced and the schedule checked against measured current at power-up.
- What can go wrong
A gobo wheel is a few degrees out on a rear fixture — invisible at focus, obvious in every photograph.
How we prevent itCalibration and wheel alignment are verified during warehouse burn-in, and the focus pass includes a gobo and prism check on every unit rather than a spot sample.
- What can go wrong
Rain reaches non-rated fixtures on an outdoor upright and three units fail during the show.
How we prevent itExposed positions are specified with IP65 fixtures from the outset, because improvised rain hats alter the beam and still let water in from below.
The detail that matters
Source matters as much as fixture category. Discharge lamps still produce the hardest, brightest beams and remain the choice for aerial work, while LED engines have taken over wash and profile duties with better colour mixing, instant strike and far less heat and power. A 1,700 W discharge profile on a 16 A circuit is a very different proposition from four 500 W LED washes on the same circuit, and the circuit schedule for a mixed rig has to be worked out fixture by fixture. For outdoor and monsoon-exposed positions we specify IP65-rated fixtures rather than building rain hats, because a rain hat changes the beam and never quite works.
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Published 17 May 2026 by the Prime AV Solutions production team.