mood lighting

[BootsElectric]

Hi Guys.

i need some ideas for mood lighting. below is some pictures of what i've done with the room so far. just wanted to get some ideas for mood lighting/any thing you think i may need.

The room isnt huge. the first pic is of my AMP closet and the second is of the working area. pictures taken from the door.

also if you have any pictures of your area. go right ahead and post them

[razorbladeSD]

Obviously missing a Lava lamp.

[cram]

For work rooms and studios, I like non direct lighting or reflective lighting. Things like soffet lighting on the ceiling or back lighting on artwork or behind a monitor.

A quick return from image searching here:


Harsh lamps just kill my eyes over time. So if I shoot a light at a ceiling or along a wall, I'm much happier.

For your closet you could have a track above the doorway, just on the inside. I'm not sure how crazy you can get with wiring, but a switch on the outside of that closet would not be too hard. Then you could do anything for lighting in there.

That desk - you could affix a florescent tube behind it against the wall, which would give you more of the back lighting I'm talking about. I use the tube example because it's a really cheap way of getting there.

LED lighting provides a lot of options from strips -


In use on a monitor:


To lights that screw into the standard light fixture -


I cite LED because it's a low wattage draw and consequently, less heat is generated by using them.

If you're playing with instruments that react not so well with some lighting like florescent or dimmers, that can change your choice of lighting as well.

Post pictures when you're complete!

[epluribus]

My kid's:





The garage/workshop/racket room:



A home office (w ugly camera flash):



...btw, I'm with Cram on the theory, at least when I'm not dippin' in the crayolas.

--Ray

[cram]

BTW - this thread really did cause me to notice these led strips in my local home center. They were $8 a piece... Please note, this is the only lighting I have on in the room at the time of these photos. Normally, I'd have one set of lights on to supplement.

[The Funk]

Originally Posted by epluribus

My kid's:





The garage/workshop/racket room:



A home office (w ugly camera flash):



...btw, I'm with Cram on the theory, at least when I'm not dippin' in the crayolas.

--Ray

Have you talked to your children about marijuana?

[localmotion411]

Originally Posted by cram

For work rooms and studios, I like non direct lighting or reflective lighting. Things like soffet lighting on the ceiling or back lighting on artwork or behind a monitor.

A quick return from image searching here:


Harsh lamps just kill my eyes over time. So if I shoot a light at a ceiling or along a wall, I'm much happier.

For your closet you could have a track above the doorway, just on the inside. I'm not sure how crazy you can get with wiring, but a switch on the outside of that closet would not be too hard. Then you could do anything for lighting in there.

That desk - you could affix a florescent tube behind it against the wall, which would give you more of the back lighting I'm talking about. I use the tube example because it's a really cheap way of getting there.

LED lighting provides a lot of options from strips -


In use on a monitor:


To lights that screw into the standard light fixture -


I cite LED because it's a low wattage draw and consequently, less heat is generated by using them.

If you're playing with instruments that react not so well with some lighting like florescent or dimmers, that can change your choice of lighting as well.

Post pictures when you're complete!

Any idea where I could get LED light strips like those attached to the rear of that monitor? Preferably USB powered? I'd love to add those to my home studio!

[KungFuLio]

Live near an IKEA? All kinds of funky lighting options there.

Of course there must be lava lamps!

[epluribus]

Originally Posted by The Funk

Have you talked to your children about marijuana?

I know, right?

Serious OT Minute: Yeah, actually, it's an ongoing open subject at our house. Lotta work, that, but easily well worth it. Hide from it or not, we are the open books our children learn from. Minute Over.

But boy, do us old hippies know how to decorate with color or what?

--Ray
(Wannabe theatrical designer and scenic artist by avocation, shadetree mechanic by achievement, Van Gogh by favorite delusion. ...oh...rich and famous too! )

PS...

Originally Posted by cram

Nice. I love this "floating" technique...



..This is a four-inch-thick solid cherry shelf over a fireplace, mounted an inch-and-a-half from the wall with steel pipe. Weighs about seventy or eighty pounds, floats like it's nothing. But it's the light, much like yours, that really makes the motor go...

[epluribus]

Originally Posted by cram

Please note, this is the only lighting I have on in the room at the time of these photos. Normally, I'd have one set of lights on to supplement.

...One mo thang...

Good way to put it, "to supplement." Agreed. You have a terrific dramatic focus here, and a couple of really strong central elements going.

Trouble is, when you use light and shadow is such a dramatic way those shadows are surprisingly delicate and easy to drown out with other lighting. Too little, it's a cave...too much, it's flat or noisy. Quite the balancing act, but...what I'd do is drag some worklights around on extension cords and clamp them to ladders, chairs, mic stands, screws in the ceiling, etc., just to try stuff out.

IMHO the game here is fills and localized area lighting. Maybe some accent lamps, high-intensity desk lighting, or a good directional pole lamp. If you do translucent lampshades or fixture shades, try putting reflectorized interior spots in 'em to tone down the bleed through the shade. The name of the game now is to have strong-but-contained illumination in work/activity areas, gentle light in circulation space (floors) and supplementary space, and moderate display lighting for just a few select things like tabletops, recording desk, guitars, etc. You might think about letting a few dark spots work for you too.

Think of it like dialing in a mix--maybe three strong channels/subgroups at most, accent with restraint with a small selection of other instruments and vocals, and then all the rest decidedly in the background. Tuned to the room the song and the listener--roomy, focused and clean in any event.

Cool!

--Ray

[cram]

Originally Posted by localmotion411

Any idea where I could get LED light strips like those attached to the rear of that monitor? Preferably USB powered? I'd love to add those to my home studio!

Good call on the usb powered strips..

The ones I have bought for other rooms in the past have been through amazon's resell. I have an account there and prefer to do the shopping there -
A simple search shows me a lot of product

This one is a single rigid strip

These are like christmas lights

[BootsElectric]

cheers for the ideas.

i just saw Tron 2 over the weekend.

sooooo. im going to go with neon strips.

[Julia343]

I'm so looking for mood lighting for the studio room. Doing vocals with "sterile" lighting just doesn't work, and anything burning like candles create soot and stuff so they're out. Just looking for something I can change colors with depending upon the songs being recorded. Some songs are blue, some are red, some are white, some are green, some are purple with white. Yes I see colors with certain chord combinations and sound textures.

[epluribus]

i just saw Tron 2 over the weekend.

sooooo. im going to go with neon strips.

Cool...a style and a look to anchor your ideas. Looking forward to pix.

--Ray

[Julia343]

Hmmm... they have LED lighting now that you can change the color and it fits in a regular lamp..... Not cheap, and probably not very bright yet -- don't want it too dark, but not too bright either -- about as bright as a 40W lamp would be sufficient. Remote controls. Apparently very new, and not too reliable yet from the reviews. I think I'll wait another six months for the GE lamps.