Truss is a universal and indispensable lighting tool and it's not just for hanging lights anymore. Today's arena concert lighting rigs have grown to epic proportions with several thousand feet of truss being used to support lighting, video, and scenic equipment, as well as being placed within the stage design as a scenic element of its own.
Truss has been used as an easy scenic element in churches for many years, but as services shift to being more contemporary and lighting becomes an increasingly larger part of worship, truss is taking on a larger scenic role than ever.
So here are some things that you need to know about truss. First truss comes in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, and more importantly, different load ratings. What type of truss you choose will depend on exactly what you are using it for.
First let's talk a bit about the standard sizes, shapes, and lengths that truss comes in. Generally speaking you are going to find truss shaped as a rectangle, square, or triangle. Occasionally you will find something different, but usually it's a special order item. Common widths are 12x12-inch square, 20.5x20.5-inch square, 18x12-inch rectangle, 30x26-inch rectangle, and 12x12x12-inch triangle. Other widths are out there but they're not as common. Common lengths are one, two, four, five, eight, and 10 feet as well as seven feet, seven inches for pre-rig truss. Once again other lengths are out they're but not common.
Along with different shapes and sizes, truss comes in different usage categories that pertain to their uses and load ratings. These usage categories are light-duty, general-purpose, heavy-duty or super truss, and specialty truss.
Light-duty truss usually comes in twelve-inch square and twelve-inch triangle versions and typically uses a through-bolt connection, or a pin connection. Light-duty truss won't carry much weight so it is not generally used for most lighting rigs, but is great for a ten or 15 foot vertical tower that you plan on putting a couple of lightweight LED fixtures or PAR cans on or for building a lectern or holding a LCD video display. Light-duty truss is usually fairly inexpensive as well.
General-purpose truss is the next type of common truss. This is the kind used for most lighting rigs, and generally has a substantial weight load capacity. Of course, the specific capacity depends on the size of the truss, as well as the length and the connection type. General-purpose truss usually comes in all common truss sizes and lengths and typically uses a through-bolt connection, or a pin connection. General-purpose truss is generally higher in price than light-duty truss because of the stronger materials put into the truss construction.
Heavy-duty or super truss is the next category. It is made to carry very high weights or to span extra long distances. It is constructed out of much heavier material and is the most expensive stock truss manufactured. You'll generally find super truss in outdoor stage roofs. It's not typically used for most lighting rigs. It also generally uses a pin connection, as it creates a stronger connection point that allows it to hold more weight.
Specialty truss is the last type of truss that is manufactured. Circle truss and custom angles and corners fall into this category. This type of truss is used to create custom shapes out of truss. While some truss manufacturers carry some shapes as stock, many will custom manufacture circles and specialty angles to your specifications. Because it is not a standard product, this type of specialty truss is generally more expensive than your run-of-the-mill, general-purpose truss.
For use strictly as a scenic element, light-duty truss is inexpensive and a good choice as it is light and easy to hang or use as towers on floor bases, however if you plan on using the truss to hang lighting from time to time you might want to look at upgrading to a general-purpose truss that has a greater weight capacity. This will help you make the most of your investment.
If you are going to use truss as a scenic element you are going to want to light it up with a lighting fixture. LED or PAR fixtures can be placed in the truss to light the truss up. These are commonly referred to as truss warmers. There are some LED fixtures that are shaped and sized specifically to fit inside of truss or if you are looking for a budget solution you can use a $25 PAR 38 fixture with some lighting gel for color to light 10-foot truss towers, giving your rig a nice look.
Additionally truss can be wrapped in cloth and lit from the inside to give it a glow with some texture where the cross members are, or lit from the outside to have a smooth look. Truss can be used to drape cloth from truss tower to truss tower for the express purpose of being lit. Truss can hold wood or plastic scenic elements to be lit, or can be used as screen surrounds used for light effects. Essentially you are only limited by your imagination and the amount of truss and lights that you have to use.
As you design, be mindful of where you are hanging your truss and if it will be seen from the audience. If so, be sure to place it in a manner that will allow you to take advantage of its interesting shape and surface colors and use it as another scenic element.
While truss is still the go-to tool for holding lights, don't forget that it takes light well and can add to the overall look of the stage.
