Design Issues and Solutions -

[Esoteric]

The easy answer is to use the house rep plot, or to bring EVERYTHING (dimmers, lights, control) with you. In between solutions have always spelled trouble for me.

Other than that, everything that has been said that needs to be said.

Mike

[jamesmiller]

We currently own 12 x 2 channel Sabine Wireless 2.4GHz systems, a 36 channel mixing board and processors. This is all the sound equipment that we have, and we intent to tie into the house cluster and amplifiers.

As lighting goes, Since we own a rather large inventory of lights, it seems a waste to not use them. I'm looking into setting it up as Footer said above, with a pre-rigged and pre-wired truss to be mounted to each batten. Biggest problem is that we don't have any dimmers, and they tend to be very expensive.

I don't know, this is information I'll have to take in and think it over for a while.

[Footer]

Originally Posted by jamesmiller

We will have a fairly complecated fly plot as well.

Bring your own stuff unless you can deal with completely shuffle around your lineset schedule based on where the house has electrics. Unless you can be extremely flexible with what goes in the air, bring your own stuff.

[TimMiller]

When we regeared our tour for this year, we made it a complete package. There was always too much drama using house systems and some union places want to charge you per dimmer (20 bucks a dimmer a day adds up real quick). So we started carrying dimmers rigging everything. All of the movers and conventional are all prerigged in truss, so its just bolt together truss, drop movers down, plug in soco and dmx, and fly out. Quick and easy. Now not all venues understand the whole we need 400A at least. Had one place tie into a 200A disconnect and they were not happy when the 200A fuse went boom. So be sure to check and make sure there is adaquate power before accidently blowing up a fuse midshow.

[len]

Originally Posted by jamesmiller

Biggest problem is that we don't have any dimmers, and they tend to be very expensive.

I don't know, this is information I'll have to take in and think it over for a while.

So rent a dimmer rack. You can probably get a decent 48 channel for about $300 a week if you're going to rent it for a number of weeks.

As for your lights, I've seen them come in to venues 3 different ways:

1. Permanently attached and pre-wired to unistrut, with Rosco US : Hardware : Sure Clamps to attach to the linesets. Then each section is transported on meatracks. All one does is hang the assembly on the pipe and then connect power via socapex/multipin.

2. Lights in cases, hung on either the pipe or truss. Wiring done individually. I usually see this more with moving lights than with conventionals.

3. Some type of pre-rig, such as swing wing or HUD truss. Upstaging is the only place you can rent HUD from, if I recall.

If you have both movers and conventionals, you can also find a dimmer/distro rack, or order one, which will take a little time to build, but probably will be worth it. There's a lot of mfg who make them, and if you get a well thought out unit it will last for years and make your touring life a lot better. I seem to remember seeing an article that one company made one with user replaceable modules, so you could custom design the rack for the application, switching out dimmer modules, and distro packs at well (not while live, but still).

[SteveB]

Originally Posted by len

1. Permanently attached and pre-wired to unistrut, with Rosco US : Hardware : Sure Clamps to attach to the linesets. Then each section is transported on meatracks. All one does is hang the assembly on the pipe and then connect power via socapex/multipin.

The absolutely most important element of a 10ft Unistrut/Kindorf with 6 units rig - multicable rig, is having the rolling cart - called a meat rack, to hang the lamp bars on, and to get them on and off the truck and into the theater. Yo 'gotta have a way to move the bars.

Steve B.

[houseoutgo]

just coming off the national tour of Girls Night The Musical, i would advise you to carry everything. I just carried movers, scrollers,fog and my console. Conventionals were supplied by the presenter. i went to a house in the north east that told me they couldnt hang our plot, which was supposed to be prehung when we got there, because they only had 50 feet of extension cable in the house. I wish i carried my own conventionals and dimmers.

[MSLD]

If you do decide to create a master lighting plot for every theatre, make sure you have a small version of the plot to accomedate (i cant spell) smaller theatres, but i agree that your better off just advancing everything and make the day easier

[McCready00]

wanna go on a tour ?

Work hard.

Learn the new technologies.

You need a good understanding of the basic stuff ( how dmx works, how electricity works... ).

Make sure you know which way the female connectors go.

Give you resume to the touring companies.

You don't know what to read when you ****, read manuals.

Even if you work in their shop for a while, you will learn alot out there.

Go to bed at 2am and wake up at 7-8am for a while. Get ready for it !

Good Luck



Here you go.

[Pie4Weebl]

Originally Posted by McCready00

wanna go on a tour ?

Work hard.

Learn the new technologies.

You need a good understanding of the basic stuff ( how dmx works, how electricity works... ).

Make sure you know which way the female connectors go.

Give you resume to the touring companies.

You don't know what to read when you ****, read manuals.

Even if you work in their shop for a while, you will learn alot out there.

Go to bed at 2am and wake up at 7-8am for a while. Get ready for it !

Good Luck



Here you go.

Did you read any of the thread? Even just a little? No? Ok then.


I would suggest carrying everything possible, and just have an efficient design to cut down the gear you need. Get Soco and a dimmer rack, if you are using truss make sure to get a motor package as well so you are fully contained. If you have your tour only using source 4 pars and moving spot fixtures you can make your load in relatively painless.