truss spot?

[JahJahwarrior]

This might sound like a really stupid question...I have been wondering for a while what people mean by "truss spot" and "truss spot operator." does that mean someone is sitting on the truss witha mounted followspot? or are those intels that are supposed to follow a person? I did some google searching and the only info I found was about the truss spot op who fell off of a chain ladder at a bowie concert. Can someone please tell me about truss spots adn their operators, and what'd be really nice is a picture. thanks!

[techieman33]

It's basically just like a normal spot with a normal operator, except they are on sittling on top of the truss, strapped in of couse. they sit in a chair, and operate the spot beside them. I love climbing and focusing on truss, but i woudn't want to run a spot, being up there for 2+ hours with all of those extremly hot lights would suck. But if they told me to get up there and do it I probably would. It's always nice to get experience in different positions.

[JahJahwarrior]

if anyone has pictures, I'd really like to see some! I've never seen a truss spot. If they aren't on the internet, you can email them to me. frogprince722 atyahoo.com

thanks techieman for the explanation!

[techieman33]

http://www.roadie.net/portal/html/mo...to.php?lid=109

there's the url to one pic that kind of show it, it's not very good though.

[ship]

You obviously have not found the URL about a female spot op stuck on a truss and needing to go really really badly in a way that empty coke bottles won't do correctly. Clear Com message - "I really really need to go!!!" Or is that just more local legend in how do you later clean the chair. Than again, there is for the other gender that which rains down which should not because they had to go worse than the mouth of the bottle. 1L. Coke bottles for all useful purposes to be somewhat crude.

The seats are race car comfie chair mounted to the top of the truss, but they lack a certain specific, very specific modisty much less functional thing to them. In getting to them you have fall protection in climbing the truss ladder and horizontal life line to walk the truss and wait. The David Bowie thing was a seriously bad day and one not normal.

It can be cool to chat at times about the coolness of being spot one for the show in despising certain songs when they are on the raidio, much less other show things but there is a certain extent about being stuck on a truss hours on end I'm glad I never had to deal with.

The big thing in follow spots last year was for Euro based tours - heavily modified beam projector substitutes for follow spots. Great lively beam of light once you counter balanced the sucker for a add on scroller to pintal mount. In addition to the follow spot ranging from say 1271 to M2 in the truss, learn the beam projector fixture as it will be back.

I have lots of friends that sit in these seats as part of their living. It's a living and fun for them. I more prefer to have a more 9:5 lifestyle.

[JahJahwarrior]

sounds to me like the kinda' thing that is fun the first few times, then begins to suck slowly but surely.

more questions:

what is a bo'suns chair?

where in that picture is a truss spot? I thought I saw it at first but when I looked I realized that what I was seeing is probably a chain lift, on the first truss there. all I see on the first two truss are pars and a few ellipsoidals.

Ship, sounds like a code 249!

[techieman33]

Sorry, i guess those are just ellipsoidals, but the 2 on the front section of truss, would be similar to how a spot was positioned.
Ship I've got you beat. When Weird Al came thru last summer, I was asked to truss focus for the first time, and the electrician was very weary about it, and didn't wnat me to use one on his harnesses, so we asked why, and he said he had a woman do it the week before, and she got so scared she had a "movement" in his harness. And some of it fell to the floor. Don't ask me how this happened, but he assured us it did. And of course after hearing that I was scared as hell the entire time I was up there. But after doing it a couple of times, it's become fun.

[ship]

Easy to have me beat, I can about count on one hand how many safety harnesses, much less no hands how many truss ladders I have climbed. Though I'm somehow stuck with ensuring the repair or safety of the equipment to some degree more or less, you won't at this point find me climbing up to a truss.

Thanks for the curse by the way. I already have to climb up to about the 98th floor of a sky rise in figuring out why a fluorescent fixture won't work this week. Next thing you know, I will have to trouble shoot a spot on a truss.

Not afraid of heights, just not wishing to tempt more of fate than has already been tempted.

Bosen's chair. Now that's something without harness I have tempted fate with in the past. It's say a swing chair - normally wooden planked that is hung from something so you can sit on it as you work. Now that is one of the most scarey experiences possible. Yea, I'll sit in it and bolt in the loft blocks from the under the gride side....

[techieman33]

Ya, climbing truss is one of those things usually left to us younger folks. Not saying your old or anything, i don't think we have anyone in my area over the age of 25 that will voulentarily climb truss.

[ship]

No offense taken on my part. Those with brains by the time they hit mid to late 30's and above have real jobs in lighting or at least better things to do during a show or in support of it, that don't require climbing ladders and ensure their retirement, or real jobs elsewhere. (And I have just pissed off 1/3 of the IA industry.) Climbing truss and doing the spot thing is more a young person type of thing normally. I'm a theater person that got into the entertainment biz well after this early period in any case thus me not doing tours or shows.

I have run spot for shows, just on a more stable platform.