Brass Fasteners in Gel Holders or not?

[soundlight]

Ok, so Charc and I were having this discussion, and both decided that a CB poll was necessary.

Do you use brass fasteners in your gel frames to hold the top two corners closed? I am of the opinion that they're really not necessary, and have never really used them. I always make sure that my stock of gel frames is tight, and if there are ones that are loose, I bend them back in to shape so that they don't need the paper fasteners. Besides, putting in those brass paper fasteners takes forever, and they only can stand a few uses before snapping, with my experience.

[Charc]

Two corners? Just one, upper-left.

So what? They're very cheap. Let 'em break.

A pain? Awl, punch, push, bend. If dropping a whole bunch of gel, I can see the advantage, plus it's just sorta nice to know your gel won't be floating away.

[porkchop]

I've used them twice. both times on a cyc fixture that had very shaky frames and the added stability helped them stay in place. In that case I didn't even really care about holding the color in place. Using fasteners to keep the gel in place.... never done it only would if I had an oddball cut that needed to stay more or less exactly were I put it

[Synchronize]

Ohhh so thats what those holes are for. lol I didn't even realize that they could be fastened shut. I just slide the gel into the frame and slide the frame into the light. And if you think we have tight gell frames... yeah right. They naturally sit open at like a 25 degree angle. Sad, right?

[LD4Life]

I usually try to keep my frames tight and don't have any need for fasteners. I also find them to be a pain as has been expressed. As long as you keep your frames tight and keep your fixtures' frame clip aligned correctly, you should have no need to hold the frame shut.

[Charc]

What if you're dropping gel for the entire plot, or sending an intern up there to do it for you?...

[porkchop]

I don't even find that you need to worry about loose frames. If your gel falls out of the frame, you either put the frame in the unit wrong or gravity will soon tell you that the unit is upside down when the frame follows suit. I really don't think I could find someone to pay me to fasten every gel in a show to it's frame.

[Charc]

So I should just be better at bending some of my frames back to shape... makes sense, and it's one less thing to worry about, I'll strike brass paper fasteners from my list then...

[LD4Life]

Probably a good call. It does save time.

[Sean]

Brads are so not worth the time.

If you _really_ need to fasten the frame, a tab of blacktak will do nicely.

And, if your gel frames don't stay shut, then just use a hammer to "crimp" the bottom of the frame a bit.

--Sean