Painting help? suggestions....

[btfilms]

Hello everyone! Well I just got back from a frustrating day. So we are doing the musical Dreamgirls. and we are making these light columns and making them out of 2x4's spaced a foot apart like a ladder. and then making like a box of it a 12ft. box and its 2 feet wide. anyways. i wanted to paint them a wood grain and the director liked the idea and then this guy comes along thinking he knows everything and he is a very controlling man, always wants his way and tells the director that it won't work because then they won't "pop out". so he suggested that we should paint them a gray. which will look REALLY Ugly. horrible! anyways i was like noo. its going to look so bad. so then me and him got in a argument about and this guy never lets anything go. so i just ignored him and walked away. anyways i don't no wat else to paint these ladder column looking things oh and inside them is a boom that holds lights. the rest of the set is like a whole bunch of platforms at different levels and such and they will be painted... i don't no maybe just plain old flat black. it is right now but we plain on putting homosote down and then some masonite which we will paint something. i wanted to do a wood grain but maybe not anymore. does anyone have any suggestions on what we can paint these dam things? if so please talk! Thanks again!!

BT

[Van]

Who's designing the set ? do you have a set designer ? That is the designers decision. I hate designing by committee. it always leads to arguments.

[Moose]

I would have to say ask the set designer. But if you don't, or you set designer is like the designer at my high schools and says "try something that you think will work and I'll let you know and help you out" then it's not so easy. You can make wood grain pop, it's not impossible at least from my experience. It just needs to have good contrast and an extreme light and dark. But i also know that when we did the hot box for Guys and Dolls and had lighted posts like that, we actually used a really pure fire engine read with this irridescent (sp?) silver glitter like paint on it.

But I definately agree with Van. Set Designer has the final word.

[btfilms]

I am the Set Designer!

[soundlight]

If you're the set designer, it's YOUR DECISION! You designed it, your name goes in the program, you are that part of the production team! You need to make sure that you don't give in on this one so easily if you are the SET DESIGNER. Unless the person that is arguing with you is the director, you should have the final say!

[btfilms]

He isn't the Director but he can convince the Director to agree with him. because the Director sometimes doesn't have a backbone. so ya. i don't know what to do...

[ship]

Hmm, directors with backbones, or perhaps director who has lots of more important concerns and in the end, it's a bunch of lumber, he is cutting his design statement losses in getting something done. Some directors have an overall vision and will at times be happy with as much as possible of it is realized. How is this much different perhaps than designers who have overall visions but some times details are not quite so well thought out? This other than if one must go to the director about some detail of the set, the director is also balancing it's importance with the whole shows details. D

irector's backbone... what is a crew person doing talking to the director? Or more importantly, what is the need for this crew person to bypass everyone else out of a need to go to the director? Not the crew person but chain of command that has failed in why this has happened - or been necessary enough to happen. Look to your house, and that of your supporting construction staff before blaming this on the director and that crew person entirely.


Doesn’t sound like you know what to do on this part of your design. That’s a problem.

Should possibly work on using a word processor with grammar check on what you write and sleep overnight before posting. This way you can edit better and make more understood what the specific problem is beyond at the moment frustrating sounding thru without it being understood why you are frustrated and at what the problem is.

So given you are the designer, what did you intend for these colums/2.4's? If it was not to be painted lumber, potentially it would not pop so well by way of seeming to be lumber or in picking up the lighting effects on it. Remember that theater is “larger than life” Could be as simple as a marker used to blacken in some graining of the lumber after a darker brown paint is used on the 2x4 lumber, could be that further wood graining techinques might be necessary if it’s wood you wish for. On the other hand, if in what I read, you wish them to be black, black is “invisible” do you wish these things to disappear? Grey also when not lit disappears but has the white in it which will pick up some color or light when lit. Either black or grey are much similar in not being wood grain unless this other person’s solution to your design problem was to bleach the lumber in making it sort of a bleached oak type of effect. In this case, grey is fine as long as the grain of it being wood is highlighted by way of further colors and wood graining to make the lumber become lumber by way of “popping.”

Chain of command and leadership perhaps is something to work on with the director and you personally with this “person”. What’s this person’s position at the theater, is he given the ear of the director some form of Master Carpenter in building your set who has seen problems and is attempting to help is it were in not such a great chain of command way, or long time as it were crew person that has in the past “saved the day” at very least in his own opinion or that of the director’s opinion given the ear he has? Always hard to deal with those who don’t follow the chain of command - you as the set crew’s top dog, but given a lack of MC and TD, or your leadership in general for the design, it’s possible. - That’s a personal thing for the two of you to work out with time and those in charged of this person be it the TD or MC / crew chief. - Professionally, there will always be others who don’t “respect your authority” until in part you work on your own authority and leadership abilities and or how you lead people. Some times early on, it’s in part listening to them who feel themselves more knowledgeable so as not to offend, than given a fair consideration of their contribution, either dismissing with expiation of in your choice - why with a good reason of why it won’t work on your overall design concept, or a thanks but.. Artistically let’s try it my way first type of thing - got this overall thing and while if it doen’t work your idea will be the next choice, first if you will help, let’s try my idea. This followed by fair consideration of your idea and a fair attempt at solving the problem later perhaps even with the other person’s solution and a thanks and credit for it. Inspire them and get them onto your same game plan and team as support to your intent as opposed to hindrance of it, and them working against you. This person is not on your team, why is that not the case? Some at times you just cannot work with, you give them just enough rope... but again, the goal is in the end to be able to lead anyone - something to work on.

All of you have the same overall intent for making “ART”. Seems from what you wrote, that neither you nor this person has the true solution for the problem you have found in your design. Problem doesn’t seem to get solved by “just” doing anything. What was the artistic intent of your design? This person seems to care a lot about your design, perhaps if you don’t feel his solution will fit within your artistic statement, and given your own statement for the design on this part was a flop followed by a “Just do something like paint it black” solution, perhaps you two should work together on solving the problem.

You the designer... you pay for taking the two of you out to lunch in discussing how to solve this problem both of you seem to care a lot about. You pay for lunch and broach the solving the problem, you are the boss in final discussion for solving it - it’s a tact and psyche type of thing not much different than having your chair higher in height than those you are negotiating with. None the less, make it the two of you solving this problem in design - him who cares a lot about it, you with overall design, and both of you having to make it’s solution become the solution in making art on stage. In the end, you didn’t do your job if art was not made, seems like at this point in this way art is not being made, perhaps it is time to get help in solving it. Guy that complains the most is often the guy that can become your best aid in getting stuff done well. This guy that has a solution, make this part of the design his own as long as overall it’s final solution is both of yours.

Hope it helps, from what I read, it seems like something of a problem in your design concept. Given this lack, someone else has stepped in with what he feels a solution. Not seeing much a commitment for your own solution from what you write, just a defiant rejection of his plan. What’s the end solution probably needs the two of you to work it out.

[Van]

Read Ships post carefully. There's a lot of good in it.
Here's my two cents. If you are the designer, then I assume you built a model all the drawings and a color elevation of everything. That is what a designer does. Now if you are in high school things might not go just as ship has stated, but you are still the designer. Make a decsion and stick with it. You may have inadvertantly opened this door by not properly preparing. If your vision was not fully realised before trying to build the show then people are going think you're inviting comment and suggestion.
It goes back to the 6 P's
Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Production.

[nalange]

when in doubt, SPATTER!!