Hugtrain
Member
Hi,
On a recent trip to see my uncle who works at the Opera Philidelphia, I was at the Wilma as they unloaded "10 days in a madhouse." It was the first time I had seen a loadout of a professional show.
I also happened to notice that when they were lowering the lights above the house, they appeared to be using tieline to make a pulley, with two people on either side gently lowering the light.
At my theater, the only one who is allowed, insured, not busy, and willing to climb the shaky ladder to the pipes above the house is our drama teacher. He is a little worried about taking the lights down with him on the ladder and I was wondering if I could employ the same pulley thing I saw in Philly. We only have Source 4 jr Zooms above the house and a big spool of tieline. I tied the trickline to a safety cable with a sailor's knot (I believe). I then stepped on the cable with my foot and pulled on the tieline with all my force and it held well.
So now I have some questions about safety:
Is it a standard practice?
Is this safe or is it better for him to just climb down the ladder with the light?
If so, is the Sailor's knot appropriate, or should I use a different one?
Should I tie it to the safety cable so I can detach it easily, or is it safer to tie it to the fixture itself?
How long should the line be? (The greatest height from the seats to the pipe is 18 feet and, at the lowest, 10 feet)
Thanks!
On a recent trip to see my uncle who works at the Opera Philidelphia, I was at the Wilma as they unloaded "10 days in a madhouse." It was the first time I had seen a loadout of a professional show.
I also happened to notice that when they were lowering the lights above the house, they appeared to be using tieline to make a pulley, with two people on either side gently lowering the light.
At my theater, the only one who is allowed, insured, not busy, and willing to climb the shaky ladder to the pipes above the house is our drama teacher. He is a little worried about taking the lights down with him on the ladder and I was wondering if I could employ the same pulley thing I saw in Philly. We only have Source 4 jr Zooms above the house and a big spool of tieline. I tied the trickline to a safety cable with a sailor's knot (I believe). I then stepped on the cable with my foot and pulled on the tieline with all my force and it held well.
So now I have some questions about safety:
Is it a standard practice?
Is this safe or is it better for him to just climb down the ladder with the light?
If so, is the Sailor's knot appropriate, or should I use a different one?
Should I tie it to the safety cable so I can detach it easily, or is it safer to tie it to the fixture itself?
How long should the line be? (The greatest height from the seats to the pipe is 18 feet and, at the lowest, 10 feet)
Thanks!