Hanging movers, empty batten

[Jlarmen]

I have 4 Chauvet 455's arriving for a show and want them to be visible for the upcoming production. Our first electric is pretty busy, so I entertained the idea of hanging them on the next free pipe which is empty. My concern is I've never hung any movers on a non-electric pipe and worried they will swing from the motion. Should this be a concern and is it even a good idea?

Thanks

 

[coldnorth57]

I have have hung a small number of movers from a batten and have not had a problem with the movement during head movment, now these were smaller light weight Chauvet fixtures.

 

[RonHebbard]

I have 4 Chauvet 455's arriving for a show and want them to be visible for the upcoming production. Our first electric is pretty busy, so I entertained the idea of hanging them on the next free pipe which is empty. My concern is I've never hung any movers on a non-electric pipe and worried they will swing from the motion. Should this be a concern and is it even a good idea?

Thanks

@Jlarmen Do you have the facilities / ability to laterally secure the off-stage ends of your empty pipe to an operating rail on both sides of your stage? I'm likely not expressing this well. If you can secure the pipe laterally in four directions, a hemp line DS and US from each end to a rail at or near your desired flown height you can gain appreciable lateral stability. Have the line set correctly balanced prior to adding your lateral stabilizing lines and OF COURSE remember to release your four stabilizing lines prior to flying the pipe in for strike and load out.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[Butch!]

X2 on what @RonHebbard wrote. We do that all the time, and with flown travellers too.

 

[macsound]

We had 4 VL3500s that had just returned from repair and a tech hung them on an empty batten, ran power and dmx, flew it out about 12 feet and started a chase of all features including pan and tilt and left for the night.
I came in in the morning to a rythmic banging sound to see the whole batten swinging from one wall to the other and huge chunks of sheetrock falling from the non-rail wall.
Turns out, having 4 fixtures doing the exact same chase causes quite a swing on an empty pipe.

 

[Jlarmen]

@Jlarmen Do you have the facilities / ability to laterally secure the off-stage ends of your empty pipe to an operating rail on both sides of your stage? I'm likely not expressing this well. If you can secure the pipe laterally in four directions, a hemp line DS and US from each end to a rail at or near your desired flown height you can gain appreciable lateral stability. Have the line set correctly balanced prior to adding your lateral stabilizing lines and OF COURSE remember to release your four stabilizing lines prior to flying the pipe in for strike and load out.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

Ron, you mean like a guy strap to the arbor or the opposite wall? Yes, the problem is the height and being able to secure a lift in time to tie off the pipe at the ends. The pipe won’t move until after the show though.

 

[Jlarmen]

We had 4 VL3500s that had just returned from repair and a tech hung them on an empty batten, ran power and dmx, flew it out about 12 feet and started a chase of all features including pan and tilt and left for the night.
I came in in the morning to a rythmic banging sound to see the whole batten swinging from one wall to the other and huge chunks of sheetrock falling from the non-rail wall.
Turns out, having 4 fixtures doing the exact same chase causes quite a swing on an empty pipe.

That’s my fear. I think even if I added extra weight to the batten once the momentum kicks in they’ll start swinging.

 

[RonHebbard]

We had 4 VL3500s that had just returned from repair and a tech hung them on an empty batten, ran power and dmx, flew it out about 12 feet and started a chase of all features including pan and tilt and left for the night.
I came in in the morning to a rhythmic banging sound to see the whole batten swinging from one wall to the other and huge chunks of sheet rock falling from the non-rail wall.
Turns out, having 4 fixtures doing the exact same chase causes quite a swing on an empty pipe.

@macsound Kinda like your army plunging into the river while marching in step across a bridge???
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[Butch!]

I'm sure someone will cry foul, but is the moving light batten close enough to the 1st LX that you could run pipe between them and secure with Cheeseboros? It could be done on the ground and then fly both out at the same time, assuming there's nothing between them in the way.

 

[RonHebbard]

Ron, you mean like a guy strap to the arbor or the opposite wall? Yes, the problem is the height and being able to secure a lift in time to tie off the pipe at the ends. The pipe won’t move until after the show though.

@Jlarmen In both theatres where I've done this we cloved tails to the pipe prior to flying it to trim then reached out with our shepherd's crooks from the hemp rails on both sides and secured the four ends to four pins. Easy when you say it quick and if your venue provides the facilities.
(The IA way, never make things any more difficult or time consuming than necessary.)
[Some call it nepotism, we call it tradition!]
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[macsound]

That’s my fear. I think even if I added extra weight to the batten once the momentum kicks in they’ll start swinging.

Ultimately, you just have to know it'll move and not program like its bolted down. For our burn in, we just do the same chase with half the fixtures p/t swapped so the pipe stays steady.
Is this rock and roll or theatre? Simple 5 second moves won't make a pipe swing but if you're using any sharp focused gobos, a slight swing will make everyone nauseous.

 

[StradivariusBone]

with half the fixtures p/t swapped so the pipe stays steady.

 

[WooferHound]

Road Shows hang moving lights on our pipes all the time with little to no motion being produced.
Once on a Broadway show, they clamped sidearms to the pipe at the Downcables, and tied them to the cables with Tieline to help prevent motion being created.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

http://www.rsclightlock.com

Here's the video with Patrick Stewart:

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[SteveB]

Road Shows hang moving lights on our pipes all the time with little to no motion being produced.
Once on a Broadway show, they clamped sidearms to the pipe at the Downcables, and tied them to the cables with Tieline to help prevent motion being created.

Possibly they've learned to limit a lot of fast pan and tilts. My 6 MAC700's, hung on a non-truss schedule 80 standard counterweighted pipe, will move around like crazy, once the units get some momentum. No great solutions so I live with it.

 

[macsound]

http://www.rsclightlock.com

Here's the video with Patrick Stewart:

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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Have I mentioned I love VL1000s

 

[Van]

So how long until they start integrating the gyroscopic stabilizers into the movers themselves?

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

I don't know if they are for sale or just rental, but I think I heard the price is similar to a mid to upper range mover, so are you willing to pay twice the price to have this but in, even when not required? (Yes, mass production would eventually lower the price some.)