Another Sweeney Issue

[bobgaggle]

Update:

Now its only going to bleed down the US wall, still 10 minutes worth.

Gross! What is the blood made of, do you know? Also what is the wall finish?

They're discussing blood brand. cost/gallon vs shipping charges, you know the drill. As for wall finish, we've got about three clear coats on it now. Scenic charge did a 'blood' sample with red paint and was able to wash it off after letting it sit for 25 minutes. We figured paint was going to be worse than any blood product, given that its designed to stick to walls, so I think we're in the clear as long as they start cleaning immediately after the curtain drops

 

[dvsDave]

Hope you got video?

 

[bobgaggle]

Hope you got video?

Sample was small scale, haven't even installed the set yet... thats next week

 

[bobgaggle]

Installed! No video yet, waiting for blood to be delivered. Maybe tomorrow. Blood effect ended up being a 30 gallon trash can with a sump pump in it. Plastic irrigation hose with the stab in side emitters every 12". We'll see how it goes...

 

[dvsDave]

Installed! No video yet, waiting for blood to be delivered. Maybe tomorrow. Blood effect ended up being a 30 gallon trash can with a sump pump in it. Plastic irrigation hose with the stab in side emitters every 12". We'll see how it goes...

I dunno about the rest of you, but I'm ridiculously excited to see how this turns out. That set looks fantastic! Those stairs look amazing, like they've been there forever.

 

[bobgaggle]

Alright, no video, but the system was finally tested with water. Minor adjustment issues to get the water ONTO the wall, instead of dripping straight down about an inch away from the wall. Irrigation hose with the stab in emitters wasn't the way to go (leaks around the puncture in the hose. It was to be expected i guess), but for this application its ok. I'm not going to get to see it run with blood until after opening. I might try to sneak my phone up during the show if I'm sitting in the back....

 

[Hutcoy]

Skylight Music Theater in Milwaukee made their walls bleed for Sweeny last year. Might try calling them up?

Super Late to the game but I was TD on that project at Skylight. Sorry I didn't see your post while it was relevant.

The wall bled with every death, at increasing rates with each murder. We had a sump pump in a 5 gal bucket of fake blood feeding a pvc pipe with holes drilled in it. The biggest help was having a ball valve in-line to prevent the wait time to start the blood on-cue. The pump was wired to a outlet, that was then activated by a light switch for the stagehand who had to be on the first level, because he was helping catch the murder victims coming down the slide moments prior.

Underneath there was a gap between the wall and the floor where we hid regular house gutters for collection. That all fed to a collection bucket underneath the second level. A well sealed wall and lots of silicone caulk, and we had almost zero leaks. A squeegee and towels helped with the minimal splashing onto the platform 12' below during post show clean up. We also would run clean water through the system to aid cleanup, as well as flush the line. Preset included re-priming the drip pipe until it was ready to bleed on cue.

I can't upload the video due to file size, but here's a link to google photos. This was after we worked the kinks out. https://photos.app.goo.gl/2PmLh7cB8F32rfNR8.

Scenic Design Credits: Charles Murdock Lucas

 

[RonHebbard]

Super Late to the game but I was TD on that project at Skylight. Sorry I didn't see your post while it was relevant.

The wall bled with every death, at increasing rates with each murder. We had a sump pump in a 5 gal bucket of fake blood feeding a pvc pipe with holes drilled in it. The biggest help was having a ball valve in-line to prevent the wait time to start the blood on-cue. The pump was wired to a outlet, that was then activated by a light switch for the stagehand who had to be on the first level, because he was helping catch the murder victims coming down the slide moments prior.

Underneath there was a gap between the wall and the floor where we hid regular house gutters for collection. That all fed to a collection bucket underneath the second level. A well sealed wall and lots of silicone caulk, and we had almost zero leaks. A squeegee and towels helped with the minimal splashing onto the platform 12' below during post show clean up. We also would run clean water through the system to aid cleanup, as well as flush the line. Preset included re-priming the drip pipe until it was ready to bleed on cue.

I can't upload the video due to file size, but here's a link to google photos. This was after we worked the kinks out. https://photos.app.goo.gl/2PmLh7cB8F32rfNR8.

Scenic Design Credits: Charles Murdock Lucas

@Hutcoy Did you require / have any one-way check valves in line to prevent blood flowing back to your source between cues OR did your sump pump run continuously building up a head against your ball valve?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[Hutcoy]

@Hutcoy Did you require / have any one-way check valves in line to prevent blood flowing back to your source between cues OR did your sump pump run continuously building up a head against your ball valve?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

We kept the ball valve close to the source so very little head pressure was required. The feed line was regular 3/4" garden hose, so it didn't require much pressure to run up the 12' of wall. The source was pretty inaccessible during the run, so it needed to be able to run on its own. If memory serves there was an extension ladder that lead to an access platform that was behind the trick cabinet. Since this type of system requires a lot of "blood" staying in the lines, we would purge it at least weekly just to circulate it all to prevent anything gross from growing in the stagnant water, paint, glycerin concoction. We added a pinch of bleach just to keep things sanitary as actors were very close to the wall at times, and the chair slide went underneath the blood collection gutters, and we didn't want anyone getting sick.