I was recently LD on a show where the OP basically hijacked the show! Somehow the cues got deleted before the show. I relaoded it from a backup disk at intermission and he deleted it again as soon as I was onstage (a was a performer in this show). I had programmed the lights to go with the music, however he had crazy flashing lights that were extremely distracting. URGH!!! Yes, I know how to program FX Subs too, but I don't hijack shows to prove it! Has anyone had an experience like this? I haven't seen him since before the show started. How do I handle him on our next show? Though he will NOT be used by that director again I imagine we will end up working together in the future.
LD v. OP
- Thread starterphotoatdv
- Start date
I have never "hijacked" a show, but once me and an LD had a problem, where he was programming the show and i had some other things todo, about 10 min before doors, he was sweating bullets, and he told me he was having issues. I told him i had a house disk with 100's of looks that would really make life easier on him. He then told me to wipe his show and load mine. We just through in his few neccessary looks and everything went fine. But other than that, when i'm op i do whatever the LD tells me and i just put in my personal opinion to him, or show him an idea, but if he doesnt like it, i just continue on and dont change his show.
I'm pretty sure that if someone tried that in a professional setting, they wouldn't have a job for long.
When I board op, I do what I'm told by the LD. I don't make suggestions(normally). If I'm told to push a button, I do; If not, I don't. One time when we were in tech, the LD said a cue number but didn't say GO, so I didn't GO, and a couple minutes later asked me why I hadn't gone. I simply responded that "You never said GO".
When I board op, I do what I'm told by the LD. I don't make suggestions(normally). If I'm told to push a button, I do; If not, I don't. One time when we were in tech, the LD said a cue number but didn't say GO, so I didn't GO, and a couple minutes later asked me why I hadn't gone. I simply responded that "You never said GO".
This was not him making suggestions, in fact he never actually suggested anything. He just did. I had told him explicitly NOT TO DEVIATE FROM WHAT WAS PROGRAMMED AT ALL. He went against my direct orders. He was also 2nd in command to another op who he apparently kicked out. So he 1. Screwed aroung during set-up 2. Kicked out the senior OP 3. Changed my lighting design and 4. Changed it AGAIN after being told not to chang anything.
If you are put with him again, inform the director and the stage manager of what happened last time and ask to have him replaced. If you are in school, inform the teachers/professors etc. and request they intervene on your behalf.
Former High School teacher here...
Sounds like a high school program without good adult leadership to me. If you pulled that in my program you would find yourself either off the team or sorting screws in the shop for a very long time. In the real world you would never work again. You just can't do that.
Sounds like a high school program without good adult leadership to me. If you pulled that in my program you would find yourself either off the team or sorting screws in the shop for a very long time. In the real world you would never work again. You just can't do that.
soundlight
Well-Known Member
I am a high school teacher. That is exactly what it sounds like to me - and I would probably do the same thing to someone that did anything like that. I might even just boot them from the class...
Thorin you and I would have probably never let someone capable of doing that up in the booth in the first place. Yeah consequences depend on the situation but getting the boot from the class or the crew in general are very acceptable possibilities.
Oh this guy is actually very good. He LDs about as much as I do. He just didn't like the fact that I was LD for the show/ didn't agree with my designs. Yes this is HS theatre, but we both do this professionally part time. I just don't understand HOW he thought this was okay! He knows better than this! The director is FURIOUS. It sounds like he will get in a little bit of trouble, but he wont get kicked off the crew or anything.
Here is my take on this type of situation. What happened to the OP (in this case original poster) was totally inexcusable. It doesn't matter who you are or what experience you have, the LD designs the show, and that is what goes on stage each night unless there is some catastrophic failure of the system. A board op is there to program the console and then to push the GO button. The board op should know enough about the console to fix any issues that come up, and they should be familiar with the position and focus of the lights to ensure that they are correct at channel check. However, the board op should never change the show from the original design unless there is some issue in a given performance, like if you go into a cue that is supposed to have a special and it doesn't come up, then I would expect the board op to be able to bring up something else suitable.
This does not mean that a board op can't have creative input into a show. I program for all of our shows each season (sometimes I get students in, and I don't always push the go button during the run), and you start to get a feel for designers the more you york with them. So I know that some designers welcome input or suggestions. Sometimes they get to some point and seem stuck, and if you as the board op can say "well what if you do XYZ?" it can be helpful. You just have to know that your LD won't get offended if you offer ideas, because some will. However, this can be a double edged sword. I have offered up suggestions that have just lead to more work for me, though the shows come out looking really good.
This does not mean that a board op can't have creative input into a show. I program for all of our shows each season (sometimes I get students in, and I don't always push the go button during the run), and you start to get a feel for designers the more you york with them. So I know that some designers welcome input or suggestions. Sometimes they get to some point and seem stuck, and if you as the board op can say "well what if you do XYZ?" it can be helpful. You just have to know that your LD won't get offended if you offer ideas, because some will. However, this can be a double edged sword. I have offered up suggestions that have just lead to more work for me, though the shows come out looking really good.
Did I mention that while he was supposed to be programming the show he kept flashing lights on and off to annoy the drama students instead of programming? I was redoing freqs on some wireless mics while trying to tell him what to program-- needless to say very little got done that day. I ended up programming the show myself 2 hours before the house opened. He could have very easily fixed any problems, if there had been any. Well actually there were some other problems, which had nothing to do with lighting, that I was dealing with which is part of the reason I wasn't babysitting him. Morning of we had a loose rope lock. Spent most of the day emailing prople to find out exactly how to fix that, then found out one of our other techs actually knew how to fix that. He fixed it about 1 hour before doors. Then we tried to bring down the main curtain during a break and it fouled with valence. At least part of main wound up in front of valence. Talk about midshow fun!
porkchop
Well-Known Member
The quote the techie bible
As a Board Op I do think that you should have the ability to make small suggestions DURING THE CREATIVE PROCESS, that is during tech week. During the run changes should only be made if you are certain that what is up is taking away from what is intended (ie. a light got bump focused and is all over the proscenium, or Icewolf's previously mentioned situation were a special doesn't come up).
As an amusing side note the only transgression in the area of lighting that carries a harsher punishment than fixing a glaring errors caused by designer is requesting Lee color in a Rosco house. The penalty for which is ostracism.
As a Board Op I do think that you should have the ability to make small suggestions DURING THE CREATIVE PROCESS, that is during tech week. During the run changes should only be made if you are certain that what is up is taking away from what is intended (ie. a light got bump focused and is all over the proscenium, or Icewolf's previously mentioned situation were a special doesn't come up).
As an amusing side note the only transgression in the area of lighting that carries a harsher punishment than fixing a glaring errors caused by designer is requesting Lee color in a Rosco house. The penalty for which is ostracism.
Again another sign of a poorly supervised tech program. He would never work in my school again.
