How do you label instruments for semi-perminent or large installations?

gafftapegreenia

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[Relevant posts moved here from the paint pen thread]

I will use them whenever the PE wants us to use Blue labeling on cables and fixtures which usually only happens for Broadways and big tours

Blue labeling on black gaff tape? Because it's less noticeable, or just to be different? My experiences had led me to believe that silver on black was preferred.


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Blue labeling on black gaff tape? Because it's less noticeable, or just to be different? My experiences had led me to believe that silver on black was preferred.

Well, most of my shows use all rental gear, and we never use gaff tape, just write right on the connector/fixture body. A lot of bigger shows will label the circuit on the connector, as well as the position/unit/channel/circuit/dimmer right on the fixture body (usually not all of these, depends on the show). And when you're scribbling a short novel all over a Source Four body that's hanging on the balcony rail, most PEs prefer a subdued blue color rather than putting the information in blazing white so the audience can read it. But you're right, for most corporate stuff, or for fixtures that wouldn't be visible to the audience, white paint pen on black body and connector is definitely preferred. We used silver sharpie and gaff back in college and at some smaller regional theatres I worked at, probably because they were cheaper and less messy, but I haven't seen anyone here in New York using silver sharpie anymore - paint pen is just so much quicker and more visible, not to mention less finicky about storing it upright. But to each his own - I know you Chicagoans do some weird stuff. :)
 
Wow, that's just totally different worlds to me. I can only imagine the punishment id receive returning fixtures to any shop in Chicago or Atlanta with paint pen scribblings all over them.

I'm with you there on the silver Sharpies. They have the cool factor but they don't last long even if they do survive storage between use.


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Wow, that's just totally different worlds to me. I can only imagine the punishment id receive returning fixtures to any shop in Chicago or Atlanta with paint pen scribblings all over them.

I'm with you there on the silver Sharpies. They have the cool factor but they don't last long even if they do survive storage between use.


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I may be wrong, but I assume Rochem is talking about long term tours or installs such as broadway tours. I've seen those use paint pen on fixtures. I assume the shop is okay with it since it's usually 1+ year rentals which probably pay for the fixtures and some.
 
I may be wrong, but I assume Rochem is talking about long term tours or installs such as broadway tours. I've seen those use paint pen on fixtures. I assume the shop is okay with it since it's usually 1+ year rentals which probably pay for the fixtures and some.

I figured that was the likely scenario, but isn't paperwork easier to update?

I'm sure paint pen on the body is SOP where Rochem is, I'm just fascinated.
 
I may be wrong, but I assume Rochem is talking about long term tours or installs such as broadway tours. I've seen those use paint pen on fixtures. I assume the shop is okay with it since it's usually 1+ year rentals which probably pay for the fixtures and some.

That's partially true, but not for the reasons you'd think. It's generally not worth the effort to put all that info on a unit for a shorter run, but I've done it even for very complicated, short rentals (like fashion week stuff). Even for one-day corporate gigs or theaters just renting a few extra source fours, we always write circuit information right on the connector, and sometimes write position/unit on the fixture yoke, depending on the PE. Same with cable - you just label right on the connector. Frankly, if a guy comes in and starts to label the rental gear with gaff tape, we tend to assume he's new, and if I'm in charge, I'll probably chastise him for wasting time and gaff tape. I've literally never even heard of a shop taking issue with writing on fixtures, and I'd probably try to stay away from that shop if any said something like that.

I'm curious - in other areas of the country, do you guys use gaff tape to label your rental gear? Does that even include fixture connectors and cable? I, too, am fascinated, as I always assumed that was pretty standard.

I figured that was the likely scenario, but isn't paperwork easier to update?

Don't even get me started. The labeling is fantastic for speeding up big loadins - you can hang and circuit entire positions without needing any paperwork at all. But I could tell you a story about a light on a particular show that was prelabeled in the shop, but by focus, the Channel, Position, Circuit, Dimmer, Color, Gobo, and Wattage had all been changed. What a mess that was.
 
Gaff always goes down on the fixture before anything, including the pre-printed Avery type labels that I'll make for the larger shows.
If nobody is going to see it, Neon yellow gaff with black sharpie. Honestly it's really easy to read in low light situations.

Never heard of marking fixtures with paint pen for anything, even long term installs. Fixtures change places all the time and if it doesn't then that was 5 cents well spent on gaff tape.
West Coast USA
 
What ive seen done before at the three theaters is you tape over the plug (if you're using stage pin then you gaff the two ends together) and then you write on it do not move. it's an easy fix. nothing can ever get confused on a plug once it's moved
 
I don't tape plugs together ever in case of the need for a quick disconnect. Worked at a place where someone connected a cable that had scorched pins and taped it. Later on it melted the plug and set fire to the tape because it had been arcing. At that point it was too late to do much but If someone had noticed it sooner a quick tug would have stopped the arcing and broken the connection. not so much with the tape though.


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I come from a touring, all moving light world, but we had a more or less standard location for a piece of velcro on the body of the fixture (Usually whichever direction was up while hung). and we made velcro back labels with information like fixture number, address, and physical location on it. Made things a little easier when swapping fixtures and much easier for local hands to understand during load in and load out. As far as cabling goes, at least for intelligent fixtures, the best/easiest thing I've found is e-tape wrapped around the power connector with the fixture number on it with all the necessary data cables loomed in with it to keep things somewhat organised.
For bonus points if this is a touring show with a mix of fixture types make the label, the mark for the hang location on the truss, the lable on the power cable, and any labeling on the road case that fixture travels in the same unique color (Orange for spots, green for washes, blue for beam, etc...).
 
I've seen paint pen on body and connector in television studios. Depending on the studio and the set, the lighting plot might stay in place for a year (or more), with occasional tweaks every quarter or so. Since camera never points up to the grid, labels are made especially large so they can be read from the deck.

For long-running Broadway shows, paint pen directly on the connector or yoke. Gaff tape after a year or more leaves an ugly white skudge. For short-running shows, gaff tape and Sharpie is fine. A few people I know prefer electrical tape on the connector instead (often times, different colors to indicate different systems.)

For the academic world, anything and everything. Sigh.
 
@rochem, Ive got many paragraphs worth of response to this thread that I might have time to type up after Christmas.
 
Gaff always goes down on the fixture before anything, including the pre-printed Avery type labels that I'll make for the larger shows.
If nobody is going to see it, Neon yellow gaff with black sharpie. Honestly it's really easy to read in low light situations.

Never heard of marking fixtures with paint pen for anything, even long term installs. Fixtures change places all the time and if it doesn't then that was 5 cents well spent on gaff tape.
West Coast USA

I love my Avery label maker.

Mike
 
@rochem, Ive got many paragraphs worth of response to this thread that I might have time to type up after Christmas.

I'm waiting with baited breath. It still fascinates me how different our worlds are.
 
In Film & TV we use white gaff with black or red sharpy (Used to be red AC, black DC) around the connectors and white Gaff length wise to hold the Bates 20,60,100 amps together. When the white gaff around the connector discolored you knew you had a bad one. We have started to use paint pens more and more at the end of the show just wipe the paint pen off with solvent. On shows where white gaff might be obtrusive we'll use black gaff and silver sharpy. Some technicians will use different colors of either tape or marker to signify different types of circuits or different feeds.
 
My very first summer stock the LD liked to use basically the same plot over stage all summer, just tweaked slightly and moved to different line sets for each show depending on scenery needs. Every unit and connection was labeled during every hang/change over with colored paint pen on black gaff, and each electrician was given a different color paint pen so that if mistakes were made during hang, they knew who to yell at. I learned very quickly to get a new colored pen if I realized that I'd made a mistake that couldn't be fixed before the LD discovered it. By the end of the summer, all four of us had swapped colors at least three times!

And fwiw, despite the fact that my plot is basically permanent, I always label with either Sharpie on white gaff or white on black gaff. You never know when you're going to have to swap out a unit for a spare. I also have great disdain for those who hot glue tie line to cables. Sure, you don't have to worry about someone swiping the tie line, but now I can't slide it to a better spot on the loop to secure both ends. I don't like permanence.
 
I'm quite surprised it's not already been mentioned but I label all of my permanent install lanterns with computer-designed tags (IE made in word or whatever) attached onto the yoke of the lantern using black dance floor tape.

Dance floor tape is great because it's seriously tough, but also quite see through on top of a lightly coloured surface (IE white paper) but owing to being matte black does not show the white from a distance - only close up. So it's very clear to read for a tech under work light, but still basically invisible in show conditions.

Quick reference things - IE the beam angle of a lens - I just use a band of coloured tape. As long as everyone is singing off the same song sheet, that's all the detail it needs.
 
And fwiw, despite the fact that my plot is basically permanent, I always label with either Sharpie on white gaff or white on black gaff. You never know when you're going to have to swap out a unit for a spare. I also have great disdain for those who hot glue tie line to cables. Sure, you don't have to worry about someone swiping the tie line, but now I can't slide it to a better spot on the loop to secure both ends. I don't like permanence.

Not seeing how labeling helps at all. I too have a semi-permanent hang as well as spares in storage. I don't label anything. If I need to swap a fixture with a spare, the spare becomes the new permanent unit, the bad one goes to eventually get fixed and then becomes a spare. I'd go nuts having to swap labels as well and can't see the point.
 
Not seeing how labeling helps at all. I too have a semi-permanent hang as well as spares in storage. I don't label anything. If I need to swap a fixture with a spare, the spare becomes the new permanent unit, the bad one goes to eventually get fixed and then becomes a spare. I'd go nuts having to swap labels as well and can't see the point.


Seriously? How do do you *not* label? I live and die by my labeling. Every connector is labeled with its circuit number and above each unit on the raceway is a label with the pipe, unit number, fixture, channel number, dimmer number, and circuit number. Having all that information means that I don't have to run to my office for paperwork every time I want to patch a unit. It means I can have electricians drop color in an entire system without them having to be intimately familiar with the plot or having to glow the system. And when our rigging system got condemned and we had to strip our entire plot and restore it the day before our next show? I had one electrician and two very unskilled stagehands and we were *still* able to hang the entire plot in about two hours because all the information was right there for everyone.

Nothing else that I've bought, built, or implemented during my time as Lighting Director has done more to allow me to do my job quickly, efficiently, and accurately than those labels. And I include replacing my Express RFU with and Element RFU.
 

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