Recent content by IanJ

Yes, I foolishly hit "enter" when I should have hit "tab." I been in computers too long, and old habits die hard. ;)

That's what I figured. I had never actually done any investigation, though, so I didn't want to shut down the conversation on the basis of pure conjecture.

I have a production manager who is insisting that storing glow tape in the dark (in a locked cabinet with the other rolls of tape that like to grow legs and disappear on their own) degrades its ability to hold a charge. This seems like absolute bunk to me (if it's old, it should have trouble...

Oh, and I had one mistake in my original write-up (which I'll try to edit above, but I wanted to point it out for those who've already read it): the price PNTA gave me for the Opti Tri Par was not $400 as stated, but $500. I misremembered it (it was actually $499), or at least I really wanted...

Ah, thanks for clarifying that matter, Eric! We will certainly use the display power-off feature on the Opti Tri Pars we just ordered, so I'm glad to know how it's supposed to work.Since you're here, I'd love to ask: what chance you'll be improving your instruction manuals? Something I'd...

Thanks John, you guys are convincing me on the DMX cable -- I didn't realize DMX had a different impedance than mic cable. We have enough problems with RFI in our space (several major FM transmission towers less than a mile away), I don't want to add more noise to the signal. I was already...

The point wasn't that whatever LED will last a long time, it was more that, being a low-budget theater, we're going to milk it as long as we can. ;)We still have a small fleet of Berkey Colortrans that we keep around "just in case," and they still get pulled out with alarming frequency. If we...

Certainly for us, this is not a disposable purchase. My managing director looked askance at me when I said this was a ten-year investment as far as I was concerned. I had to point to one of the Source4s that was hanging in the grid -- I don't know when we got it, but it predates me, and I had...

This is a summary I just wrote for my journal, but I figured CB folks would also find my observations useful. My journal is read by folks who have no clue about theatrical matters, so please pardon any too-basic explanations. Feel free to ask follow-up questions here, I'll answer them as best I...

We're holding back on the bun raku guy-in-black, although that is among the last ditch choices. I like the curtain rod idea. We tried doing two wires, and the swinging was unacceptable.We're definitely using the "levitation" trick with the invisible thread at a different point, but that's...

I'm tech director on a superhero show where we want to fly small objects, to provide a telekinesis effect -- things like foam-rubber dumbells, plastic prop knives, etc. I realize that this is skirting close to the "no flying discussions" taboo, but I thought I'd ask, since this is pretty far...

Thanks Dave, I'm looking forward to it. I expect to be doing a lot of reading first, though, so don't be surprised if I'm pretty quiet for a while. ;)

My name is Ian Johnston, finally signing up for CB after knowing of it for years. I'm a jack-of-all-trades: if it's tech, I've probably done it, although I won't claim to have done it well.I'm currently co-Technical Director of Annex Theatre in Seattle, and Technical Director of Sketchfest...