Joshualangman
Active Member
Hi all!
Here’s a fun question. Please note: this is for preliminary brainstorming purposes only. It’s for a show that hasn’t even entered preproduction, and I’m just exploring some first ideas. I will not attempt to implement any automation myself, as I am not a scenic or automation designer.
Suppose I want to have a variety of differently sized fabric panels hanging around the playing space, to be used as projection surfaces. These panels would be very light, and would be suspended at various heights. I want each panel to be able to individually fly in and out, as well as to various predetermined heights, and I want these vertical moves to be programmable. I would be mapping video to the panels, so the positions would need to be precise and consistent.
This would involve some kind of automation system. Here are the parameters. Each panel would need to be on its own independent “channel” (set of winches). Suppose that there are eight or so panels. The cueing software would need to be able to be triggered from QLab, for coordination with video. Oh, and the show will tour.
I was looking at Creative Conners, and their products seem fantastic, but the price for one of these vertical hoists (http://creativeconners.com/products/spotline-kits) would swallow our entire budget. But I think that given the extremely light weight of these panels, such a hoist would be overkill — am I right? Are there similar hoists that could do what we would need and be programmed via the Creative Conners software or other similar software, that are designed for much lighter loads and might be more affordable? Is there any way to do this safely for under $10,000? Under $5,000?
I will bring a set designer and automation expert onboard if we decide to pursue this idea; just trying to get a feel for whether it might be doable at all.
Thank you!
Here’s a fun question. Please note: this is for preliminary brainstorming purposes only. It’s for a show that hasn’t even entered preproduction, and I’m just exploring some first ideas. I will not attempt to implement any automation myself, as I am not a scenic or automation designer.
Suppose I want to have a variety of differently sized fabric panels hanging around the playing space, to be used as projection surfaces. These panels would be very light, and would be suspended at various heights. I want each panel to be able to individually fly in and out, as well as to various predetermined heights, and I want these vertical moves to be programmable. I would be mapping video to the panels, so the positions would need to be precise and consistent.
This would involve some kind of automation system. Here are the parameters. Each panel would need to be on its own independent “channel” (set of winches). Suppose that there are eight or so panels. The cueing software would need to be able to be triggered from QLab, for coordination with video. Oh, and the show will tour.
I was looking at Creative Conners, and their products seem fantastic, but the price for one of these vertical hoists (http://creativeconners.com/products/spotline-kits) would swallow our entire budget. But I think that given the extremely light weight of these panels, such a hoist would be overkill — am I right? Are there similar hoists that could do what we would need and be programmed via the Creative Conners software or other similar software, that are designed for much lighter loads and might be more affordable? Is there any way to do this safely for under $10,000? Under $5,000?
I will bring a set designer and automation expert onboard if we decide to pursue this idea; just trying to get a feel for whether it might be doable at all.
Thank you!