Can you clarify "sightline-constrained rails"?
@Jay Ashworth We've flogged this one to death before here on Control Booth. During the construction of an
opera house with four balconies, ALL of the construction workers, the lads who'd been with the site from the third basement on up and were intimately familiar with it had to abide by all rules and amendmants which, in downtown Toronto, meant we could be no closer to a balcony
edge than two rows of seats without a full-wank fall arrest belt / harness and
lanyard.
On the other
hand:
Once opening night and the folks dressed to be seen (more than to see) arrived, the world was their oyster and one and all were free to prance elegantly down even the steepest steps of the fourth balcony in their 70's and 80's wearing their stiletto heels and floor length gowns hiding not only their varicose veins and spindly legs but where they were placing their feet on the stairs they'd never trod on in their lives gawking around taking in the new
venue they'd never been in sans their glasses and contact lenses. The glare off their jewelry was enough to
blind those beside and behind them yet the elegant opening night patrons were permitted to descend all the way to the balcony rails where the stairs ended, then stand there preening and gawking regardless of which balcony they may have actually possessed tickets for.
The comparison between construction and public opening was startling to say the least. The full wank get-up I had to wear to merely walk across any of the balconies leaning over the rails merely to insert my
Shure tone generator in any of the many mic and
line level XLR's was understandable from the POV of the general contractor but the contrast with the public attending for the first time was startling.
Over the
edge of the balconies, the various designers and PEngs had spec'd and approved two tubular pipes running across essentially the entire width of each balcony. Each pair of pipes were intended as one to hang lighting instruments from and the other to stand on while hanging and focusing said lights.
You should've heard the BELLOW the GC emitted when he first caught site of the dimming and lighting sub contractor merrily traipsing across one of the balcony rails with a test lamp
in one hand and a Motorola walkie in the other. I was standing on the
apron when the GC bellowed and took the heat since he ASSumed it was one of my guys.
EDIT: Missed a word and corrected a tense.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard