Last night I picked up two small ellipsoidals from a high school that I am borrowing for a show that I'm designing at a junior high. Considering that we don't have to move instruments around a lot or when we do we don't have many, we wouldn't have any sort of rack to keep them in. I put the two instruments in a back seat with lamp burner and yoke up and tighten the seatbelt around both, but is there a better way to do this or store them in the trunk safely?
Best way to transport instruments (beside meatracks)
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WooferHound
Well-Known Member
It's a lamp! Lamp I say!
Lens to lens, clamp to clamp is my only rule. They actually lock in together rather well. The only reason for meat racks is they allow for faster loading and unloading. Just for your information, you can fit 7 S4's in the back of a Corolla. You can also fit 2 midget HP's w/ their stands in the trunk of a corolla.
Mrs. Footer claiming the truck that has more money in the back then the vehicle costs...
Mrs. Footer claiming the truck that has more money in the back then the vehicle costs...
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jglodeklights
Well-Known Member
One of the large rental houses on the East Coast puts all non-intelligent fixtures in rolling fabric hampers. This includes some of their less expensive LED fixtures. They give you a good price, but chances are something is going to be wrong with something and everything is a little to a lot beat up, depending on how popular it is.
A shop local to me only has a van, so they pile things in the back of it. They attempt to do so with a little TLC, so things aren't in too bad shape.
For the high school I work at, the director's husband and I built rolling plywood boxes that are just wide enough for 3 ERS fixtures to fit with their yokes removed of C Clamps and yokes down. Wood isn't as effective as foam at cushioning things, but still removes some of the harsher vibrations.
The lamp filament is the most...sensitive... part of the unit. However, as long as the units are not being transported before it has fully cooled, it shouldn't be a problem, especially with newer compact filament lamps such as the HPL and GLC.
Vibration can actually be a major problem with the combination lamp/PAR lens assemblies as they have a lot of surface area for a defect to occur and even a little one can quickly become a crack that makes the lamp inoperable, and the assembly as a whole an explosion danger. That said, they are obviously quite reliable overall.
A shop local to me only has a van, so they pile things in the back of it. They attempt to do so with a little TLC, so things aren't in too bad shape.
For the high school I work at, the director's husband and I built rolling plywood boxes that are just wide enough for 3 ERS fixtures to fit with their yokes removed of C Clamps and yokes down. Wood isn't as effective as foam at cushioning things, but still removes some of the harsher vibrations.
The lamp filament is the most...sensitive... part of the unit. However, as long as the units are not being transported before it has fully cooled, it shouldn't be a problem, especially with newer compact filament lamps such as the HPL and GLC.
Vibration can actually be a major problem with the combination lamp/PAR lens assemblies as they have a lot of surface area for a defect to occur and even a little one can quickly become a crack that makes the lamp inoperable, and the assembly as a whole an explosion danger. That said, they are obviously quite reliable overall.
MPowers
Well-Known Member
Our rental department used to use meat racks and open road cases that looked a lot like the picture of the back of the pick-up a few posts earlier. However, we have moved to almost exclusively individual compartment road cases, why? Our stock in trade, that rings the till and brings in the bucks is high profile corporate events. For these events, our product is fully in view and in the client and his customers eye from the un-packing through the afternoon or evening. The very clean, scratch free, dust free, chrome, polished aluminum, and clean black ETC units is our image and in turn the image of our clients.
That said, push the shutters in, tighten all the bolts and clamps and except for the lamp filament, it is hard to hurt most instruments today. FWIW, our meat racks have been converted to rolling racks for hand rails and such for decking.
That said, push the shutters in, tighten all the bolts and clamps and except for the lamp filament, it is hard to hurt most instruments today. FWIW, our meat racks have been converted to rolling racks for hand rails and such for decking.
Lens to lens, clamp to clamp is my only rule. They actually lock in together rather well. The only reason for meat racks is they allow for faster loading and unloading. Just for your information, you can fit 7 S4's in the back of a Corolla. You can also fit 2 midget HP's w/ their stands in the trunk of a corolla.
you can fit 20 Colortran 5/50s in a cavalier. A Honda Odyssey can handle 32 feet of 12 inch truss four ST132 stands, 24 S4Pars, 130 foot 6/4, 250foot of socapex an ETC Acclaim and 24 channels of dimmer in a road case, a driver and a passenger
Ah !, stories from Ye Olden Tymes of Theatre.
I'm lighting a Country/Rock act at my theater way back (Emelin Theater in Mamaroneck, NY). The group wanted that "R&R Tour" look, which for it's day meant Par Cans. It was summer of '76 (That's "1976" for all you wise butts). The Democratic National Convention is at Madison Square Garden that month and for the very first time, the LD decided to go rock and roll with pre-hung trusses of Par64's. Lots of them, something like 660 if memory serves. In this era, Par Cans were still not that widely used and were usually not part of a legit theaters inventory and I had none. I called every lighting rental shop in the NYC area, at the time it was 4 Star, Production Arts, Bash, See Factor, Tom Fields, Altman, American (and one little shop up in Ossining owned by Leon Rosenthal, the husband of the then deceased Jean Rosenthal) and nobody had Pars. EVERY Par owned by every shop was at MSG. So I plead my case to Ronnie Altman who agrees to MAKE me the 36 I need. He does warn me that he won't have time to put them thru the heat bake room, so they might smoke. I show up at Altman and am shooting the breeze with Tony Sclarew (shop foremen) who finally gets bored and asks when my truck is showing up. "No truck" I state, "They're going in my car". Tony sighs, and starts rolling out the 36 and I start loading. I fit all 36 in my Gremlin and it was close. One was on my head like a hair dryer and I had to stick my hand up inside another to shift, but I got them to the theater. Approx 20 minutes into rehearsal, we all decide to take lunch as you cannot see 10ft with all the smoke in the theater. The roof door hatch is open and the smoke is pouring out, so of course, the local fire department gets called. They actually were across the street and 2 of them walked over, so no big deal.
The lighting looked great.
And as BTW, we use cloth hampers to store and move fixtures around.
I'm lighting a Country/Rock act at my theater way back (Emelin Theater in Mamaroneck, NY). The group wanted that "R&R Tour" look, which for it's day meant Par Cans. It was summer of '76 (That's "1976" for all you wise butts). The Democratic National Convention is at Madison Square Garden that month and for the very first time, the LD decided to go rock and roll with pre-hung trusses of Par64's. Lots of them, something like 660 if memory serves. In this era, Par Cans were still not that widely used and were usually not part of a legit theaters inventory and I had none. I called every lighting rental shop in the NYC area, at the time it was 4 Star, Production Arts, Bash, See Factor, Tom Fields, Altman, American (and one little shop up in Ossining owned by Leon Rosenthal, the husband of the then deceased Jean Rosenthal) and nobody had Pars. EVERY Par owned by every shop was at MSG. So I plead my case to Ronnie Altman who agrees to MAKE me the 36 I need. He does warn me that he won't have time to put them thru the heat bake room, so they might smoke. I show up at Altman and am shooting the breeze with Tony Sclarew (shop foremen) who finally gets bored and asks when my truck is showing up. "No truck" I state, "They're going in my car". Tony sighs, and starts rolling out the 36 and I start loading. I fit all 36 in my Gremlin and it was close. One was on my head like a hair dryer and I had to stick my hand up inside another to shift, but I got them to the theater. Approx 20 minutes into rehearsal, we all decide to take lunch as you cannot see 10ft with all the smoke in the theater. The roof door hatch is open and the smoke is pouring out, so of course, the local fire department gets called. They actually were across the street and 2 of them walked over, so no big deal.
The lighting looked great.
And as BTW, we use cloth hampers to store and move fixtures around.
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10 Source Fours and 5 Source Four Pars in my Volvo 940 sedan.
(excuse the Blackberry photo and my lack of photographic ability)
(excuse the Blackberry photo and my lack of photographic ability)
All, I'll never forget the time I loaded 8 360Q's, 9 65Q's, 2 14" scoops, a large bin of color, nearly 1000' of 12/3, my own tool kit and other extraneous gear in my 1995 Saturn 4-door. Man, I'll never forget driving that around Detroit, or how everyone else's "suburban" looking cars kept getting broken into but no one touched my Saturn.
As for moving instruments, where I work we have cases designed to hold 8 or 12 Source 4 ERS's, with enough room for clamps and barrel extended, as well as two-instrument packs designed to hold two Source 4 ERS's. Source 4 PARs often go in totes.
I've seen people use road cases, milk crates, pre-hung truss and/or bars, cloth hampers, meat racks, back seats and truck beds.
As for moving instruments, where I work we have cases designed to hold 8 or 12 Source 4 ERS's, with enough room for clamps and barrel extended, as well as two-instrument packs designed to hold two Source 4 ERS's. Source 4 PARs often go in totes.
I've seen people use road cases, milk crates, pre-hung truss and/or bars, cloth hampers, meat racks, back seats and truck beds.
10 Source Fours and 5 Source Four Pars in my Volvo 940 sedan.
(excuse the Blackberry photo and my lack of photographic ability)
Lens to lens, clamp to clamp is my only rule. They actually lock in together rather well. The only reason for meat racks is they allow for faster loading and unloading. Just for your information, you can fit 7 S4's in the back of a Corolla. You can also fit 2 midget HP's w/ their stands in the trunk of a corolla.
Mrs. Footer claiming the truck that has more money in the back then the vehicle costs...
Those are two ways I would never have thought about doing. I tend to overestimate how fragile something is.
Back the pickup truck up to the loading dock, toss in the cable you need (spread it around in an even layer) start laying in the fixtures on top of the cable. "Like so many sacks of dog food." was a comment from a buddy.
I would usually orient them lens to lens if i could, just avoid putting a c-clamp into a lens
I would usually orient them lens to lens if i could, just avoid putting a c-clamp into a lens
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chrisgriffin
Member
At my shop when we use trucks we use a hamper and blankets in between each row, if its a car then we kind of try to use packing blankets too.
I think more than 7 Source Fours can fit into the back of a corolla.... I have a Matrix (Corolla frame and structure) and in the back seat alone I can fit 18-22... with the seats up and cable in the trunk (Including 2 7.5' Trees). All doors closed. Flip the seats down and start shoving more in there.
