Booth remodel

[Plupo]

Hey guys!

I've been around the forums for a while, but have never posted. I'm currently in the middle of a renovation of the house are at my theatre and I'm looking for some insight/people to bounce ideas off of that aren't my board/manager.

Image 1 is an image from the stage to the booth. (we have a 300 seat-house with a balcony)
Image 2 is looking at the booth from the HL balcony.
Image 3 is looking at the booth from the HR balcony.
Image 4 is looking from the entrance to the booth (up the HR stairs)
Image 5 is looking at the booth from the HR door
Image 6 is a close-up of the sound setup
Image 7 is a close-up of the lighting setup.

As of right now, the plan is to take down the HL wall that sits behind the sound equipment (Image 6) and open up the booth all the way to the HL wall. Currently on the HR side of the booth are large wooden storage bins that will be removed (along with the last row of seating) to create a somewhat identical stretch. Both spot lights will be moved from the sides of the balcony (where they occasionally obstruct the view of audience members and where they are difficult to troubleshoot during a show without crouching in front of the balcony audience) to the HL and HR side of the booth.
The sliding glass panels along the front of the booth will be removed (finally) and left open.
New carpet will be laid across the entire booth.
New counters (at kitchen height) will be installed and drafting chairs will be added.

I'm (hopefully) upgrading the sound board from an older Yamaha 32 channel to a Behringer x32 - which will decrease the digusting cabling surround the board, and will eliminate a number of the pieces in the rack. It will also be moved to the center of the booth. This will allow my 12 wireless received to be moved from their balcony location into the rack in the booth for easy access.

The desk the lighting computer is sitting on will be torn out and a new all-in-one PC (with a uncracked screen) will replace it - running LightFactory.


I guess at this point, I'm looking for thoughts/suggestions on any of the areas above.
Thoughts on the Behringer x32?
Ideas where to purchase a work counter that isn't exactly an "office desk"?
Color to paint the booth?
Additions for convience? Littlites along the counter? etc?
I'm not overly concerned about booth security as the door has a lock and access to the builing is VERY limited, so I don't think ID' need roll top doors.
Thoughts on center placement of the sound board?
Modifications to the booth to allow for better mixing?
Overhead light solution?

I've already looked through all of the "booth" threads I could find and, at this point, am just looking for additional ideas/specific products.

Thanks guys!

 

[josh88]

No pictures. Search the forum for threads on the x32 it's pretty well liked around here. Especially for the price.


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[sk8rsdad]

Just a few quick thoughts:

• kitchen countertops make a good work counter. They can be found at any building center. Bathroom countertops are probably too shallow. Custom countertops aren't hard to make and would allow you to customize the depth to suit your work habits and hardware.
• since you are opening things up, why not just install a knee wall around the entire area, including the followspot positions, and forego the idea of a "booth" entirely

 

[Dionysus]

A few of my own suggestions...

• You can sometimes get cheap kitchen counters from countertop dealers who have made 'mistakes'. Other than that really I'd suggest building your own. Most booth I've been in are custom built out of plywood and usually some 2x4, sometimes with something like Masonite to give a nice smooth work surface.
• Your sound guy will love getting rid of the glass... But be sure to police how loud the booth gets.
• I've never used the x32 but I've heard good things. There are a LOT of different options out there right now. I've heard Berhinger has really stepped up their game under their new ownership. Other good yet cheap consoles are out there including those by Roland, etc)
• Generally I say any wall surface visible through the windows either Black or a Dark colour, and you can happily go lighter on walls that only those in the booth can see. But really its up to you. Ive seen a lot of booths just painted contractors beige, others black.
• Littlelites are a major suggestion for me. They are a GREAT working light, they dim right on the unit, can be moved around, and gotten out of the way easily. Other than that I'd suggest a downlight for places like the Stage Manager's desk surface (ie a potlight or such, perhaps in an LED flavour?) that will give light where you need it. T5 or T8 flourescents as a general worklight are okay, just never use them during a show.
• I'd say the sound board would be fine where it is, lots of room around for the rack(s) and a computer to playback audio cues without getting in the way. The main thing is getting the sound guys ears out from behind glass if he must be in a booth (always good to get the mixer out of the booth if you can, playback usually staying in the booth).
• Yes get the followspots from in front of audience members.

 

[Jay Ashworth]

FWIW: I built an LED downlight for my booth with LED tape and 1/2" aluminum C-channel; I cut it to length, and put it up over the boards with a pair of the brackets they make for mounting shower curtain poles to the wall, which allows you to adjust the angle easily. It worked out *very* nicely, and cost about $20. They're dimmable, though we didn't need that.

 

[alyx92]

We snagged an x32 for my theater and love it

 

[ThatsoundguyChris]

The school where I work has a X32, I love it. it's easy to learn and work with

 

[FMEng]

I would avoid the tall chairs and high work surface. I always want my feet planted on the floor so that I can move about easily and quietly with a chair on rollers.

You can significantly reduce the amount of cabling between the audio console and stage by adding S16 stage boxes to the X32.

 

[MarshallPope]

Personally, I prefer drafting chairs and a raised desk. I like the option to stand during a show, especially for music.

 

[venuetech]

build a counter, surface with laminate, don't put it directly against the wall but leave a 2" gap for the passage of cables. Hang the counter from the wall using very stout brackets so you do not have legs to run into or work around. it could be hung an inch or two lower so the device control surface does not end up higher than it needs to be. The lighting control area of the counter may be helpfull to build a lower part of the counter to support the computer monitor. The idea is to make it easy for the operator to look over the monitor and see the stage. Lots of video about working with laminate on youtube.

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Or, as an alternative, since it is probably a little bit sturdier to mount the back of the desk to the wall, you could drill 5 or 6 2" inch holes in the back edge for cables.

Sent from my SPH-L720

 

[MarshallPope]

My suggestion for dealing with both the cable gap/sturdiness as well as unobstructed leg room would be to do something along the lines of this:

 

[Jay Ashworth]

I dunno, Marshall; should you find yourself having to run both boards, the center brace would be troublesome ...

Sent from my SPH-L720

 

[MarshallPope]

That was just quickly done without regard to scale or length or leg placement or anything of that matter. Anyway, I don't know that your chair would tend to go far enough under a 3 or 4 foot deep counter to hit a leg at the halfway point. Granted, every space (and everyone) is different.

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Chief Architect?

Sent from my SPH-L720

 

[venuetech]

something like this. you could add ether the back gap, or drill holes for gromits in both the tops and the brackets.
lets you sweep the floor quickly. If you have any thing like short file cabnets make sure you leave enuff room for it. adding some thin drawers for pencils and papers would be nice.

 

[JohnD]

Another type bracket to consider is a cantilever table bracket:
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/bfm...nd-24-x-32-rectangle-table-tops/163TBC22.html
That is just an example, and it shouldn't be too hard to find someone locally to fabricate something like this.

 

[josh88]

Same concept as what johnD linked to, but a little different in design. We've got these in a computer lab in my building. Pardon the angle as I'm sitting on the floor to type this and take the picture.


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[AsherSB]

I really like the presounus studiolive boards, although they are a bit more expensive.

 

[Jay Ashworth]

One construction thought, if the layout of the booth and doorways permits: if you are prone to have people in the booth who aren't front-row crew, and you have enough headroom, you might want to platform the rear of the room 6-9", so they can see over you while seated. I don't know how that interacts with ADA, as long as the front row is at hallway height.

Also: you want *everything* in the booth painted black or charcoal: anything bright will stop your eyes down, and you generally need all the iris you can get, especially that far back.