Bounce focus tips??

[microstar]

Elaborating on Aud J's comment, if you maintain a standard high trim for a standard or rep plot, once you have all the lights focused correctly, you can lay out a plastic tarp and lower the pipe to a convenient low trim working height--say 6'. Trace and label the outlines of the beams on the tarp. Mark the position of the fixture clamps on the pipe and reference points to locate the tarp on the stage floor. As long as you bring the pipe to its correct high and low trim, everything should be very close.

 

[AsherSB]

We had ladders at my high school, I wouldn't recommend it, no fun for students to brave that sort of thing. Bringing it up and down is probably your best option, maybe look into a retrofit sometime soon.

 

[TheaterEd]

My incredibly low-tech method is to stand where I want the light to hit and point with my arm up to where the light will be at high trim. Then I have one of my techs make the light match the angle of my arm. This isn't going to work with your small areas, but it can be effective for general areas if you don't have the right tools lying around.

 

[JonathanHarpur]

My incredibly low-tech method is to stand where I want the light to hit and point...

Hey! You're a sextant! Sort of.

 

[Evans Poulos]

And he knows it. Lol

 

[JonathanHarpur]

At the very least, I'm sure he's inclined to agree.

...I'm here all week. Try the roast beef, and don't forget to tip your waitress. Thank you, goodnight.

 

[Rose03]

Does anyone have tips for focusing lights on etc prodigy. I find it difficult to guess where the beams will end out once the pipe is back up.

 

[SteveB]

Genie lift ?

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/t...e1skJFAbHNb3bgREy1UXFVtk5nC3wRq8aAk_pEALw_wcB

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

Lights can be hung, services, and rough focused on the floor but not possible to do really good focus of non-automated lights from the floor. Bounce focusing is just frustrating.

Besides a powered personnel lift, scaffolding is used also, and is less expensive. I've liked UpRight Scaffolding, which I was able to erect and disassemble solo, but there are others. Ladders are not recommended.

 

[sk8rsdad]

It sounds like you need a primer on how to bounce focus.

https://www.controlbooth.com/wiki/bounce-focus
https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/bounce-focus-tips.39168/

It's an exercise in applied trigonetry and similar triangles. Here's an example.

1. Let's assume your trim height is 6m (~18 ft)
2. Make the batten's focus height 2m (~6 ft). This makes the ratios simple (3:1)
3. For each fixture:
   
   • It is important to consider each fixture separately. If 2 fixtures need to intersect when at trim height, they won't intersect when the batten is at focus height. The beams hit the floor at different locations when the triangle is 2m tall than they will when it is 6m tall.
   • If you want the focus point on the floor to be 3m downstage when at trim, then the focus point (when the batten is at focus height) needs to be set at 1m downstage.
   • Similarly, if you want the floor focus point to be 2 m to stage left, then the fixture needs to be panned 2/3 m from a theoretical line perpendicular to the fixture.