Tristan_da light opp
Member
So, I’m doing fly rails for my musical, I know how to operate them but I know there are calls when you lower and raise them, but what do I yell to make sure I don’t bonk anyone on the head?
Fly rail calls
- Thread starterTristan_da light opp
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jtweigandt
Well-Known Member
You shouldn't be yelling anything. You should be on some sort of comms with a pre set list of cues and what they/you do accordingly
Stage manager or designated crew with good view of the stage calls you to tell you "Fly cue 10 lower #3" to lower/raise whatever. You at most acknowledge back "Cue 10, lowering #3" to the manager.
They are the eyes and can call you to hold if something is going south, or someone is inadvertantly in the way suddenly while you are otherwise occupied.
I only wish we had fly equip.. but that's pretty much how I would handle it.
Stage manager or designated crew with good view of the stage calls you to tell you "Fly cue 10 lower #3" to lower/raise whatever. You at most acknowledge back "Cue 10, lowering #3" to the manager.
They are the eyes and can call you to hold if something is going south, or someone is inadvertantly in the way suddenly while you are otherwise occupied.
I only wish we had fly equip.. but that's pretty much how I would handle it.
As JT said above you really shouldn't be yelling commands during a performance but if you are talking about communicating during Loading and Unloading I can suggest a Great resource for you. JR Clancy and Texas scenic / H&H have their Manual Counter-Weight Systems manuals online there is a whole section about procedures and commands both with a loading bridge and without.
I'd send you ours but we're in the middle of redesigning it and getting it up on our sight.
I'd send you ours but we're in the middle of redesigning it and getting it up on our sight.
The main thing to think about when communicating what you're doing with the rail is- what you're moving, which direction it's moving, and where it's moving. I train my ops to call "Lineset X, Moving IN/OUT, DOWNSTAGE/MIDSTAGE/UPSTAGE". Not everyone on stage will understand what you mean when you say "Electric 2 moving in," but most people in a theater will understand the difference between US and DS.
And I agree, your movements during the show should be choreographed with the actors and SM in order to know when things are moving, so no need to announce. Often times I'd spike a "NO" box under pieces so the cast had a visual reference of where a flat might be landing and could avoid it in the changes. It's always good to train your whole crew to watch for collisions and be prepared to call for an immediate stop if necessary. People make mistakes, but that doesn't mean we should drop a house on them.
I made a video for my HS students a few years ago that goes into detail with this stuff.
And I agree, your movements during the show should be choreographed with the actors and SM in order to know when things are moving, so no need to announce. Often times I'd spike a "NO" box under pieces so the cast had a visual reference of where a flat might be landing and could avoid it in the changes. It's always good to train your whole crew to watch for collisions and be prepared to call for an immediate stop if necessary. People make mistakes, but that doesn't mean we should drop a house on them.
I made a video for my HS students a few years ago that goes into detail with this stuff.
Malabaristo
Well-Known Member
This is one of the first things I tell students when showing them how to safely operate a fly system, so it's a little concerning that no one gave you those instructions. It makes me think that whatever gave you the impression that you "know how to operate" the system didn't actually involve instruction from a qualified person. There's a whole lot more to safe operation than knowing that pulling on this rope makes it go up and pulling on this rope makes it go down. We can't teach you everything you need to know in an online forum, so please seek out some real training from a qualified adult before proceeding.
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