I will admit that I love using Lightwright 5, it makes my life as a LD a million times easier, but I don't really enjoy their focus charts. I attached my focus charts below and would like some feedback. For the master electricians going into a hang/focus session are these helpful or am I just wasting my time? What things do you like about it and what things should I work on or add? Thanks!
Focus Charts - What works for the ME?
- Thread startermsvandyke
- Start date
I'll give some feedback on the chart in a second, but first, I'm confused. Are you filling these out in advance, then giving a filled-out focus chart to the ME before you actually get to focus? While you as the LD should definitely be worksheeting your plot and know where you're going to take cuts, filling out detailed focus charts in advance seems like a big waste to me. The ME doesn't care at all where the lights are going to point other than what he's seen depicted on the plot, and any good ME can pretty quickly figure out what systems are fullstage toplight washes and what are your pipe ends. Is this what you're doing, or are you just giving this blank piece of paper to the ME to fill out during focus? First of all, I consider it to be the design team (the Assistant or maybe the Associate)'s job to fill out the focus charts. It's the ME's job to keep focus moving and constantly have units ready to focus for the designer, not to fill out charts. If the designer has no assistant/associate and really needs it, then maybe I'll let the AME to do focus charts, but I'd prioritize that below any other duties I needed him to do. Additionally, for any larger-scale show with a lengthy tech period, I rarely see focus charts filled out at focus. So much changes during the course of a tech, and rewriting focus charts every time you have a focus note is a colossal waste of time. Especially when you have a lot of MLs on the show, you'll need to document the ML focus anyway, so it's just easier to fill out focus charts and document the ML focus information all at the same time in an afternoon work call on the day after opening.
As for this chart specifically - overall it's pretty nice, but I think you might have a little too much information. The focus charts aren't designed to replace paperwork, so I'd consider removing the wattage and possibly the accessory information (although Irises are important to know for focus purposes, so maybe not). Maybe even get rid of the dimmer number, since the show will almost always be patched by this time, unless you regularly break up systems by bringing up individual dimmers rather than everything in a channel. I'd like to see the channel number made a little more obvious - maybe put it in a circle or something? I can't tell, do you have cuts depicted on this chart at all? Right now, I read unit 7 as saying "land the bottom of the beam at Edge (of the stage presumably), and land the right side of the beam at the Audience's Knees. If those are supposed to be cuts, I'd like to see a line drawn cutting through the circle to make this a little more clear. Unless they're supposed to be "land at" instructions, in which case that's fine.
Hope that helps.
ptero
Active Member
I also love Lightwright. Don't leave home without it! I use it for a smaller venue hanging 20 units as well for hanging hundreds in a larger space. But I don't use the LW charts for a fresh design. I see the value of them being for a show that has been mounted and will have a future in remounts or for a tour. For me, they would get documented after a show is up.
In the process of designing/drawing a show, I generate sheets like the one attached for each system. They exist as a byproduct of my process. My assistant can read these and they provide focus points. At focus, generally, he will get things roughed to these points and I will then do the shutters cuts on the fly. For first time mounts (which is the case for most of what I do) trying to fill in charts would be a HUGE time drain with little value in this context.
There will be a sheet for every system, plus details for specials and oddballs. Everything will be represented this way. Some/most of them will be penciled onto blank floor plans as opposed to inputting and printing each one. Sometimes there are detail notes as appropriate. Notation/language will match the notation/language used on the VW plot and as in LW.
This is something that has evolved for me over years of designing largely in the same space with relative stability in staffing. But they work everywhere I go.
This is just what works for me. I hope it helps the conversation...
In the process of designing/drawing a show, I generate sheets like the one attached for each system. They exist as a byproduct of my process. My assistant can read these and they provide focus points. At focus, generally, he will get things roughed to these points and I will then do the shutters cuts on the fly. For first time mounts (which is the case for most of what I do) trying to fill in charts would be a HUGE time drain with little value in this context.
There will be a sheet for every system, plus details for specials and oddballs. Everything will be represented this way. Some/most of them will be penciled onto blank floor plans as opposed to inputting and printing each one. Sometimes there are detail notes as appropriate. Notation/language will match the notation/language used on the VW plot and as in LW.
This is something that has evolved for me over years of designing largely in the same space with relative stability in staffing. But they work everywhere I go.
This is just what works for me. I hope it helps the conversation...
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I was always taught that focus charts are the responsibility of the LD and/or ass't LD's. They are to be completed after the final focus, for the purpose of recreating the focus in either a Rep scenario, or a tour. I could see as well a long run show (Broadway, etc...) where you need to document everything for future use, so as to not trust to memory.
I have as yet, only one time seen a tour (NY City Opera) that used the LW focus charts and that was maybe 25 years ago. Haven't seen them since and I sure don't use them. I do make copious focus notes for our yearly Nutcracker (which is about the only thing that repeats), but that's in a Channel format with notes as to location, edge, frost or not, cuts and scenery required. It's 2 pages for a 200 unit plot. If I did this in LW, I think the RRFU operator, who's tracking the focus on the plot and running up addresses and channels, would go nuts and it would actually slow things down.
I have as yet, only one time seen a tour (NY City Opera) that used the LW focus charts and that was maybe 25 years ago. Haven't seen them since and I sure don't use them. I do make copious focus notes for our yearly Nutcracker (which is about the only thing that repeats), but that's in a Channel format with notes as to location, edge, frost or not, cuts and scenery required. It's 2 pages for a 200 unit plot. If I did this in LW, I think the RRFU operator, who's tracking the focus on the plot and running up addresses and channels, would go nuts and it would actually slow things down.
As a production electrician, I'd say you were wasting your time. If a designer tried to give me focus charts before focus I would not even look at them. If you find them helpful for yourself to go into focus with them, that's great. If you want to give them to your ALD, fine, that's between you two. I couldn't care less about where you are about to point them. I only care that they stay where you pointed them after you have left.
I guess I am the only one, but I like LW focus charts. I don't use them very often because I don't have the need, but were I to need them, that's what I would use. I think focus charts are only necessary in two situations: either the plot is going to be struck/refocused often, as in a rep or tour, or you are on a long enough run that personnel will change or memory may fail, such as on open ended run.
Yours has all the same info and I am sure gets the job done, but I don't particularly like them. After working with you a few times I am sure I would get used to them, but at first glance, I was very confused about what was going on.
My $.02
-Tim
When I'm hanging a show, I generally want to know fixture type, dimmer # to plug it into if prepatched on the board or it needs to end up on a relay/non-dim, DMX address if applicable, approximate location on pipe with respect to center, and any major accessories that changed the dimensions or mass, such as scroller heads, top hats, side arms, other dmx enabled accessories, and barn doors. Other accessories such as gel, donuts, gobos, irises are nice, but easy enough to install at focus. If I have that info, I can rough hang the show without the LD, and then do a quick focus when they are available. The big accessories are needed because they either require extra wire or may force a change in the spacing of the instruments to allow for clearance. I just hang small college or community productions so your mileage may
Take a picture, it'll last longer: - FocusTrack: Home - .
msvandyke, I'm guessing you've already seen seen Focus Charts and the pertinent sections of Steve Shelley's A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting?
As said above, doing focus charts prior to focus is a waste of effort, and they may not be needed at all unless the lighting needs to be recreated at the same or another venue, OR the show is destined for a long run.
msvandyke, I'm guessing you've already seen seen Focus Charts and the pertinent sections of Steve Shelley's A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting?
As said above, doing focus charts prior to focus is a waste of effort, and they may not be needed at all unless the lighting needs to be recreated at the same or another venue, OR the show is destined for a long run.
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