General Questions for LDs

[mstaylor]

Actually never really had a problem burning it, we usually used shoebox or clothing type cardboard as opposed to corrigated cardboard.

 

[josh88]

Actually never really had a problem burning it, we usually used shoebox or clothing type cardboard as opposed to corrigated cardboard.

in a pinch in an out of shape, barely functioning theatre I had to make barn doors for a scoop light with a pizza box. no budget, not enough lights for a front wash, that scoop was a champ.

 

[rochem]

You'd be surprised at how few Broadway shows don't use movers except for a single unit that is focused for multiple areas. We just had white Christmas and they used very few movers, as well as an eos control console. Movers aren't very suited for road theater use since they have to be constantly worked on and re programmed for different venues due to space constraint. I know several "pro" designers who would take conventionals with color scrollers over any mover any day.

Rubbish. While there are plenty of broadway shows that don't look like they use moving lights, they almost always do. Frankly, it's much cheaper to rent a dozen or so moving lights then pay for the stage time and labor of sending an electrician up in a genie every few hours to refocus another special. Best recent example - the unsuccessful revival of House of Blue Leaves at the Walter Kerr this summer. Not a single live move of any kind in that show - but they had around a dozen VL1000s in the air. Same story for Bengal Tiger which closed this summer, and many others.

Also, I disagree completely with the implication that an Eos isn't a "real" moving light console. American Idiot (both at Berkeley Rep and on broadway) and Rock of Ages (at both theatres) were programmed on an Eos. The RoA tour that went out this summer carries an Eos, and the 2nd natl tour of AI that's teching in Toronto next month has an Eos as well. There's a long list of running broadway shows that are using Eos, including Billy Elliot, Follies, H2S, Spiderman, Private Lives, RoA, Addams Family, Godspell, Lysistrata, and probably some others I'm forgetting.

Movers aren't very suited for road theater use since they have to be constantly worked on and re programmed for different venues due to space constraint.

Again, not true. I built a huge 1st National Tour a few months ago that, not counting the FOH units, only had 20 conventional units in the whole rig, 10 on each of the downstage ladders. And they had 64 MLs in the rig, including 20 VL5Bs that did nothing but act as color-changing high sides - and all but 3 of those VL5Bs only have one focus throughout the entire show. But with labor costs and the importance of a quick load-in, it's much faster and more cost-effective to have the head electrician spend an hour at the console updating presets than sending a full IA crew to watch someone focus in a genie.

I know several "pro" designers who would take conventionals with color scrollers over any mover any day.

Absolutely. Even the best moving lights require a good deal of time to precisely match L202 (or any given color), and most LDs are very particular about exactly matching their colors (and no, Revolutions with their QXL lamps and scrollers don't count). That plus the simplicity and low cost of scrollers makes them invaluable in even the biggest shows. I firmly believe that no matter how far moving light technology advances, as long as there are source fours, there will be scrollers.

 

[calkew5]

1. A good lighting designer knows his or her limits but loves to be able to say "Yes I can." They understand that a lighting design is not a static product but a process that takes place over the course of a set time in the presence of other artists. They work safely and don't do daredevil crap. Finally, they don't just "do lights" - they "do theatre"...meaning their goal is not to light people and things, but to contribute to a production's success.

2. My favorite lighting designer is anyone who isn't me. I get so sick of staring at my own work I always love a chance to see someone else's, whether that's a chance to criticize them or be awed by them - I always learn something.

3. My guilty confession is that I always begin a lighting design by thinking how to surprise people. As early in my career as I am, I end up in a lot of venues where people have low expectations. I like to show them that their rig and venue can do more than they thought it could.

4. I use a combination of VectorWorks and OpenOffice Calc, which is like Excel but free and open source.

 

[metti]

Also, I disagree completely with the implication that an Eos isn't a "real" moving light console. American Idiot (both at Berkeley Rep and on broadway) and Rock of Ages (at both theatres) were programmed on an Eos. The RoA tour that went out this summer carries an Eos, and the 2nd natl tour of AI that's teching in Toronto next month has an Eos as well. There's a long list of running broadway shows that are using Eos, including Billy Elliot, Follies, H2S, Spiderman, Private Lives, RoA, Addams Family, Godspell, Lysistrata, and probably some others I'm forgetting.

I completely agree that the EOS is a completely legitimate choice for a mover heavy theatre show but, to be fair, both Spiderman and the Addams Family are on the PRG V676 not the EOS.

 

[rochem]

I completely agree that the EOS is a completely legitimate choice for a mover heavy theatre show but, to be fair, both Spiderman and the Addams Family are on the PRG V676 not the EOS.

You're right, I'm sorry. They both use an Eos as the conventional console, which is why they popped into my head, but now that I think about it, that isn't relevant here. Although the Addams 1st National Tour is travelling with an Eos for both conventionals and MLs.

 

[lighttechie5948]

I completely agree that the EOS is a completely legitimate choice for a mover heavy theatre show but, to be fair, both Spiderman and the Addams Family are on the PRG V676 not the EOS.

You're right, I'm sorry. They both use an Eos as the conventional console, which is why they popped into my head, but now that I think about it, that isn't relevant here. Although the Addams 1st National Tour is travelling with an Eos for both conventionals and MLs.

Spiderman ACTUALLY has an Eos and a V676. Eos runs conventionals, scrollers, and LEDs and V676 runs movers. Eos also triggers video cues. The Head LX runs the Eos which is Midi-ed to the V676.