Eriksrocks
Member
Note: Spoilers for some effects in Phantom of the Opera follow. If you haven't seen the show, you have been warned.
I just saw the new US touring production of Phantom of the Opera tonight! It was excellent, although very different from the original in terms of staging. It was probably the most technically complex stage production I've ever seen, outside of Cirque in Vegas.
As you may or may not have heard, the chandelier in the new production no longer rises and falls from the stage in the beginning of the show and at the end of the first act. Instead, it is rigged at two points on vertical winches, and also is outfitted with a rather large repertoire of strobes and pyro effects.
I had heard prior to seeing the show that at the end of the first act, the new chandelier drops vertically onto the audience (stopping just above them, obviously) in a rather shocking manner.
I was expecting the chandelier to suddenly drop into a near free-fall, complete with pyro and effects on the way down, and a quick strobe + total blackout with a crash right before it appears to crash into the audience (there would be enough room left for it to safely decelerate in the dark). Or at least, this is how I would design it.
However, what I saw was a bit disappointing. While the pyro effects were certainly there (I had also heard that it released plastic shards of "glass" onto the audience, but I couldn't see that), the chandelier's "drop" was actually more of a controlled downward movement, with the winches alternating speed to give it a bit of a shake as it came down. Now, granted, it wasn't exactly slow, but it wasn't nearly fast enough to be shocking - in fact it almost felt a little gimmicky.In my opinion, the original chandelier was much more effective in that (at least from my memory), it actually looked like it was falling onto the stage. Watching a video of the original on YouTube, it appears to fall just as slowly as in the new production.
So I guess my question is, does the technology simply not exist to drop something as if it's in free-fall for a short period of time? Are there not any commercially available winches or motors within the industry that can drop something that quickly?
I swear I've seen this effect done before, whether it was in another production or within the theme park industry or somewhere else. Is it just not possible, or did the production team simply decide against a rapid fall for Phantom for whatever reason?
Thanks for any insight!
P.S. The new production also has a new vanishing illusion, and it is much more effective than the original, in my opinion. I won't spoil it here, but suffice to say it's pretty awesome.
I just saw the new US touring production of Phantom of the Opera tonight! It was excellent, although very different from the original in terms of staging. It was probably the most technically complex stage production I've ever seen, outside of Cirque in Vegas.
As you may or may not have heard, the chandelier in the new production no longer rises and falls from the stage in the beginning of the show and at the end of the first act. Instead, it is rigged at two points on vertical winches, and also is outfitted with a rather large repertoire of strobes and pyro effects.
I had heard prior to seeing the show that at the end of the first act, the new chandelier drops vertically onto the audience (stopping just above them, obviously) in a rather shocking manner.
I was expecting the chandelier to suddenly drop into a near free-fall, complete with pyro and effects on the way down, and a quick strobe + total blackout with a crash right before it appears to crash into the audience (there would be enough room left for it to safely decelerate in the dark). Or at least, this is how I would design it.
However, what I saw was a bit disappointing. While the pyro effects were certainly there (I had also heard that it released plastic shards of "glass" onto the audience, but I couldn't see that), the chandelier's "drop" was actually more of a controlled downward movement, with the winches alternating speed to give it a bit of a shake as it came down. Now, granted, it wasn't exactly slow, but it wasn't nearly fast enough to be shocking - in fact it almost felt a little gimmicky.
So I guess my question is, does the technology simply not exist to drop something as if it's in free-fall for a short period of time? Are there not any commercially available winches or motors within the industry that can drop something that quickly?
I swear I've seen this effect done before, whether it was in another production or within the theme park industry or somewhere else. Is it just not possible, or did the production team simply decide against a rapid fall for Phantom for whatever reason?
Thanks for any insight!
P.S. The new production also has a new vanishing illusion, and it is much more effective than the original, in my opinion. I won't spoil it here, but suffice to say it's pretty awesome.
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