What are some creative ways that you guys have tortured your knowledge-lacking light crew noobs? I'm out of ideas and we have a couple of lighting crew noobs coming in this semester. One year we told them that all the gels needed to be washed. Another year we told them to go find us a cord strecher in the shop. Any other ideas?
Messing with the noobs
- Thread starterelliot47
- Start date
Make sure you balance out all the teasing with teaching.
Are you sure that's how you want to "welcome" new techs? Watch out. Some of them might actually know something when they get there. That could be a great way to be very "disliked", shall we say, by your peers, who you then have to work with later. If you must annoy people, try Derekleffew's approach:
Education through fear and intimidation is my most effective tool!
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We used to have non major techs who had to work in the shop for class lab hours, it's not specifically lighting but when they were in the way the two favorite lines were to get the board stretcher or the henway. 5 minutes later theyd ask someone what's a hen weigh? Standard response was, about 3 pounds
Now that's good!
shiben
Well-Known Member
Most every place has some sort of light teasing/hazing if you want to call it that going on with the new people. Especially in a high school/college setting, it can be fun if its not very serious, and actually can help build a tighter unit, by creating a common/shared experience. The key is that its silly not dangerous or mean. Asking for the board stretcher, a henway, or light stop cans are silly, not serious, and if you dislike someone because they play a joke on you as the new guy, you need to do a reality check. People will always give the new guy crap and most people accept thats part of it and carry forward the tradition. The ones that dont get disliked. As for the ones that "know something"... Those are the ones I tend to worry about at a college level. Would worry more at a High school level, but have not been there in a while. They are the ones with the egos, and something is about the extent of what they know...
I would discourage nOOb pranks in high school. A prank in high school can be devastating to the new person who wants to fit in especially freshmen who are often still struggling with their personal identity. So, in high school pranks should really be saved for people who already are part of the group. By college we are more sure of ourselves and willing to laugh at ourselves.
On the other hand, I've used the old "board stretcher" myself on my college students several times, while I was the teacher. I had one beautiful moment mid load in when things weren't lining up well. I turned to a student who was always a little too sure of himself and whom I knew was often full of crap. I asked if he knew where I keep the board stretcher in the shop and he insisted he did. He disappeared for about 10 minutes as he searched for it. Eventually returning with a set of giant 36" clamps. Good times for all! It was a good unifying moment for the crew. But don't do them in high school, you don't know the person or how fragile they may or may not be. You can really ruin someone with bad timing on a prank in high school.
On the other hand, I've used the old "board stretcher" myself on my college students several times, while I was the teacher. I had one beautiful moment mid load in when things weren't lining up well. I turned to a student who was always a little too sure of himself and whom I knew was often full of crap. I asked if he knew where I keep the board stretcher in the shop and he insisted he did. He disappeared for about 10 minutes as he searched for it. Eventually returning with a set of giant 36" clamps. Good times for all! It was a good unifying moment for the crew. But don't do them in high school, you don't know the person or how fragile they may or may not be. You can really ruin someone with bad timing on a prank in high school.
I agree with Gaff, Good natured ribbing goes a long way to help camaraderie but it can be devastating to younger folks. That being said, My favorite shop gags were to send someone to the local store to get more spirit level fluid 'cause it was time to change it out and we could get going 'till they came back with some. Along the 'Wood Stretcher" line I'd wait for them to come back with something and I'd say, " No that's the Metric one I want the standard wood stretcher!"
randomtangentsrme
Member
I managed to get a crew member to spend 20 minutes looking through a small storage container for multi-hued paint.
It has to be there- look again.
Bless him. Not until 4 of my other guys were standing with me watching him that he finally looked up and realized we were having him on.
PS. If at first they don't believe, remind them how amazing Live performance technology is.
It has to be there- look again.
Bless him. Not until 4 of my other guys were standing with me watching him that he finally looked up and realized we were having him on.
PS. If at first they don't believe, remind them how amazing Live performance technology is.
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jxgriffi
Active Member
Oh how I loved watching that!!!!
MPowers
Well-Known Member
A few years back while serving as TD for a very large outdoor summer gig, the ME sent one of the naive young electrics apprentices into town for a sky hook. We're out doors. We're rigging things from and between 40' tall towers. To the young and uninitiated, that sounds like a reasonable request. The first place she stopped at told her they were out but gave her the contact for another company. When she got to the second place, they took pity and decided she had suffered enough. So....they let her in on the gag and sent her back with a 5' tall, 2500# crane hook in the back of the truck and a $3500 "bill" for the ME, plus a $300 loading fee and another $300 fee for off loading on return. That was 30 years ago and I still remember the look on the ME's face when she showed him the hook and the bill. He didn't pay with master card, but it WAS "PRICELESS" !!!!
My 10th grade science teacher sent one of my more air-headed classmates down to the main office to get "fire proof matches". She came back and said that the front office had told her they were out.
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Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
MPowers
Well-Known Member
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