Need booth advice...

[Fountain Of Euph]

Hi all.

I just began a job at a university. I am the student lights and sound (and stage and recording and props and usher and ...) Technician with the School of Music's auditorium. We are just starting to revamp the outdated systems in the auditorium, starting with lights. We are using an ETC Express (with plans to update soon). The booth is a glassed in, and is a level above the balcony(3rd floor). The stage was extended, so now the apron is not visible from the booth. We have been running the board from a FOH like position on the main floor for operas and the like, but as we start to look to more lighting, this is starting to be less ideal, since we have to run 100+ feet of cable for it, its accessible to the public, and takes a long time to set up and strike. Ideally I would like to run the board out of the booth. However, this might be impractical. Here are some ideas I have come up with so far:

-run the board from FOH or the balcony with a wireless dmx setup
-get a cctv camera, mount it on the back wall, and place the monitor in the booth so that the entire stage is visible.

Any suggestions/ discussion would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[cmckeeman]

Do you really need to run it wireless?

 

[Tofudesperado]

Wireless is not a reliable/coast effective way to run a show. One very simple option, if it is the size of the window that is blocking your view not the balcony, try putting a platform in your booth so you can sit higher and see more of the stage. I have seen this in a lot of oddly configured theaters. A CCTV is a reasonable option and you can get info red security cameras so you can even see in a black out.

 

[Vega]

You say that you are updating systems, have you considered wiring DMX to the booth? I don't know what sort of budget (or lack of) you're working with, but I would definitely consider wiring the booth for DMX.

 

[Fountain Of Euph]

we have two dmx outlets: one in the booth and one on the front of the stage. Neither are convenient places for a lights setup. The balcony edge is blocking the apron.
how much would a red cctv cost?

 

[Tofudesperado]

Well you can get a basic info red security camera for under $100. The quality will not be great but it should work to see where the actors are.

 

[derekleffew]

... a basic info red security camera for ...

Infrared. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared

See also the threads
http://www.controlbooth.com/threads/camera-type-for-a-video-feed-to-backstage.30189
http://www.controlbooth.com/threads/video-solution-for-a-bad-space.20709/
http://www.controlbooth.com/threads/infrared-cameras.13049/