Pillow in drop box

[samuelfront]

Hi,

For a play we're doing, the director wants a pillow to come from a drop box rigged to the battens, and the research that I've done show that the best way to do this is to rig up a pin actuated by a solenoid, but I can't envision for the life of me how that makes the drop box open. Could someone explain how that's done, and if there's a better way?

Thanks,
Samuel

 

[DuckJordan]

Basically you build a box that the pillow sits in, the solenoid holds teh bottom of the box shut untill power is presented to the solenoid gravity opens the bottom of the box and the pillow drops.

 

[samuelfront]

Hi,

Okay, I'm sort of seeing it, but where should the solenoid go? I think two panels on the bottom is the way to go because then the pillow comes straight down instead of falling to one side (is that a worry?) but then the solenoid hangs about an inch below the panel (since the pin can only go in the middle of the solenoid) and the pin won't keep the panels closed. Have I got something wrong here?

Thanks,
Samuel

 

[DuckJordan]

That seem right?

 

[techieman33]

Does it have to be in a box? you could sew a small loop onto the pillow and put the solenoid through it. Or even just use a wire pin with some guides and a pull string. Personally I would go for the pull string, especially if it's a small theater or a quiet scene, solenoids can be loud.

 

[samuelfront]

That seem right?View attachment 8729

This helps clear things up a bit—I'll have to look at it a bit more, but it does help.

Does it have to be in a box? you could sew a small loop onto the pillow and put the solenoid through it. Or even just use a wire pin with some guides and a pull string. Personally I would go for the pull string, especially if it's a small theater or a quiet scene, solenoids can be loud.

No, there's technically no need for a box. I'm not sure what you mean by a wire pin with guides and a pull string, though—could you explain how that would work?

Thanks,
Samuel

 

[techieman33]

You would have a pin attached to a piece of string, thin rope etc. The pin would run through 2 supporting guides on the batten with the loop in the pillow between them. You'll really want 2 loops, one at each end of the pillow to keep it in line, especially if space is tight. The string would then run down the pipe with more guides as needed to a small pulley at then end (a pulley probably isn't really needed for something this light weight). Then the string would run to the deck. When you want the pillow to fall you just pull the string.

 

[gafftaper]

Techieman's drawing is the way to go. Keep it simple.

 

[jlusardi]

Check out this thread...http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/special-effects/26437-what-would-you-do-rigging-shoe-drop.html

We dropped a boot from our "drop-box"...I posted a picture of what we ended up doing. We did not use a solenoid. Just tieline running along the batten to our loft and we pulled the string from there on cue. We still have our "drop-box"...I can try to get a better photo if you would like.

 

[littleowl]

If the pillow is small enough and can't be seen from the audience, maybe it's best not to actually put it inside the drop box but up there above the stage? We had a gas mask rigged up to fall from where a drop box was but not actually inside it, it was easy to rig it up with string and to pull it from the stage manager's desk. It was nice also that the gas mask looked like just another lighting instrument among all the others because of the mouthpiece.