propmonkey
Well-Known Member
they hit the bottom of the loading glalery and or other objects on the y way up and let go of the rope and fall.
stupidist mistakes
- Thread starterccfan213
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DJErik07 said:
ahh ok, so that's how you are supposto do it... we dont have that. Our options are: Add the lights first when the bar is down (add weights after pulling HARD to get the bar up and the weights down), Add the weights first (pull HARD to get the weights up to put lights on the bar), Add Weights while bar is up and go up in the Geine lift and add lights (kinda defies the point of a fly system for electricals). Is there really a best way to do this?
the safe way when there is no loading area for the weights, is to (like someone mentioned) was to alternate adding a few lights and then adding weights and alternating like that. this was the system is never severly out of balance.
How often you alternate should depend on the weight of the person who will be on the operating line. ex. if the op is 120 lbs. then the system shouldn't be anymore then that. that way we prevent flying the techies.
I am a bit of a stickler for rigging safety. in my HS, before i got there, the fly system was poorly maintained, and we almost lost someone when the rope lock gave way under my watch as TD. the new rigging (put in after the accident) also failed and caused a tormentor and the rigging supporting to fall during a show, almost harming another person. THe rigging contractor the school hired was NOT certified.
How often you alternate should depend on the weight of the person who will be on the operating line. ex. if the op is 120 lbs. then the system shouldn't be anymore then that. that way we prevent flying the techies.
I am a bit of a stickler for rigging safety. in my HS, before i got there, the fly system was poorly maintained, and we almost lost someone when the rope lock gave way under my watch as TD. the new rigging (put in after the accident) also failed and caused a tormentor and the rigging supporting to fall during a show, almost harming another person. THe rigging contractor the school hired was NOT certified.
) and figured that was probably the best way.There is no certification for riggers. Each company is allowed to set their own standards. Anyone advertising they are certified is a load of crap. There are however well respected rigging groups such as- North American Association of Flying Effects Directors (NAAFED) - This organization has set forth a set of policies, but companies are not required by law to abide by it. When hiring a rigging contractor, ALWAYS ASK AND CHECK for references. If you have any doubts, find someone else.
I neglected to shut the outside door of the theatre behind me when I went inside for a tech rehearsal and my dog, Agave, decided after a while that he was bored and came in looking for me. He wandered backstage of the theatre I wasn't in and stuck his head through the curtain during a student one-act performance. Smiled nice, realized I wasn't there and walked out. Busted things up for a minute though, let me tell you. I never heard about it until the next day.
Geoff...
Geoff...
moderately_clueless
Member
I've managed to avoid major injury to myself and my pride so far, no electrocutions yet, but I'm clumsy enough to do myself in. I can maneuver around the grid just fine, but when someone sends me to find someone in the scene shop, I trip on a step only to smash my head into a door. I still have a permanent bumb on my head from that. One of my more graceful moments.
Another favorite, my first show ever and my job was to stick a pole up a trapdoor, hope the actor put it in the right place and to hold it there for a disappearing scene. (Christmas Carol, ghost of christmas future.) So, opening night, I'm nervous enough as it is after multiple people tell me, the stupid, inexperienced freshman not to screw up. So the pole failed to find it's destination, so we had a melting ghost as opposed to disappearing. This leaves me with six foot tall football player actor landing forcefully upon my head and scrooge tackling my pole, leaving me to try not to skewer him. Yeah, I had some cool scars from that night.
Another favorite, my first show ever and my job was to stick a pole up a trapdoor, hope the actor put it in the right place and to hold it there for a disappearing scene. (Christmas Carol, ghost of christmas future.) So, opening night, I'm nervous enough as it is after multiple people tell me, the stupid, inexperienced freshman not to screw up. So the pole failed to find it's destination, so we had a melting ghost as opposed to disappearing. This leaves me with six foot tall football player actor landing forcefully upon my head and scrooge tackling my pole, leaving me to try not to skewer him. Yeah, I had some cool scars from that night.
Yes the autos move
We were mounting 4 MAC 300's on our 1st electric, and everything had gone fine, tested good, a pretty lovely day. We go to grab lunch, but any staff member can get onstage cuz the stupid locks were keyed dumb. Well, director wanted to run through some scenes. We're not there, expensive equipment open to actors, and simply the fact that they're actors.
They were wired into the 1st electric worklights, and director turned 'em on and everybody marveled at the fact that they move. (Had them set to master/slave to test)
Freshman gets curious and wants to check one out while the units weren't moving. Well, finger + yoke + movement = we get blamed..
..life is great
We were mounting 4 MAC 300's on our 1st electric, and everything had gone fine, tested good, a pretty lovely day. We go to grab lunch, but any staff member can get onstage cuz the stupid locks were keyed dumb. Well, director wanted to run through some scenes. We're not there, expensive equipment open to actors, and simply the fact that they're actors.
They were wired into the 1st electric worklights, and director turned 'em on and everybody marveled at the fact that they move. (Had them set to master/slave to test)
Freshman gets curious and wants to check one out while the units weren't moving. Well, finger + yoke + movement = we get blamed..
..life is great
Smatticus
Active Member
Probably the most stupid mistake I've made was when I arrived to the Council of the Arts theater alone early one morning. They had just built the set for the upcoming performance of Rumors so I decided to walk around it to check it out. Unfortunately I didn't turn the work lights on first, I figured the house lights were bleeding on to the stage enough. I went up the stairs to a 3/4 foot high platform and walked through one of the doors (supposedly to a bedroom), I stand on the other side of the door for a second and take one step to my right, after which I fall 3 feet to the stage floor. There wasn't any kind of railing or anything, and the platform didn't continue to the back of the door right next to it, overall it was a really bad set design. Actors going through the doors had no way to get down so they just had to wait there for like 10/15 minutes until they came back on stage. That and half the audience couldn't even see the front door. And they used a rolling staircase unit for the stairs, which wasn't secured enough and rolled a little scaring an actor during rehearsal. Subsequently Martin and I made some chagnes to their set for them.
In response to the mistakes made with fly systems, Martin, my theater mentor I just mentioned, was killed two months ago in an accident similar to the mistakes some of you were describing. http://www.controlbooth.com/ftopict-2429-.html
It really is as simply as unloading a batten too much and then automatically, reflexively thinking that you can hold on to the rope even though, realistically, you know that you aren't heavy enough. He hit the underside of the loading bridge about 20 feet up and fell back to the concrete floor onto the spare weights near the fly brakes. The fly system or rigging system is definitely the most dangerous thing in a theater.
In response to the mistakes made with fly systems, Martin, my theater mentor I just mentioned, was killed two months ago in an accident similar to the mistakes some of you were describing. http://www.controlbooth.com/ftopict-2429-.html
It really is as simply as unloading a batten too much and then automatically, reflexively thinking that you can hold on to the rope even though, realistically, you know that you aren't heavy enough. He hit the underside of the loading bridge about 20 feet up and fell back to the concrete floor onto the spare weights near the fly brakes. The fly system or rigging system is definitely the most dangerous thing in a theater.
o man i have so many of these, but i only have a couple minutes.
there was the time the bar was 200lbs out of weight, arber heavy...our technical advisor never re-weighted it after playing with hit., needless to say, at the time i weighed 140lbs...and i was on the front rope(going up) with no gloves on. Normally in that situation i wear gloves(setwear hot hands or pro-leather) and run the rope through my hands on the back rope, controlling it with preassure.
there was the time some body from the tech class(but not a tech crew member) was told to go to the cove and take down a light by the teacher..the light promtly fell to the floor, damaging a seat.
There was the time at 3am i was rigging in the grid, the artistic director was working down on stage, but was told NOT to travel US of the 3E pipe, well he traveled upstage of it, and righ under me. at the exact moment the shiv anchor broke...and fell to the ground..nailing him in the shoulder. I called heads instantly, but coming from a short 25ft grid, by the time its released its too late.
ok i have to get to call..but there will be more later....
there was the time the bar was 200lbs out of weight, arber heavy...our technical advisor never re-weighted it after playing with hit., needless to say, at the time i weighed 140lbs...and i was on the front rope(going up) with no gloves on. Normally in that situation i wear gloves(setwear hot hands or pro-leather) and run the rope through my hands on the back rope, controlling it with preassure.
there was the time some body from the tech class(but not a tech crew member) was told to go to the cove and take down a light by the teacher..the light promtly fell to the floor, damaging a seat.
There was the time at 3am i was rigging in the grid, the artistic director was working down on stage, but was told NOT to travel US of the 3E pipe, well he traveled upstage of it, and righ under me. at the exact moment the shiv anchor broke...and fell to the ground..nailing him in the shoulder. I called heads instantly, but coming from a short 25ft grid, by the time its released its too late.
ok i have to get to call..but there will be more later....
My best has got to be my first show as SM, and during the second to last scene, I forgot the upcoming scene change. As our TD calls the cues and i had ages before the next scene change, i went to grab a drink; by the time i came back I found the stage crew being taught to moon walk by an actor and the TD screaming down the headset asking why I wasnt on-stage doing a scene change, NOT a good first show!
tenor_singer
Active Member
I am the only advisor for my school's drama program, meaning that I not only direct... I choreograph, construct, design plots, lay out the program, market the production, sell ad space... Needless to say, I rely HEAVILY on my good seniors.
Two spring musicals ago we were doing "My Fair Lady". My seniors at that time were not being very reliable, and more and more of the tasks that normally I would deligate to others was starting to fall on my shoulders (including the painting of 4, 42' x 15' drop scenes). We got all of them finished, but had to pull an all-nighter (something I could do during my young-buck college days, but sure can't do now that I am ... let's just say "a little beyond college"). I was exhausted.
During our Friday AM show for the students, we had a plug end burn up (somehow one of the leads loosened and created a butt-load of heat... you all know the smell... rotten fish). After school, I decided to just cut that end off and put on a new plug end. I asked the student who was incharge of the light board to power down the board AND unplug that light lead from the dimmer. He did.
I cut the cord and *phwaaaap*. Luckily I did not get shocked. We later learned that a lot of our cords got mislabeled and the cord I was working on still had power and was plugged into a different satellite dimmer... which explains why a certain effect just wouldn't work during the show's run.
More luckily... I am the only person who fixes electrical items that somehow go bad during a show so none of my students got hurt (I do let them make jump cords... I double check them though... just nothing that could possibly already be powered).
I guess exhaustion + electrical work = ... too spooky to think about.
Two spring musicals ago we were doing "My Fair Lady". My seniors at that time were not being very reliable, and more and more of the tasks that normally I would deligate to others was starting to fall on my shoulders (including the painting of 4, 42' x 15' drop scenes). We got all of them finished, but had to pull an all-nighter (something I could do during my young-buck college days, but sure can't do now that I am ... let's just say "a little beyond college"). I was exhausted.
During our Friday AM show for the students, we had a plug end burn up (somehow one of the leads loosened and created a butt-load of heat... you all know the smell... rotten fish). After school, I decided to just cut that end off and put on a new plug end. I asked the student who was incharge of the light board to power down the board AND unplug that light lead from the dimmer. He did.
I cut the cord and *phwaaaap*. Luckily I did not get shocked. We later learned that a lot of our cords got mislabeled and the cord I was working on still had power and was plugged into a different satellite dimmer... which explains why a certain effect just wouldn't work during the show's run.
More luckily... I am the only person who fixes electrical items that somehow go bad during a show so none of my students got hurt (I do let them make jump cords... I double check them though... just nothing that could possibly already be powered).
I guess exhaustion + electrical work = ... too spooky to think about.
kingfisher1
Active Member
I heard a story once about a pretty well know shakespere company. they weere in the midedle of Henry IV or some similar scene and the two leads had to do a fight scene at which one of them dies. fight choreographer did his job and everything look lovely until one of the actors (the one who ends up victorious at the end of the scene.) accidently stabs the other and draws a worrisome amount of blood. But the show must go on! the wounded actor finished his scene and ad-libbed off stage as fast as he could. he was rushed to the hospital and eventually recovered. However, the next day soe critic of the show made the comment, "I very much enjoyed the play however the fight aty then end of act II may have bit a bit overdone."
Man, if your blood looks to real the critics call you a fake. talk about irony
Man, if your blood looks to real the critics call you a fake. talk about irony
Ah' the days of all nighters or many days straight. And they used to warn me about "once you hit 30 your life will change." As if...
For me, I have a Fluke AC-1 voltage sniffer that travels with me when ever I get up from my work table. Now if only it's range could be expanded so that it can sense voltage from my shirt it's clipped to as opposed to having to actually un-clip it and put it next to the wire.
More of a challenge for me is in remembering to un-plug the gear I note a problem with before I open it up to explore. Even while sitting at my work table and having the plug within arms reach, I often forget. Been zapped or close to enough a few times in getting over ambitious and forgetting to unplug the equipment. Constantly have to have a second look to verify before I touch what might not have good results if I touch because I at this point never know for sure if I remembered that first step.
For me, I have a Fluke AC-1 voltage sniffer that travels with me when ever I get up from my work table. Now if only it's range could be expanded so that it can sense voltage from my shirt it's clipped to as opposed to having to actually un-clip it and put it next to the wire.
More of a challenge for me is in remembering to un-plug the gear I note a problem with before I open it up to explore. Even while sitting at my work table and having the plug within arms reach, I often forget. Been zapped or close to enough a few times in getting over ambitious and forgetting to unplug the equipment. Constantly have to have a second look to verify before I touch what might not have good results if I touch because I at this point never know for sure if I remembered that first step.
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