Tales of Stupid
- Thread starterGrog12
- Start date
Well, here's a story of my own stupidity: This summer, after some renovations had taken place in my high school's theater (just new house lights and sound baffling), I came in the theater a few times to check things out. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the lights to work. I figured the dimmer rack had just been disconnected from its power supply for some reason during the renovations, but it was on and I was able to turn the lights on from the rack. The Innovator's patching was perfectly normal, so I had no idea what was going on.
Then I realized that the grand master was at 0%.
In my defense, I never use that thing except during fadeouts of scenes involving more than one submaster. My directors do whenever they use the board, but I really don't see the point of taking the master down when I have all the channel and sub sliders down and the dimmers automatically go to 0 on board shutdown anyway.
Then I realized that the grand master was at 0%.
In my defense, I never use that thing except during fadeouts of scenes involving more than one submaster. My directors do whenever they use the board, but I really don't see the point of taking the master down when I have all the channel and sub sliders down and the dimmers automatically go to 0 on board shutdown anyway.
marshmolly123
Member
Perhaps he meant so you could aim them?
JChenault
Well-Known Member
I wish there was a way to disable the grand master during performances.
I'm sitting there on opening night for Secret Garden where I designed the lighting. The show is pretty dim - but I did not make it THAT dim. It is so bad I consider getting out of my seat and seeing what is wrong - but I unwisely took a seat in the middle of the aisle.
At intermission I go to the light booth and see that the Grand Master is at 70%. Second act looked a lot better.
Sigh
I'm sitting there on opening night for Secret Garden where I designed the lighting. The show is pretty dim - but I did not make it THAT dim. It is so bad I consider getting out of my seat and seeing what is wrong - but I unwisely took a seat in the middle of the aisle.
At intermission I go to the light booth and see that the Grand Master is at 70%. Second act looked a lot better.
Sigh
ptero
Active Member
Totally identical story w/a show I designed. Lit it, opening night, sitting in the middle of a row, GM at 70% for act one. And it was a dim show to start with. wow.
On the ETC console at that theatre you can, and we did, disable the GM. It has remained disabled ever since. Maybe 5 years now. No one has any reason to need it in that space.
You should bring it down because it drives some of us crazy.
Wait, are you saying you prefer for someone to bring down the GM when you're going home at the end of the day? What possible advantages would this have? I personally hate it when people do this, because if I'm using the RFR from the deck, I don't want to have to run all the way up to the booth just to bring up the GM before I can bring up channels.
On the Express we have at school, the Blackout button can be disabled, but the GM seemingly cannot. We always disable the blackout button before going into techs, but its really annoying to suddenly notice that the GM had been bumped down a little bit halfway through a show. I almost always program a GM into the Eos before techs just in case they need to use it, but I always get rid of it before final dress.
edmedmoped
Active Member
This was many moons ago, I was eighteen and SM a major musical for the local community players group. The lighting board was located in the SR wing. We bring up the first scene, everything looks fine. The Director, a local legend, sends a note back that the lights are too dark. The board op tells me she is running the cues as written so I tell her not to worry about it. Scene two, same thing. Scene three another note, so I decide I am going to FOH to find out what is going on. I see the producer who asks what's up, so I tell her. She says she will handle it so I go back to the stage. The producer goes and asks what is going on, to which the director says the stage is dark and I won't fix it. The producer told her to take her sunglasses off. 
The GM certainly can be disabled on the Express as I just did it to my 72/144 this past week. The GM was starting to get a little flaky - you'd have to push the fader sideways to get it to register, otherwise it would drop to 0. It started off not too bad - it'd happen once in a great while, I'd slide it up and down a few times, and then it would be fine for a while. However, this past week during tech rehearsals, I couldn't get it to stay at 100% at all. I was starting to worry as the show opened on Friday and there wasn't enough time to get it fixed. I was walking across the stage doing some other work, when I had an "Ah Ha" moment and I remembered seeing a menu option that would disable the GM. I started looking through the menus and found where it was. Score! So the show went off fine, and I will be making a trip over to Middleton (since it's only about 45 minutes away - shame on me for not taking care of this problem sooner) one of these days to have the GM fixed, and one other channel fader that doesn't go any lower than 4%.
Anyways, to change the function of the GM
Go to System Settings page
#10 - Master Type
Your options are
0-Fully Disabled
1-Grandmaster
2-Sub Grandmaster
3-Scenemaster
It's on page 19 of the owners manual.
Michael
gcpsoundlight
Active Member
I've done some stupid things...
1) - Planning for a formal, I forgot to check with the other lighting guy how many Par56 cans he had. I thought 16, actually 4!! Subsequent calls to the hire company resulted.
2) - Same gig, as I was patching the desk (maxim S), I had covered up the extra functions under the faders. I then spent 30mins trying to find the patch button!
3) - this one is not mine, but i think it has to go up. Working on a medium sized show, the LD hired 4x 4 Par 64 bars with looms. Trouble is, the loom is the same for regular (240v) cabling, as it is for the pars (120v). $350 on globes later, and it was only when I dug around in the cable box and found the right end that he realised what he had done!
4) This one is kind of ironic. Jamming on my guitar running on a mackie desk into some decent computer speakers (too cheap to by an amp!) I thought, "The Music is not loud enough!". Play a power chord, BANG and the amp made my room smell like the magic smoke for the rest of the week!
So there is my contribution to the stories.
1) - Planning for a formal, I forgot to check with the other lighting guy how many Par56 cans he had. I thought 16, actually 4!! Subsequent calls to the hire company resulted.
2) - Same gig, as I was patching the desk (maxim S), I had covered up the extra functions under the faders. I then spent 30mins trying to find the patch button!
3) - this one is not mine, but i think it has to go up. Working on a medium sized show, the LD hired 4x 4 Par 64 bars with looms. Trouble is, the loom is the same for regular (240v) cabling, as it is for the pars (120v). $350 on globes later, and it was only when I dug around in the cable box and found the right end that he realised what he had done!
4) This one is kind of ironic. Jamming on my guitar running on a mackie desk into some decent computer speakers (too cheap to by an amp!) I thought, "The Music is not loud enough!". Play a power chord, BANG and the amp made my room smell like the magic smoke for the rest of the week!
So there is my contribution to the stories.
shiben
Well-Known Member
As for the running light question, at least put them on a dimmer so that you dont need to bust out the flashlight to get the plug back in. Or have someone man the switch, or something. Just pulling plugs is gonna result in badness. On a stupidity note, once a guy that I worked with had to explain to the orchestra director that a person needed to go up and move each light, because the director assumed that they moved themselves. After going up in the lift, he started understanding.
WestlakeTech
Active Member
Not sure if I've already mentioned this on CB, but here goes...
So last year, we had our "Holiday Spectacular show" at my high school. Since our PAC was undergoing renovation, we were using the gym, and not as much or as good equipment as we usually would. However, we had one problem that just baffled me...
The show would finish when some girls in Rockette-ish costumes performed a dance in front of four christmas trees, complete with lights. One night, only one of the trees lit up and it just looked really stupid. What's the problem?
Well, 3 of the trees were plugged into a very short three-receptacle extension cord, and that was plugged into the quad box at the back of the stage. The one tree that was on was plugged directly into the quad box. (all of the lighting cords could have reached the quad box) So when the ext. somehow came out during a scene change, nobody realized it until it was too late and only one set of lights was plugged in. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? FOUR trees... FOUR receptacles in a QUAD box... so who had the brilliant idea of using the extension cord?!!!!
Then again, my high school doesn't teach rocket science...
So last year, we had our "Holiday Spectacular show" at my high school. Since our PAC was undergoing renovation, we were using the gym, and not as much or as good equipment as we usually would. However, we had one problem that just baffled me...
The show would finish when some girls in Rockette-ish costumes performed a dance in front of four christmas trees, complete with lights. One night, only one of the trees lit up and it just looked really stupid. What's the problem?
Well, 3 of the trees were plugged into a very short three-receptacle extension cord, and that was plugged into the quad box at the back of the stage. The one tree that was on was plugged directly into the quad box. (all of the lighting cords could have reached the quad box) So when the ext. somehow came out during a scene change, nobody realized it until it was too late and only one set of lights was plugged in. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? FOUR trees... FOUR receptacles in a QUAD box... so who had the brilliant idea of using the extension cord?!!!!
Then again, my high school doesn't teach rocket science...
That sounds about right. We pulled a few moves like that laying cables the other day... but more the kind that took us time, not screwed anything up. I liked this one. The venue was lowering the pit after we'd set mics. I was going to ride down on it to watch the cables, but the head guy said not to because it would take a while for me to walk back up (it is a long route from the bottom of the pit to the house). So we stay in the house and hold the cables... then remember we don't have a mic in position because we needed it clear when the pit moved. So then we get to walk from house to pit and back 
We pulled a few moves like that laying cables the other day... but more the kind that took us time, not screwed anything up. I liked this one. The venue was lowering the pit after we'd set mics. I was going to ride down on it to watch the cables, but the head guy said not to because it would take a while for me to walk back up (it is a long route from the bottom of the pit to the house). So we stay in the house and hold the cables... then remember we don't have a mic in position because we needed it clear when the pit moved. So then we get to walk from house to pit and back gcpsoundlight
Active Member
Some of our Jure-Rigged stuff would make occupational health and safety people cry! We have to climb a 1 + 1/2 foot wide ladder to get to the booth where there is, horror of horror, a 24/48 jands event !!!(!!!!!!!!). And, sometimes the DMX cuts out, which is because someone "Tried" to hard wire the DMX to the dimmer. Oh well, S*** happens!
This is a tale of my own stupidity
Ok, I get into the booth after school, and decide to turn the house lights and works lights on. I'm pushing the Sub masters up for them both thinking "Come on why isnt this working" my boards on, and everything. So I'm watching my screen, then I look down and see the GM slider is down"I'm an idiot", so of course I put it to ten, and I can see the one actor who was on time...
Ok, I get into the booth after school, and decide to turn the house lights and works lights on. I'm pushing the Sub masters up for them both thinking "Come on why isnt this working" my boards on, and everything. So I'm watching my screen, then I look down and see the GM slider is down"I'm an idiot", so of course I put it to ten, and I can see the one actor who was on time...
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MarshallPope
Well-Known Member
This is involving a church sound system and a funeral which I was not scheduled to work, but heard many stories. In our sanctuary, the amps are located in a hole between the organ and the stage (Don't ask me why) and need to be switched on from that location before going back to the sound booth (or cabinet, as some brilliant person decided to abandon the booth in the balcony and place a custom table/cabinet creation in the walkway behind the middle section of pews). Anyway, off of that soapbox, the sound guy for the day went back to the booth, turned everything on right before the start of the funeral, and waited until the preacher got on stage to start. But for some reason, no sound is coming out. Sound guy proceeds to push faders up, with no success. Within a few seconds, everything applicable is up to 100%. About this time, Helpful Person realizes that the amps are probably not turned on, goes over, and flips the switch. From what I have been told, this resulted in the worst squeal in memory and there were most likely a few deaf ears for the first few minutes of the funeral service.
MillburyAuditorium
Active Member
Well, my first one is kind of strange,
I walk into the theater one afternoon and find my sound guy disgruntled and confused by the sound board, I walk over and ask whats wrong, he says "The Solo buttons aren't working." So I first go behind the board to make sure the headphones are in fact plugged in, seeing they are, i return tot he front and look at the board. I press the Mute button off and turn the Phone/Control Room knob up
I learn later he spent all day looking for the manual online and tryign different things. And hes been with us for 5 years 0_0
Ahhhh Maintenance people, where do I begin?
More the punching bag though,
Well, we recently got a new Vice Principal, who happens to be a Theater Major, so she is all game for anything we want to do, she wants to get us a real control room and what not, but that not being logical at the moment she is open for any ideas, so I get a hold of my friend who is the Engineering Department head's intern and knows a lot about building and what not, so he comes into the space, measure and makes up something for me in CAD, He gets me the wood i would need, and I go down to our towns local wood company, and the cost is a meager 100 dollars, this isn't going to be much, but we will slowly add things to it to make it my complete as money trickles in.
I show the Vice-Principal and shes all excited and everything is go, then Mr.I'm going to annoy everyone maintenance man comes in, and starts barking about how it would be blocking the egress path and how the space is for wheelchairs.
Problem number 1. The rear crossover is not supposed to be an egress path says our fire escape plans, and also, think of this. there, like many places, are two main entrances, at the head of both aisles of seats, in between the middle and side sections, so if you want to use the rear crossover, you literally have to be 2.5 feet next to a main exit :/ both doors go to the same open lobby as well.
Problem Number 2. The area he says is for wheelchairs is not, for wheelchairs, A. We have been there the last 8 years, B, I can show him the room plans, there are designated handicap seating at the front of the house, note the wheelchair lift on the stage right stairs.
So while he is blabbing on about things he thinks wont be done I can see the vice principal rolling her eyes : ) It sort of made me happy.
And originally we planned to remove the rear row of seats, which since their is a cut in in the aisle for control, there is a total of 10 seats in the whole back row, other than maybe 22 like the rest, he says he doesnt want to take them out because it "Destroys them" and htey cant be put back in. If oyu cant re-attach a seat to the floor then theres a problem.
B., No one is ever allowed to sit there in the first place, so even if they cant be replaced, who cares? We would only gain standing room.
Well, sorry for running on!
I walk into the theater one afternoon and find my sound guy disgruntled and confused by the sound board, I walk over and ask whats wrong, he says "The Solo buttons aren't working." So I first go behind the board to make sure the headphones are in fact plugged in, seeing they are, i return tot he front and look at the board. I press the Mute button off and turn the Phone/Control Room knob up
I learn later he spent all day looking for the manual online and tryign different things. And hes been with us for 5 years 0_0
Ahhhh Maintenance people, where do I begin?
More the punching bag though,
Well, we recently got a new Vice Principal, who happens to be a Theater Major, so she is all game for anything we want to do, she wants to get us a real control room and what not, but that not being logical at the moment she is open for any ideas, so I get a hold of my friend who is the Engineering Department head's intern and knows a lot about building and what not, so he comes into the space, measure and makes up something for me in CAD, He gets me the wood i would need, and I go down to our towns local wood company, and the cost is a meager 100 dollars, this isn't going to be much, but we will slowly add things to it to make it my complete as money trickles in.
I show the Vice-Principal and shes all excited and everything is go, then Mr.I'm going to annoy everyone maintenance man comes in, and starts barking about how it would be blocking the egress path and how the space is for wheelchairs.
Problem number 1. The rear crossover is not supposed to be an egress path says our fire escape plans, and also, think of this. there, like many places, are two main entrances, at the head of both aisles of seats, in between the middle and side sections, so if you want to use the rear crossover, you literally have to be 2.5 feet next to a main exit :/ both doors go to the same open lobby as well.
Problem Number 2. The area he says is for wheelchairs is not, for wheelchairs, A. We have been there the last 8 years, B, I can show him the room plans, there are designated handicap seating at the front of the house, note the wheelchair lift on the stage right stairs.
So while he is blabbing on about things he thinks wont be done I can see the vice principal rolling her eyes : ) It sort of made me happy.
And originally we planned to remove the rear row of seats, which since their is a cut in in the aisle for control, there is a total of 10 seats in the whole back row, other than maybe 22 like the rest, he says he doesnt want to take them out because it "Destroys them" and htey cant be put back in. If oyu cant re-attach a seat to the floor then theres a problem.
B., No one is ever allowed to sit there in the first place, so even if they cant be replaced, who cares? We would only gain standing room.
Well, sorry for running on!
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