I am going to preface this by saying that
I hope that no one takes it as an attack or as me saying that someone else's way is wrong. Drafting is a very personalized thing, and also, every organization has it's own way of handling things and wants information differently.
The following is a system that works for me, and it has a lot to do with how I was taught and practical experience.
For me, a
plot is a
layout and
spacing tool. The most important information on it,
IMO, is position,
unit type,
unit number, and
channel. This of course is in addition to the standard
plot elements: key, linset schedule,
trim heights,
boom placement, notes, scale rule,
etc. If it fits in an uncluttered, easy to read manner then color and
templates, but I don't find it necessary on the
plot.
When I get a
plot in for a show I sit down with my favorite blue colored pencil (I like the ones that don't show in photo copies) and figure out where all the 2fers are. For this you need to have channels on the
plot. I draw in the ganging unless it was done for me by the LD (most times not and I prefer it this way because I find VW's gang lines annoying). After that the
plot goes out to a crew person who makes hang tapes, we use the
plot for
spacing and position info, but copy all other info from the paperwork. There is a logic to this in that we can
lay down the marks for each
unit and then pull the tape across and write out the info working from one end to the other right down the
instrument schedule.
Color and
templates are pulled based on the paperwork. Lightwright is your friend for producing counts. When it comes to framing and organizing color ad
templates, I find it much easier and efficient to
hand someone the
instrument schedule for the position and have them go at it. It has all the info in numerical order so it is easy to work straight across a
batten or down a
boom. It is also a lot more compact than a
plot.
During hang the
plot normally only gets referenced for
boom placement and
box boom hanging order. As all of our horizontal positions, be it over
stage battens or
FOH positions get a
hang tape. All you have to do is
line up the CL of the
hang tape with the CL of the
theatre and all the info is right there in front of you. Then it is really easy to
pick up the
instrument schedule and walk from one and of the pipe to the other and write down all the
circuit numbers. I find that writing things like circuits and dimmers on the
plot just make a headache later when you want to get them into the paperwork.
For focus i sit with the
plot calling channels and directing air traffic as the designer focuses. I use the
plot to keep
track of where we are and where we have been (highlighters and magnetic poetry are nice). Unless we run into snags usually I can work focus right off the
plot, I have yet to run into an LD who asked me to be calling purposes to him, but I have my paperwork there open to the position we are on, so the info is there if I need it.
After focus the
plot goes away, filed into the archives (or something). I work the rest of the run off the paperwork, why do I need anything else?
Unit 14 on the third
electric isn't going anywhere. When it comes down to it, the
plot is a significantly less organized tool than the paperwork. On the paperwork every
bit of needed info to fix a problem is conveniently located on one
line for each
unit. When you try to turn on
channel 215 and nothing happens, it is a lot faster to have a
channel hookup to look at and say "Ahh,
channel 215, that is
dimmer 35 and it is
unit 15 on the
first electric" rather than trying to find said
channel on the
plot to figure out where the
fixture is.
Go read Shelly's
book. It's scary how much stuff he prints.
I follow his logic - print everything in as many different formats as desired and necessary so that for every conceivable type of project, there's a piece of paperwork that gives the worker a
clear and understandable idea as to what needs to be accomplished.
I think that you should put as much information in as many places as possible and that it's a talent that needs to be developed as to how to draft a
plot so that it has the information needed as well as not be cluttered.
Yes, print hanging cards, but have the
spacing on the plan as well. It's a visual reference for the head elec. to look at and double check the
spacing for when the dumb assed worker read the hanging card wrong, hung the pipe and then
thru out the hanging card. How many times has that happened.
I couldn't disagree more with putting as much information in as many palaces as possible. Why? It's a recipe for disaster, especially if all of the place you put the info are not linked in some form like VW and LW. But even the VW/LW link can fall short. A designer may choose to change a color at the last minute and just put it in the paperwork and not go through the trouble of re-importing that back into VW. Many designers will tell me that if I find discrepancies between
plot and paperwork to go with the paperwork over the
plot. This makes a big difference when you are printing out a color count to pull color. This is especially true with people who are still
hand drafting, it is a real PITA to go through the entire
plot to change a color, when in LW you can just tell the color to be something else and you are done.
Also, the more places you put information the more chances you create to have discrepancies. The biggest waste of my time would be having to
call a designer multiple times to figure out which instance of information is correct. A single document with the all the pertinent information is less prone to mistakes. Besides if you are using LW, once all the info is in, you can print all kinds of useful info from one data set, but you still only have one document.
My
system has a color coded (highlined instruments)
plot that gives a quick visual indicator as which units are all going R26, or L161,
etc... We use that
plot for the
RFU operator, who sits on
stage and brings up channels for the designer. A good operator can anticipate what the designer needs next - say all the DS pools so as to match instruments. Or the DS Red
Bax, to
lay in the MS Red
Bax. You can't do this without channels on the
plot, as well as a general purpose or focus.
Not everyone has access to color plotters, so it is important to be able to understand things in black and white. I also find that multi color plots are harder to read.
As far as bringing up systems go, most designers that I work with
play out their systems in groups of channels. So if your red backlight
PAR that is being focused is
channel 22, and you have a
channel hookup in front of you, it is usually easy to see that the entire red backlight
system is channels 21-30, making it,
IMO, easier than trying to find all the units on the
plot that are PARs gelled the same color that are backlight.
Creating plots, hanging, and focusing are tasks that become very personalized. Designers, technicians, and theatres all have a way that they like to do things. This means that everyone's views on the process may be different, but it does not mean that anyone's methods are wrong.
I am going to end by reiterating that I don't want anyone to feel like this is an attack or that I am saying that there is a right and wrong way to do things. The post above is
my opinion only, and it is what works for me.
) your paperwork better be damn good.
