Use of strobes as risk to audience?

[Dan Fischer]

We use strobes all the time as well as flicker/ color change from moving lights. We post it in large writing in the program and also mention the use of strobes and atmospherics in our pre-show announcement with our "in case of emergency' stuff.

 

[Chris Cotter]

Just wondering if any of you have dealt with an issue raised by my director when I suggested use of strobe (flashing) lights as a transitional device for a scene that is supposed to depict a rapid and unrealistic series of events. She said, "Are you nuts? We can't do that! There might be epileptics in the audience and we'd cause them to have a seizure."
I recognize that there is such a thing as "photosensitive epilepsy". See Epilepsy Foundation-Photosensitivity and Seizures. However, I have used strobes occasionally in other shows and have seen them used many more times for theatre and music productions. (I never had, nor am I aware that any of the other strobe users caused any adverse reactions in the audience.) Were they all "nuts"?
Have any of you considered this as a concern and if so, how did you deal with it? If you didn't find it to be a prohibition on strobe use, did you take any other steps to warn of or limit exposure?
Thanks in advance for your comments.

Hi In 1983 I was the light tech for a nightclub in Chattanooga Tennessee and I worked there about 7 years total time. Part of which I ran Lights on the weekends. We had a big dance floor with 4 large strobes all connected to a strobe control box. It could do simultanious flash or sequence the 4 strobes. I often used simultanious flash mode so I would get a brighter flash. I was always told to not run any sequence or pulses averaging 14 pulses per second as it was an epilepsy risk. I never had even one problem with anybody getting ill or otherwise whenever I used them for a 30 second max period and avoiding 14 flashes a second.
Chris

 

[FMEng]

So 13 or 15 pps is supposedly OK? I doubt the human body is that predictable or precise.

 

[Marco Giampa]

Just wondering if any of you have dealt with an issue raised by my director when I suggested use of strobe (flashing) lights as a transitional device for a scene that is supposed to depict a rapid and unrealistic series of events. She said, "Are you nuts? We can't do that! There might be epileptics in the audience and we'd cause them to have a seizure."
I recognize that there is such a thing as "photosensitive epilepsy". See Epilepsy Foundation-Photosensitivity and Seizures. However, I have used strobes occasionally in other shows and have seen them used many more times for theatre and music productions. (I never had, nor am I aware that any of the other strobe users caused any adverse reactions in the audience.) Were they all "nuts"?
Have any of you considered this as a concern and if so, how did you deal with it? If you didn't find it to be a prohibition on strobe use, did you take any other steps to warn of or limit exposure?
Thanks in advance for your comments.

I use the same thing in a show afew years back when a characto had to "jump through a mirror". There isnt any real risk. If using conventional blinders there is no real problem. Led stuff likke GLP JDC-1 and Atomics if strobing might be abit sketchy. Usuallu when purchasing tickets online you can put in a popup that says stuff like adult themes, flashing lights etc

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Sidebar: We mention Hot Coffee up above.

Here are the actual facts of the Stella Liebeck case, which might make you not use it as an example of frivolous lawsuits.

Or, as This Is True's Randy Cassingham points out... not:

Stella Liebeck's Case: What Really Happened - True Stella Awards

May it Please the Court: I know quite well that not all of lawsuits are frivolous abuse of the American Justice System. Many cases indeed involve real issues, real injuries, and deserve real compensation. And some don’t. That’s why I stress that you should read the cases before you judge. How...

stellaawards.com

 

[Chris Cotter]

So 13 or 15 pps is supposedly OK? I doubt the human body is that predictable or precise.

It has been researched. Check for yourself. I also said to avoid frequency around 14 pps not especially 14. I would say 10 and 18 pps to give some leeway.

 

[TimMc]

Sidebar: We mention Hot Coffee up above.

Here are the actual facts of the Stella Liebeck case, which might make you not use it as an example of frivolous lawsuits.

Or, as This Is True's Randy Cassingham points out... not:

Stella Liebeck's Case: What Really Happened - True Stella Awards

May it Please the Court: I know quite well that not all of lawsuits are frivolous abuse of the American Justice System. Many cases indeed involve real issues, real injuries, and deserve real compensation. And some don’t. That’s why I stress that you should read the cases before you judge. How...

stellaawards.com

Cassingham is no better than 'the other side' because he gets to cherry-pick his "facts" in a rebuttal that cannot be answered by the plaintiff. I did a little thermometer checking and found that none of the coffee brewing systems used at a "major corporate/banquet hotel" held coffee at the temperatures mentioned. My highly rated (by coffee snobs) home brewer brews at 190 degrees F, but the highest hold temp is 160 degrees F. Ultimately the question was "should Ms Liebeck have reasonably expected that the coffee would cause 3rd degree burns over her genital area? The answer to that question was "no."

Further, Mr Cassingham posits that Ms Liebeck's case was frivilous because McDonalds used a coffee-industry promoted holding temp; there is no evidence that McDonalds performed their own test regarding the *safety* of dispensing near-boiling beverages to drive-thru customers. Mr Cassingham is very much a 'blame the victim' advocate. The Court found that McDonald's was 80% liable for Liebeck's injuries and McDonalds then settled before final disposition. Why? Because those other injured customers could have made The Hamburger Clown look bad if their injuries were known to a jury.

That there are 24m cups of coffee served for every severe injury is of little comfort to those who *are* injured. That's like saying "well, we can cut corners on rigging because there hasn't been a human death due to a rigging failure in the last couple of years."