Ghostfish Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Hello all, As I'm sure many of you out there have done, my department are experiencing pressure in relation to the safe working practice of our tallescope, which is becoming less and less useful due to the increasing safety features added to it. My question is - does anyone out there in a recieving house with full fly height and an ever changing rig / rig height use one of these ESCA 3000's? The link to the website is below. It has come up as a possible alternative to the 'scope, however I'm having trouble finding testimonies from technicians such as myself who work in a similar venue (TR Winchester) and have replaced/supplemented their talley with one. Most of the testimonies available seem to be from the ESCA website and are, of course, glowing, but few of them are from theatres. Can anyone help out with thoughts/opinions? http://www.escauk.co.uk/esca3000-access-equipment.php Thank you in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanhill Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I have used them before, and find that they have a very limited usefulness. This is in the main due to the maximum achievable height being limited to 7m. In a venue with a pros height of 8.2, they simply do not go high enough, especially when a large chunk of the work we did was dance, with bars being trimmed at 9m. I would not want to use one on a typical box-set show, for example, as you would have to watch out for ground and flown obstacles at the same time. You may get interesting responses from touring and production lampies when you told them that the highest the bars could go out was 6.5-7m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRW Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 If you know the search trick, there's one or two topics that pop up about these! Clicky The search trick:If you type your search into google, but add "site:blue-room.org.uk" (without the quotes), you get a much better set of results than the built in forum search will give you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianl Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 So what does an esca 3000 do that an esca 2000 didn't?Other than being a whole 1000 better I demoed the 2000 when it first came out, found it very hard work to move for the more ruggedly built fellow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 What is the difference between and ESCA wheeled ladder and a Tallescope wheeled ladder? They are both wheeled ladders, are either actually suitable for wheeling about with someone in the basket? I suspect that HSE will rapidly increase the generality of their instructions that Tallies are not to be moved while there is a person in the basket to all wheeled access equipment. Just because it isn't branded Tallie it isn't exempt from all regulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Obvious issues that I believe have been raised before: Whilst the footprint of the ESCA is larger than a Talle, giving in theory a more stable groundbase, that does mean it's far more restrictive when tying to get between scenic elements, fixed or on fly-bars. It's clear from their web site video that they maybe endorse the solo working option, as most of the times the tower is moving there is noone else even near it - that to me would signal a ringing of alarm bells with the HSE sensitive brigade. And moving oneself whilst atop one of these doesn't fill me with confidence. What about all the wringing of hands that has gone before about rescue plans for someone who has, eg, an attack of sorts whilst aloft - getting said person down from an ESCA equates quite closely to a rescue from a Talle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 How will it cope on a raked stage? From what I can see from the video there doesn't seem to be any height adjustment on the wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostfish Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 Thank you all for your replies - a lot of my own fears about the ESCA seem to be common amongst you. To me, this solution just seems to be another piece of equipment not designed for theatre but possibly being adopted by it, just as the talley originally was. As I'm the one in this venue who would be up it 90% of the time, it seems a rather cumbersome bit of kit that will pull up any dance floor/floor cloth it crosses, as well as bumping into everything with the large back end. I think it would be fine for a venue with a fixed rig height and no set, but even then the work alone aspect rings alarm bells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 I was in a school a few months ago and one was on it's side in the corner. I wiggled a wheel and wondered how it worked, realising that it was a scope of sorts.Having seen the video, I'd rather go up a scope. It looks bloody hard work and risky to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Not hard work to use at all, but I'm not a regular user. If you aren't in a hurry (as we've broken up for the summer) you would be welcome to come down and have a play on ours. Not a 3000 (we've had it some time) and quite short. But, on the plus side, we're only the other side of town from you. Drop me a PM if you want a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Isn't the issue that the manufacturers of these endorse them for what they're used for, and clearly movement controlled from the top is key - whereas Telescopes are designed to be used to replace light bulbs in car parks, or other access work of that kind. Most on unsuitable surfaces. Our needs are quite different and the manufacturers for years were rather against what theatre historically used them for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerry davies Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 The entertainment industry is not technologically innovative but is extremely adaptive. The history is one of taking ideas and equipment from other sectors, improving on them and adapting them to their own needs. Hoists are a perfect example, trussing another. Basically we have "bodged" things since the dawn of time with Gaffa and string and we shall continue to steal ideas and bits of gear Years back we had a discussion on Tallies here and one of the Gareth's suggested that there needed to be a new WaH access kit which was designed from the ground up for theatre/entertainment use. It ain't gonna happen. There are too many variables and there will never be a perfect solution that fits all needs, that is why there are so many solutions. The ESCA might be one answer on flat stages with few obstructions, like the warehouse floor for which they were designed, but they are little more than narrow towers on wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marineboy63 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 What's wrong with a thumping great ladder and a strong right arm? I don't know. Young people today......etc....... On the subject of theatre stealing ideas from other areas, maybe something like this would work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L75ESD9PBOw Seems like the perfect solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marineboy63 Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 On a more serious note. There is never going to be a completely safe way of accessing lanterns at 6 - 8 metres over a busy set.That's why we are trained professionals.It's also why technical theatre training MUST include working at height instruction. I've never come across a 'safe' access system. I'm just trained to risk asses properly and plan accordingly. When properly used a Tallescope is safe. Although PAVs can be equally effective. IMO... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.