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time coding in theatre


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Hi

 

I am currently doing a lecture demonstration about timecoding on the Grand MA lighting desk. I was just wondering if anyone has done a show using timecode and what were the benefits of this?

is there is a downside to using to use timecode in theatre?

 

Also anything you know about the subject would be greatly received!

 

Many thanks!

Eleanor

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Hi

 

I am currently doing a lecture demonstration about timecoding on the Grand MA lighting desk. I was just wondering if anyone has done a show using timecode and what were the benefits of this?

is there is a downside to using to use timecode in theatre?

 

Also anything you know about the subject would be greatly received!

 

Many thanks!

Eleanor

Yeah, one little adlib and goodbye to timecode :(
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time code can be useful in appropriate circumstances. For example, an indoor show for 3 - 5 yr old children with a scene about fireworks. Animations of airbursts projected onto the four walls of the studio space - a 'white box studio' on this occasion. Fireworks sound effects and the video were run using Qlab (on the same machine - probably not best practice, but no operational problems during the run). Additional lighting chases and effects to enhance the fireworks were time-coded to match the Qlab.The whole sequence was maybe 45 seconds long. the two elements (LX and Qlab) were initiated simultaneously by a highly skilled operator (me) pressing two buttons at the same time, but it would have been simple enough to link the Ion and Mac so one triggered the other so the timecode truly controlled all elements of the fireworks sequence..

 

Pros: This was very accurately coordinated. Cons: it took a long time to programme for such a small part of the show, and was fiddly to edit when changes were made to the fireworks animations during preview - our original programmer was not available for the whole preview period, leaving us lesser mortals to muddle along. (desk was an Ion, not a GrandMA)

 

Personally I see no need to use timecode to control a whole performance, due to the unpredictable nature of live performance (and let's remember that it's not just the actors who can be unpredictable) but I can see the benefit when used to coordinate specific sections or elements or the performance, with overall control still in the hands of a flexible, quick-witted and alert human being.

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Cruise ships timecode all the time - all the production shows on Royal Caribbean are timecoded. The reason? consistancy and staffing efficiency. The show might run for 5+ years with 10+ casts being done twice a week. There is not a full orchestra and no MD/conductor and only a small compliment of singers (no chorus) so there is a reliance on tracks with backing vocals. There are also no understudy vocalists - generally if a singer is sick, they have a dancer who knows the part mime the part whilst pre-recorded "sick tracks" of the missing vocalist are used. Additionally, the Stage Manager is running automation and the stage crew - they don't have the time to call LX. The LX is also done using a very generic/versatile moving light with minimal numbers of specials - being so mover heavy there are a lot of cues. There are also a lot of desk operators - just like casts, the show may see 10+ LX operators before being decomissioned. These operators have 2 weeks to learn 3 productions shows and the rest of their duties on the ship... Many theme parks also timecode their shows - either to fit in with the ride design or just to ensure that a guest today gets the same experience as a guest in 2 weeks time.

 

Regarding AdLib - we used to have sections in the show that were non-timecoded where the talent knew they could adlib (or where audience responses often meant a hold until they calmed down) - they are easy enough to deal with - either the clock would be stopped, or it would loop - and as track also tracked timecode, we could actually achieve a moderately good vamp.

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Hi

 

I am currently doing a lecture demonstration about timecoding on the Grand MA lighting desk. I was just wondering if anyone has done a show using timecode and what were the benefits of this?

is there is a downside to using to use timecode in theatre?

 

Also anything you know about the subject would be greatly received!

 

Many thanks!

Eleanor

 

This is obviously a RWCMD student project (your fellow student Ryan has posted elsewhere - almost a carbon-copy of your post! - about his WYG vs VW 'lecture demo') - so a) it should be in the "research help wanted" section {Edit: OK, I see that it now *is* in that section! I'd swear it was in the 'lighting' section originally, so I guess a mod must've moved it. Sorry!}, and b) rather than expecting other people to do your work for you, why not tell us what you already know (what do *you* think the pros and cons are, for example?) and people can offer their own thoughts in response.

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  • 7 months later...

Thread necromancy but my 2p worth...

 

In a previous life I was Chief LX on Into The Hoods when it hit the West End and it was all time-coded on GrandMA 1. All we needed to do was start the cue stack which triggered a macro to receive SMPTE code from the AV system and off it went for 90 minutes or so. We still watched the show to spot slipped focus or maintenance issues but the timings were left to the machines.

 

All fine and dandy until the day the AV system decided to scramble the SMPTE and the GrandMA just sat in cue 1. Luckily this was a week or so into the run so I had some idea of the show but it was still several hundred cues to tightly time to a slick hip-hop dance show with little margin for error.

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I had a chat with the Chief LX on Matilda in London. The School Song is timecoded, as is, I think, one other number. The rest of the 700 cues and 100 or so follow-ons are manual.

The LX operators have to learn the cues for the School Song in case the timecode fails to operate correctly, which has happened on a few occasions. It's so packed with cues it's not possible to cue it traditionally.

 

Many sequences in The Lord of the Rings The Musical were also timecoded, to ensure LX, sound, projection and automation ran together, especially for the Battle of Helms Deep sequence where actors on stilts were doing choreography on a revolving set of scissor lifts, all moving up / down during the sequence.

 

Lighting designers love timecode, as it enables them to be spot on (ha!) with cues on exact beats of music for very cue-heavy shows. But it's risky to run a whole show in this way, especially with human actors, and the possibility of any kind of glitch. So it's not common to run whole shows on code. But sequences, certainly.

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  • 1 month later...

I personally do not like timecode. It has it uses but I am very traditional in that I'd rather have a sore finger than sit there and watch the desk do its work, waiting for the moment something screws up.

 

Yes some performances does need it but there is that always.. What if?

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