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Flying a person


adonex

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Ok, so,

 

Been called in to do a school concert with a number of hit musicals. The unusual thing about this is that they are performing the hit song "Defying Gravity" and they are wanting to lift someone up without using cables.

 

They do not have much of a budget and I was thinking about using a camera boom type system with a platform that the character will stand on while her dress covers it.

 

Not exactly sure how to go about this one lads.

 

Thanks for any advice!

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It's simple, don't.

Firstly the system you describe isn't as simple as you describe, by the time you've got a wide enough base to be stable, enough counterbalance weight to make the movement even vaguely smooth and enough structural integrity to be strong enough to cope with all the forces at work you can kiss goodbye to hundreds of pounds on metalwork alone. It's also just not as simple a design as you think it is either. There are "off the shelf" performer lifting systems out there that do what you want, you won't get much change from £7000 for a really cheep one.

Add in to this the legal and moral issues when "flying" performers and all the extra time and rehearsal this sequence would need and sadly this is just a non starter. It's also VERY difficult to sing when you're being thrown about on a lift or harness.

Point out that the system they used in wicked cost the same as a house (and involved a dozen experts) and then convince them to spend their time and money on an original staging, better lights/sound and 101 other things that will have a much better effect on th show.

T

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A few years ago, the Chuckle Brothers had a camera type rig made to lift a person (Barry) and a reliant robin fibreglass shell, that was cut down the middle and rejoined. The arm had a huge amount of weights on it and the frame was oversized to cope with it all, then it was pushed around the stage to do the illusion. Far too big, and unless you have a decent welder (as in the person not the machine) far too difficult to build. Other systems with an arm and weight bucket exist for lifting just the person, but again, end up using 4 burly people to make them work, and they are extremely dangerous. Professionals wanting the illusion could hire them from the usual suppliers - my favourite being The Twins but it will cost you, and they will insist on proper training and safety systems before they hire to you - that's how dangerous it can be.
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A slightly less impractical way of doing something like this might be to build a hydraulic scissor lift with deck into the stage (/a stage extension). We hired a couple from litestructures a while ago; granted, they were 8x4s mounted on top of the scissor, but with a bit of creative dressing you might be able to make it work somehow - perhaps presenting it short side to the audience. Obviously things to consider might include a handrail (disguised as something else) for the artist to hold on to etc etc.

 

[This is all with the caveat of 'if you don't know what you're doing don't do it' etc]

 

In fact, the more I think about it, you might just need to think about the staging. Big billowing dress, and someone slides on a set of wide treads behind the artist. The artist walks backwards up the steps, raising themselves 3' off the ground. Depending on the scale of the stage and/or performer, that might be enough to give the illusion without spending megabucks (or causing a H&S nightmare).

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...and unless you have a decent welder (as in the person not the machine)...

A welder is the machine; a weldor is a person.

 

Source: a book I have had since a kid, I think its title is the welding engineer's pocket book, and this is probably the only thing I can recall out of it!

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do you have suitable insurance to cover performer flying as this is exactly what you are doing? do you have experience in performer flying?

 

looking at your profile it says you are a student. I really would not touch this with a barge pole. sorry but it is dangerous stuff and without the correct experience (which cannot be gained from asking a question on a forum) you are ill equipped for this.

 

nothing more to say really

 

:)

 

 

TM

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I think I have an idea with no moving parts that should give a decent effect. :)

 

Jet pack? ;)

 

Seems you're going to have to ask a bit more suspension of disbelief from your audience. Which could be a good thing if you manage to take them with you. All the safety blah blah aside, something imaginative and fun is likely to be a lot more memorable than a poorly executed flying gag.

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Actually when scissor lifts were mentioned above, it's a good way of doing it, without the risks involved with suspension via harness.

 

I have done man-lift with loads of smoke many times and it usually looks fine.

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Actually when scissor lifts were mentioned above, it's a good way of doing it, without the risks involved with suspension via harness.

 

With other risks all of it's own however, and likely no more compatible with a school production on "not much of a budget" than a flying gag.

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Actually when scissor lifts were mentioned above, it's a good way of doing it, without the risks involved with suspension via harness.

 

I have done man-lift with loads of smoke many times and it usually looks fine.

Hmmm...

 

Did you miss that this was a school production?

And unless it's one of your high-flying private schools, I'm guessing they wouldn't have the budget to hire in a scissor lift, nor the requisite experience in how to use one safely, even IF they can get it on to stage (and off when not in use)...

 

 

 

 

:o

 

 

 

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Actually when scissor lifts were mentioned above, it's a good way of doing it, without the risks involved with suspension via harness.

 

I have done man-lift with loads of smoke many times and it usually looks fine.

Hmmm...

 

Did you miss that this was a school production?

And unless it's one of your high-flying private schools, I'm guessing they wouldn't have the budget to hire in a scissor lift, nor the requisite experience in how to use one safely, even IF they can get it on to stage (and off when not in use)...

 

 

"One of my high-flying private schools" ?

 

Again, there was no mentioned made of budget. Why all the assumption? Give the OP their options and let them choose! They may not be so familiar with performer flying options but I'm sure they can manage a "can we afford this" kind of assignment.

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"One of my high-flying private schools" ?

 

Again, there was no mentioned made of budget. Why all the assumption? Give the OP their options and let them choose! They may not be so familiar with performer flying options but I'm sure they can manage a "can we afford this" kind of assignment.

Just how many state run schools have you actually worked with? Whether they're grant funded or Academies or A N Other there are precious few out there that a) have any viable on-tap real-world expertise on their staff who can make anything more than basic stage tech work (and many that don't even have that) or b) have any sizeable budget to spend on creating an effect for a single song in a school concert.

 

As Alister has already pointed to, the words 'not much of a budget' gives us the skinny on point b).

 

But whilst you MAY have experienced a handful of schools who DO have the requisite staff and money to go the extra mile, the numbers of those in the state school arena are very few and far between.

 

Around here, there are probably 7 or 8 secondary schools and in my personal experience NONE of them have the staff available.

 

SOME of them can negotiate budgets for full productions, and as it happens, I've worked with 3 of them over the years to make the best of what they have and can afford to bring in. But to a one, they'd baulk at the idea of spending around £100 (cheapest I've found was £95, then £75 delivery costs) plus the VAT to hire in a mobile scissor lift for just ONE section of ONE song. That plus the need for realistically having someone MEWP trained to operate it and properly RA the act. PLUS making arrangements for the ascension to said MEWP by the singer, all of which would need to be done with suitably masking lighting/fog effects... And all with minimal time available to set that up and rehearse it properly.....

 

So before you use the exceptions to the rule as the norm, please remember that some of the people posting here actually work regularly with schools/colleges (Paul in particular).

 

I don't think ANYONE here would ever say that schools CAN'T do special and unusual things and do them well - but experience shows that most schools don't have he budget or experience to carry them off (or indeed the confidence from the management to allow them to try.).

 

 

 

 

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Yet again we need a 'Like' button.

 

From my agreeably very limited experience of working (free!) with four state schools in two counties, I can relate closely to what Paul and Ynot have experienced.

 

Spending the sort of money that would be needed is just impossible within available budgets.

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