eamon Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Hi all My much better half has entered into a conversation with fellow sm's with regard to doing away with the "old fashioned" prompt book. A large organisation that they are involved with has commenced looking into digitizing the prompt book including blocking, cues etc. Now she & pretty much all her compatriots are against this for a variety of reasons: a) ain't broke, don't fixb) the joy of buggy incomplete softwarec) the lack of flexibility & working on the fly. d) who benefits? There are undoubtly other issues including employee protectionism and fear of change. I am in agreement with her stance. How many times have we seen software upgrades that make a complete mess of the system for the better....?? My real query is; is there dedicated software out there that can properly digitize the SM world? Is it worthwhile and do people use it? There are some benefits to this idea especially when it comes to archiving the show. I know some SM's who run the script from MS word and add cues in etc. She and all are not being luddites in their wariness to managements great plan. They are coming at it from an unwillingness to accept incomplete software that may not be fit for purpose installed on a machine that is not fit for being a door stop - qlab users, I am looking at you! Nor do they want to hold up techs or shows with computer issues. God knows that happens enough of the time! As well as what issues the software may bring, the display area would be an issue too. Most SM's work off an A3 surface. Can't see where you would put a large monitor on the prompt desk or a tour etc. Most theatre companies would baulk at paying money for a large screen and invariably you would end up squeezed onto a small notebook pc. This is the reality in my opinion. I would be grateful if anyone can point towards a product that is acceptable and worthwhile to users. The way I see it is that invariably they will be presented with some program and expected to use it. As is the way these things tend to happen in large organisation's, the decisions often made on your behalf are rarely for your benefit. They are not against "progress" or changing practices for the better but have often been on the receiving end of poorly implemented software, programming and machines not fit for purpose without acceptable or any back up. I did a search and there was some stuff going back to 2004. Can anyone help? Eamon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 DSMs aren't exactly the most enthusiastic embracers of technology. I've known one or two of them complain vociferously when presented with a new prompt desk with a different type of switch for the cue lights, so heaven only knows what the reaction would be if one was to suggest replacing their prompt copy with something electronic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eamon Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 I concur completely with those sentiments! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 An app called "Stage Write" is gaining traction amongst choreographers, dance captains and directors ( http://www.stagewritesoftware.com/index.html) but is a long way off universal use. If they come up with a script bolt-on for the software then this has the potential to be a very powerful, all-encompassing digital SM tool as they really have nailed a method of physically documenting the stage, set and actor movements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Can you digitise all the possible issues on stage? Talent skipping a page then going back to it for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eamon Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 Hi Tom Thanks for the link. Worth a look. IMO, any software intended for replacing the pen & paper would have to be very smart & allow a lot of easy access options for the variety of events & styles that an SM would encounter. That, will ironically, bring a complexity to any program. It would truly be an interesting thing to see. Eamon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Some shows run to cue -even run to playback, but some just don't. There was a massive issue in movie CGI a few years ago when booting the CGI suite one morning took the next upgrades from the software supplier automatically and then wasn't compatible with yesterday's work, all the work had to be re done. Who is going to supply the digital hardware? will every SM be expected to supply their own? Mac/PC or something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I have called a basic show from an annotated pdf before and it worked without issue, but for many many reasons I'd not be looking to do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 My concerns include things like Mac PC and Android resolving the same document differently and all being difficult to skip a couple of pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eamon Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 I agree re which OS would be right and acceptable for this intended job. They all have their quirks. I also concur with who supplies said laptop/industrial pc(!). Nowadays (in ireland), the veritable Mickey is bring take out of the SM industry. Most SM's are expected to re-light the full production, drive the van, operate all consoles flawlessly and so on. This is all part of the race to the bottom that we are all engaged/involved in. Most SM's are expected to be fully trained in qlab and some provide their own laptops for the shows. I say all this in the knowledge that rarely does the money equate to the tools & experience at hand..... So for an SM to provide another style of software complete with machine, I do not fore see this happening. I should clarify that the SM's I am refering to are in the style of what is known as DSM in the UK. Substituting a pencil & paper approach for using an excel/ word style program works for some but is not a better way of working for obvious reasons. When you look at what goes into a book, there is more required than an mishmash of existing programs. Have any SM's encountered this push? Eamon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I'm going to mention stage write again. They HAVE solved all the issues of how to monitor, notate and track scenery, stages. Performers, props; there's even an add-on for full step by step choreography notation, and they've got it all in to a system that is working in real stage environments on some very big shows. It was thrust on to me on one show this year and I picked it up in an hour. At the moment it doesn't have any inbuilt script option but frankly finding a way to add script/text to the whole system shouldn't be difficult at all. If they did that and released an android comparable version then you'd have something that meets every criteria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marineboy63 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 What problem does the written book have that are solved by digitising? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 The sound op on this week's musical at work is on a digital script on an iPad for the first time. He's trying it in order to reduce noise and faff from page turning and to reduce the footprint of a RAT stand when positioned right out in the audience. If I get the chance I'll see what he thought of the experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiLL Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I'm not a luddite or a technophobe but I would be far happier and more relaxed going into techs with a paper script in a lever arch file, blank pages, a clean copy of the script and pens and highlighters because NOTHING CAN GO WRONG WITH IT. Also, it's a matter of seconds to pick up the script and go and sit out at the production desk for a scene or take it to a prod. meeting for reference, or even better be able to walk off with the book when you've had a major dispute with the producer (semi-joking about that last one btw, I've heard of it being done but not had to do it myself). With complex shows I always make a full photocopy of the book after the techs which can be left in a secure location in case the original goes walkabout. Also, you can wipe a mouthful of coffee off the book with only a slight discolouration left behind, I wouldn't try that with a notebook pc. Yes technology can be great, and pretty and flashy-flashy-yum-yum but really? with this? What is the actual benefit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 What problem does the written book have that are solved by digitising?That would also be my first question... It's unusual, surely, that there would be more than one copy of the master DSM book (other than as a backup) so is there actually any savings to be demonstrated? Any improvement on speed of access or readability? Would a techno-version be reliable enough under all circumstances?? Hmmm... © Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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