Amy Worrall Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Hi. I'm looking into the feasibility of using a pyro on stage for an amateur theatre pantomime. I've never used them myself before, and am pretty nervous about doing so. In a previous show I was in, our director had planned to use pyros. The equipment was set up, he tested the effect in the empty hall, and then vetoed their use since the cloud of smoke was too big for the venue. (It was a medium flash, in a small village hall — the company we hired them from sent us medium instead of small, which we tried out.) In this show, I'm working with the same director, and this time I'm production manager. He's asked me to look into the feasibility of using them again. We need one single effect per show, for the first appearance of the Fairy Godmother. We're in a community hall (seats ~150, has a raised stage). There would be cast on stage at the time, at the completely opposite side of the stage to the pyro, and the FG would not enter (from a door leading to backstage) until the flash had finished. The ideal effect would be the LeMaitre Silver Star. However, I'm concerned that it states it has hot fallout (whereas the flashes do not). I'd be going with the small size of either effect. Our stage is varnished wooden boards, so I was thinking if we use the Silver Star then I would purchase a large square of hardboard, paint it black, mount the detonator on it, and tape it to the stage, in order to avoid any cosmetic damage to the stage in the venue. Is there a significant difference in safety when using a pyro with hot fallout? I know that we'd need to make damn sure not to have it anywhere near anything at all — cast, set, side of stage, etc — but that would apply to any pyro. I realise I may get the standard "If you don't know what you're doing…" reply. I guess that's fair. I'd love to go on a course so I can be more confident about such things in the future. (We do have other people in the company who are more experienced in using them than I am, however.) The one thing I'll say in our defence here is that we're not going to be ignoring safety information and plunging ahead regardless — if we do it, I want to make sure we do it right. Thoughts? Amy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 As soon as you bring pyro's in to a show you NEED to be ensuring that absolutely ANYTHING within the potential fall-out range is suitably fire proofed (to be honest, everything should be anyway) because it will get sparks on it, you will also need a fire extinguisher specifically close to the pyro zone, you'll need suitably trained person/people firing it and being on standby to deal with any problems and you'll also have the expense and hassle of all the kit and consumables. Quite aside from the safety issue you highlight there's just a lot of cost and hassle that's probably dispropotionate to the value of the effect produced. Personally in a situation like this I would be strongly suggesting a vertical smoke machine (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AMERICAN-DJ-VF-VOLCANO-DJ-DISCO-BAND-VERTICAL-SMOKE-MACHINE-WITH-LED-FX-ADJ-/111810474719) with one of the specialist cryo fluids (https://www.djkit.com/qtx-light/vapour-blast-fluid-5lt-co2-type-blast-effect-fluid.html?gclid=CjwKEAiAstCyBRDiqu75hvnX82kSJACgYI_QS-P1ubQAdrqLuQMcX0skZV3fsYe0QsWjm8iPVZQddhoCvRzw_wcB) which I'll bet you could buy outright for about the same as the rental/consumable purchase cost of pyros, yet could be used multiple times in the show, has but a tiny fraction of the safety problems and would produce a comparable moment of magical "wow" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgallen Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 I realise this is a bit of a generalised response, but in a small amateur venue, I'd stay away from a silver star type effect and stick with a medium (or small) flash. If your director has been nervous of a "simple" flash, he/she'll have a heart attack with a silver star! To use the silver star you need to be absolutely sure of your proximity to people and combustable material. With a flash, you are generally safe at 2 metres as long as you check a rogue piece of ignited paper doesn't go astray (speaking from experience, although it distinguished itself fortunately!). Usual risk assessments apply of course. You can see videos on the Le Maitre site. Silver Star: http://www.lemaitreltd.com/p/Silver-Star-Pyropot/jdLO17E6sBM Flash: http://www.lemaitrel...hes/ZgtnFe1fdjU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Thoughts? Both Theatrical Flash and Silver Star can produce quite a bit of smoke. I've had batches of both where the smoke content was just ridiculous. These days my preferred 'panto entrance pyro' is a jet of some kind. The beauty of these is that you can get them as small as 6 feet high, or as big as 50 feet. Something like a 1/4 (second) x 6 (feet) is ideal for a small stage and produces a lot less smoke. Need something a bit bigger? How about a 1/2 (second) by 10 (feet)? I'd love to go on a course so I can be more confident about such things in the future. Where about are you? Cough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Worrall Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 I realise this is a bit of a generalised response, but in a small amateur venue, I'd stay away from a silver star type effect and stick with a medium (or small) flash. If your director has been nervous of a "simple" flash, he/she'll have a heart attack with a silver star! I think it was mainly the amount of smoke produced with the medium flash in a small hall. Our current hall is a little bigger than the one where we tried the flash, but I'd still want to make sure to go for small rather than medium! You may be right, the flash would probably be entirely impressive enough. And given the lack of hot fallout, I probably would not need to mount the detonator on a wooden square to avoid risk of cosmetic damage to the stage… correct? Amy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 ... the flash would probably be entirely impressive enough. ... The current version of the TF, especially the small size, is rather under-whelming. Lots of smoke, a bit of a 'pop', and hardly any flash. They are neither 'Theatrical' nor 'Flashy'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgallen Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Our current hall is a little bigger than the one where we tried the flash, but I'd still want to make sure to go for small rather than medium! You may be right, the flash would probably be entirely impressive enough. And given the lack of hot fallout, I probably would not need to mount the detonator on a wooden square to avoid risk of cosmetic damage to the stage… correct? Amy As Brian says, the small are pretty weak, even in a small hall. Even in our small hall I tend to use medium. Also the "coloured" ones only come in medium (but don't get too excited, the flash such as it is, is just a different colour, the smoke is still white!). If your stage is "precious" you might want to mount the flash pod onto a piece of plywood, say 12" square. We usually mount ours on a piece of 4"x1"x12" timber. Kevin ETA: Beware of smoke alarms in the venue... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Worrall Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 I'm currently seeing if I can talk the director into going for one of those vertical smoke jets instead. We could hire the Chauvet Geyser RGB for £100 (inc VAT, delivery, fluid). Or we could buy the VF Volcano like ImagineerTom suggested, for £105 plus cost of fluid. It's something to think about! Thanks for all your help folks. Amy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 An ordinary smoke machine will happily exit vertically using nothing more than a bit of 38mm waste pipe and a 90 degree bend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 An ordinary smoke machine will happily exit vertically using nothing more than a bit of 38mm waste pipe and a 90 degree bend. There's a lot more velocity in the jet made by the vertical machines though. Especially if using a steam/co2 simulator fluid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDYLASER Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Speaking with a voice of experience, please check above the stage before use. I once set fire to a lighting grid, where several years of accumulated dust ignited. Luckily no serious damage, but it did entail shuffling along a 30 foot high truss with an extinguisher. Unfortunately, that blew smouldering dust onto the stage below, where it was promptly stamped out in a strange kind of ritual dance. I was eternally grateful I got sign off from the venue before hand and added another line to future risk assessments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.