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Who's got knowledge of EL wire drivers? I've used EL Wire a few times in the past, and have some signs that are edged in it for a show coming up soon. I bought some small driver cubes that will supply up to 5m of wire and will be popping those into a custom box with a 3-ch DMX relay to deliver that to 2 or 3 signs at a time, but for those with 3 signs, I believe I'll be exceeding that 5m limit. Now, I have a couple of extra drivers, and was wondering whether it's possible to parallel the low voltage AC outputs up to give me the extra 'oomph' that I need, or would that be a bad idea...? I also read recently that leaving drivers/inverters with their DC input powered but with no wire in circuit may cause the driver to overheat - something I found surprising, but worrisome all the same, as my plan to use the relays to switch the feeds to the different signs means that they could potentially be powered up for 99% of the show whilst dark - tif that is correct, I'll need to look at some power management as an alternative. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of such?

Thanks, but the look I'm going for is more of a fresnel than a flood. Ta anyway.

We have a dozen or so green patt 223/743 (can't remember which) in the venue, but thanks. 🙂

Warwick could be a goer if you do have it. As for 'safe to use' if needed, there are a couple of sparkies this end who could, if needed, make it so with a little work... 🙂

Looks like I'll be good for one from Mike, as he's nearby. I suspect the carriage from Surrey would be a bit OTT, sadly for another, but thanks for the offer.

Speaking from a volunteer run community theatre PoV, this is what we publish to our users, whether they be old friends or newcomers... Policies & Procedures - The Abbey Theatre

Sorry - somehow missed that you'd offered the same, but you're right - you are a little far to come fetch from 🙂 Thanks anyway.

We start the show build Tuesday 25th Oct, after which I'll be busy til we open on Nov 2nd. But if I can't get over myself I should be able to organise a driver. 🙂

Yes, it's an am-dram company. I'm not holding out much hope for actual 20s vintage, but I reckon the 50s (Pageant) look closer than the 223/743 bodies. If you have a couple - esp with working lamps - I'd happily pop over to Brum. Whereabouts are you?

My father 'made' a lightning box in the early 70s with a tin chocolate box housing a photo-flash flood lamp in a bayonet holder and a push-button switch to control it. 🙂

Possibly equally at home in the 'props' topics, but I'll leave it here anyway. Looking for the loan or hire of a couple of 1920s era lanterns, or ones that could pass as such, to be used on a couple of rolling stands I've built. My fallback (not ideal) will be a pair of the venue's patt 223s, but I'd rather get closer to the right timeline if poss. They don't have to e workers, but if they were it would be a bonus. So - anyone got any vintage kit lying around that might suit?

You may also find that isolating the cellular network during a terrorist event (or suspect event) could be done to prevent any further potential remote triggers being used.

Induced epilepsy is most likely to be triggered by a SUSTAINED series of flashes, over an extended period of time. Whilst it is possible for just a small number to cause some sufferers to be affected, those will be in the minority. So a lightning effect with say 2 or 3 strobe flashes is FAR less likely than an extended fast-speed chase over the duration of a song, for example. Yes - it is always wise to sign that flashing lights will be used, or a pre-show announcement to that effect.

Hmmm... That would need to depend entirely on the effect you want. True lightning pretty much comes in advance of the thunder SFX of course, sometimes seconds ahead. BUT the artistic licence oft used in theatre is for them to be triggered at the same time for max effect (and that old suspension of disbelief element). :D

"Excellent luminance — sends more light back than you throw into it " Er, isn't that a little beyond the laws of physics....??? 😮

I know some of you in the BR arena know John Slater, a freelance (mainly) LX tech who I've worked with at the Brum Hippo in the past but he's worked big venues at the Edinburgh Fringe, as well as several northern dance companies amongst others. Anyway - he's taken a few weeks off working to do a charity fundraising cycle ride from Cambridge to Istanbul, and is documenting his journey with pice and anecdotes as he goes. It's a bit wet where he is at the moment - following the Rhine through Germany - but he's making reasonable progress despite that. His Just Giving page is doing quite well, but if anyone fancies popping a donation in for him, it's all going to a good cause - Alzheimer's Research UK. But if you just feel like following his progress, you can do that too, on Facespace and he's about 11 or 12 days in so far, so plenty to look at already. The Ride of Our Lives | I've done some longish bike rides but nothing on this scale | Facebook.

I've sometimes wondered whether plugging in a couple of PAR 64s and directing them in appropriate ways might be more efficient than a 2-bar electric heater... :)

One thing to bear in mind is that if those lanterns with fans have never been cleaned at all, then the problem IS still going to be there. Unless the venue has a programme of dropping everything from the grid for an annual/bi-annual clean and test, then it's not going to go away - but that is definitely the venue's responsibility.

Seriously, though, I think you now need to just stop. Stop and refer the questions to your teachers. You are, and no disrespect here, just a student and should NOT have the responsibility for sorting ANY of this out. Whilst student questions on 'how to' are welcomed (in the 'beginners' forum, to be blunt, you're really not nest positioned to actually sorting this sort of thing for the school. Your teachers, or appropriate adults (eg educational technicians) need to get involved properly and start talking to either local venue techs or theatrical hire companies in the area to get proper advice and recommendations from those who can visit the venue and give accurate advice based on the venue, the school budget, and more importantly the assessed capabilities of school staff.

Fans are all well and good, but if you're using anything that has a reasonable dispersion time then just blowing it somewhere else is just going to move the problem elsewhere.

Fans are all well and good, but if you're using anything that has a reasonable dispersion time then just blowing it somewhere else is just going to move the problem elsewhere.

What currency are you quoting in here? You started off talking $$, so renting any sort of kit at $11,000 is pretty astounding!! But on the question of suffocating actors with CO2, that's unlikely, IF the proper safety guidance is followed. CO2 hugs the floor, so unless your performers are laying down, they won't be anywhere near anything that will deprive them of breath. I'm also slightly confused as you initially said that the venue was a good sized concert hall.. So how big IS your stage??

We've already covered this but to clarify: Pukka dry ice low fog effects will 100% achieve that low lying mist rolling in over the gravestones effect, and is very likely to be the cheapest option to get that effect, especially if your school's supply of CO2 is enough to do the job. Dry ice will NOT rise as it warms up - it just evaporates into nothing. Smoke is by nature going to rise once it loses the chill applied by whatever cooling mechanism you employ. Fast disperse fluid will react in a similar way to dry ice, in that it too will disappear before it gets too high, but that again depends on the atmospheric conditions in your venue. Safety wise, yes, CO2 is a nasty substance to handle, and MUST be used with care - as I mentioned, by a responsible adult who's been shown how to do so safely. I'm not quite as paranoid as Paul on this one, although would most definitely be more so if I thought that the operation of pea soupers was being left to students... 😮

Then what you need to look at is (not surprisingly) a HAZE machine for that 'hazy vibe'

You can, but as I mentioned above, that effect has its limits. Another thing to bear in mind is that in that video, the guy is running it in his living room which is unlikely to be as potentially warm as a concert hall full of people and theatre lights - and presumably HVAC stirring the air. So the low-lying effect he shows - which is also very thin, both in content and height off the ground - is unlikely to last very long. And you have to run the smoke at a slow output so that the ice has chance to actually cool it enough to be anywhere near that effect so volume over a large space with those is not going to be practical. I've used a couple of those ADJ type machines in the past with plenty of ice cubes, or even freeze-paks and they've never really delivered anywhere near a satisfactory effect. Not tried it with CO2, but if you have dry ice, then use that for the proper effect - although make sure that's done by a faculty member or responsible adult who's been made aware of the simple safety rules for handling CO2.