IRW

Absolute best way and most fool-proof way would be to hand them a Macbook (for basic SFX it could be a cheap and cheerful £200 to £300ish one from Ebay- doesn't have to be top of the range) running the free version of QLab with all your cues pre-programmed such that they just need to hit spacebar to run each one. This way you could set all the individual respective levels in your first venue, then at subsequent venues you just set the master level on the house console. For your continuous effect that gets balanced live (or indeed, any cue), it would be perfectly reasonable to set this at a base level in your QLab file, and ask the technician to ride the faders as they see fit during that cue. As someone who has toured, and worked in receiving houses, I can guarantee this method will be met with smiles and relief from your house techs as it will make their job ten times easier and more straightforward!

QLab is extremely easy to use at a basic level- when I worked in a secondary school, some of the teachers even put together their own Qlab files and just handed them to me on a USB stick when their student's shows came into the venue.

Sorry to bring up this old thread again but I have now encountered a similar issue and am wondering what the resolution to this was?

You'll be lucky- the OP's three posts were on this thread, and they've not logged on since a few days after posting this 10 years ago...! Hopefully someone else will be along in the meantime who can help.

One thing that seems fairly insignificant but has quite an impact for me here is that RS seem to have a decent recyclable packaging policy. Stuff is wrapped in paper/card and the 'Jiffy' bag equivalent is also all paper.

 

Farnell has more traditional poly bubble wrap and paper combo bags (and always seems to send more distinct packages per order!). Granted, these are designed to be split into their component materials unlike the old style but it's an extra faff and I don't have quite as easy methods of recycling the bubbles and it tends to pile up.

Good point, but does anyone else end up completely obliterating the paper 'jiffy' bags trying to find their item within?! I can never seem to find the right bit to open!

Well, I thought I'd give RS a bash on the next item. However, 'thing' may be half the unit price at RS when compared to Farnell but on this occasion it would involve buying 'thing x 5' for an item that I may well need #2 of 5 in perhaps 10 years time or never need another 'thing' ever again. Life is such a lottery, huh?

 

 

So 1 x thing ordered and charged to customer.

I really don't understand how there can be so much discrepancy on some items. Following on from my earlier post, I needed an uncalculated quantity of 100 Ohm resistors, but I knew if I got 200 or so I'd have plenty. RS was £0.127 EACH for a pack of 10, or £0.004 each for a pack of 5000. Therefore either costing me £25 for 200 or £20 for enough to last me (and probably my descendants for the next few generations) a lifetime. Not to mention the fact I'd need to dedicate a few more component drawers to them. Hop over to CPC however, and it's £0.55 for a pack of 100, with £4.99 handling, making a grand total of £6.09!

Some basic NPN Transistors however, are £0.116 each (in a pack of 10) from RS, so a quantity of 10, including free delivery, come to £1.16. Back in CPC land, the same transistors are £0.06 each, buuuut you have the £4.99 handling charge, so suddenly RS is cheaper.

It takes a bit longer, but I've taken to running simultaneous baskets when I have an order to place now. Especially if it's something I can wait a few days for, and whichever comes out cheaper gets the order. In normal times when I have money coming in (and less time on my hands), I suppose I'd probably just find a tool I need to add to the CPC order to make it up to the free delivery amount!

No mention of stand-height in the spec, but maybe more front-light than top-light ??

I did check that...Stand height up to 1.8m. Nice, safe, and affordable ;). Given that without professional assistance, the OP will get nowhere near a suitable height anyway...

I feel the safest thing to advise here, other than 'get a man person in', is for the OP to simply buy a couple of sets of something like this, and risk assess accordingly. I don't think I've seen a budget mentioned upthread, but I get the impression we're looking at what most of us would deem to be the lower end of the spectrum.

Worth pointing out this isn't some sort of amatuer cheat, it's done in live broadcast all the time. Any complicated sequence that can be pre-recorded will be. The news at ten on BBC is pre-recorded every night through to the end of the titles. Loads of live sports will have opening sequences recorded just before on-air. If you think back to Saturday night lottery gameshows, almost all of them were recorded months in advance, even though the actual draw was live, with the same presenter in the same clothes or references between the live and recorded parts.

 

Basically, don't think of it as a cop-out, think of it as a tool for making a better show for your audience, which is what everyone really wants.

 

As an example of this, there's Talking Telephone Numbers that went wrong when VT wound the tape whilst on air. This youtube link shows what was actually broadcast, and then the same thing with gallery talkback. The perils of 'live' TV!

 

My goodness..I'm feeling stressed just listening to that gallery chatter, especially during the song! Is all live TV like that?

Farnell may offer free delivery (at the moment) but their individual prices are really high and getting higher.

This is the case but it depends on the user. Ordering 1 or 2 of a completely different components on a daily basis and then paying a shipping / handling fee each time is not cheaper than paying a larger unit price and no charge. There is lots I prefer about using RS when working with other companies, but paying a fiver handling for a couple of capacitors or a MOSFET isn't gonna work.

 

Similar situation for a hobbyist or someone that has the occasional project: Unless one can wait build up a significant order of other things or decide to 'stock' items and buy larger quantities, then the handling charge is a no-go.

FYI, that's exactly what I've been doing the last few weeks, and been getting free delivery...!

Not exactly East London, but not far from the Overground (& maybe nearer than the M25?) - AFAIK Cricklewood Electronics are still going strong. Or maybe join the rest of us & use CPC / Farnell / RS?

Pretty much all my recent electronics orders for my model railway have come from a combination of RS and CPC. A bit annoying when I'm trying to prototype something and I just want a couple of relays or something, but given RS is free next day delivery, it's not too much of an inconvenience. CPC seems to be much cheaper for resistors, diodes, and such like though, which is annoying as they have a handling charge of £4.50 for orders less than £17.50. (I needed £3 worth of bits the other day, and ended up paying about £9 including the handling fee and VAT- still ended up significantly cheaper than tacking those bits onto an RS order I also had going in)

The only advantage of the @5 for me is the extra programmable macro buttons

I really don't understand why 'shift + [number key] ' isn't a thing yet on EOS. One of those (many) incredibly useful GeniusPro features that hasn't yet made the migration...!

I'm going to have to disagree with Big Jay and say I don't consider them much the same- software-wise, yes, but physically I find the @5 much less ergonomical to work at.

I had an @5 to tour with a couple of seasons ago...I hated it- everything feels like much more of a reach, and to be honest, off the back of that, I'd never spec one for programming either. I found the @5 much more cumbersome, and when I'm programming, I prefer to have more (inboard) smaller screens (mainly configured to be UI- direct selects and such like) than one big one, and a couple of big external screens for output (channel table/PSD etc)- I find that the way the EOS display system works just doesn't lend itself to cramming two small screens worth of stuff onto one big one. Consequently on the tour I'd always have to cart around and set up a second external monitor with the @5, which then also turned one trip from the truck to FOH into two, along with the extra set up time- in your case, you'd probably find you'll end up carting an extra screen and your extra fader wing whenever you move the desk...;)

Footprint-wise, the @5 is not actually that much smaller than the normal Gio (you save 13cm on the width, but it's bigger in every other respect), and it's 3.5Kg heavier- and you do notice it!

I think this is one of those situations where you should really hire one in for a tech week (or whatever your usual use-in-anger situation may be, as I think it will very much come down to logistics/personal preference based on the points I've made.

Maybe look at some car part suppliers? This one popped up for me:

Brass Union 3/8 unf Male to M10 x 1 Female

 

Don't think unf is compatible with bsw, a few years back I was trying to find the correct bolt for mics and also cameras to attach them to things and I tried most things before getting the correct tread.

D'oh! Sorry- didn't clock that!

Maybe look at some car part suppliers? This one popped up for me:

Brass Union 3/8 unf Male to M10 x 1 Female

Alternatively, maybe your local metalwork shop might be able to sort you out with something for a reasonable price, depending on how many you need?

I move that we start calling that thing a Shortescope. ;)

I favour "Smallascope"

Sorry Glyn, that's assigned already...it's what we used to call our Model 9812 (in comparison to our 50518) at one of my previous venues!

(stock photo from AA website!)

I'm not saying one way was right and the other is wrong as both have their flaws, but when I started as a Technical Manager it was more about making sure your staff did a good job of getting the shows on and now it sometimes feels more about getting the right pieces of paper signed.

At one of the first venues I worked at (on a casual basis), and indeed the only venue I am still happy to work at on a casual basis (as opposed to for freelance rates), whenever we have any sort of documentation published that we had to read, it is generally emailed out with the instruction to add 30mins/an hour/whatever onto our timesheet for the event it related to, and to reply confirming that we'd read it. Admittedly, we have a pretty trustworthy and tight-knit crew (newcomers don't come along particularly often simply due to the location, and those of us that come from further afield do so because we enjoy working at the venue), but this seems a pretty sensible way of going about it, as it means staff can take in the information without the pressure of the fitup looming, with the likelyhood of the visiting company interrupting by knocking on the door 20 minutes early! Obviously it also means staff come in much more prepared for what they're going to encounter than they might otherwise be.

It was strange at first having no audience reaction at all, but it's surprising how quickly it started to feel normal.

On the contary, I felt the silence spoke volumes. Even in a rehearsal room you'd usually get at least the director clapping madly, if only for timing purposes. By not having any applause, I felt that every number had something missing, so, personally, I think that if it was an artistic decision to have silence, it was inspired, as it highlighted how much a live audience can add to the atmosphere.

Just a thought before the "Safety Police" arrive.

Beware cleaning really dusty rigs in old theatres that haven't been deep cleaned in decades in this way. That dust could have all sorts of nasties in it you really don't want to be breathing. Even the stuff in a modern projector could have a lot of other peoples skin cells in it... [yuk]

Beat me to it...! :P

Whenever I'm running maintenance jobs, the general rule is air duster should generally be used in conjunction with a hoover nozzle positioned such that displaced dust gets sucked up rather than blown into the air. Eye protection and dust masks should also be considered.

It's ironic, but they seem to very much have a 'show must go on' mentality, but no-one seems to have told them about the 'but not at the expense of safety' addendum.

Also ironic is that 12 months ago many of us would also have been cutting corners to make sure that the show went on, but it is very very hard to get over the message that if you're not sure it's safe you DON'T do it.

Cutting corners, and dynamically risk assessed deviations from a general policy, yes, but breaking the law and/or putting me or my staff in danger? Not on my watch! In a show environment, I have a tendency to be quite insistent over these matters (within reason), and most of the time, management &/or those who I am working for are happy to take my views and advice on board.

Much of this could be because the boss is "a really nice chap" who does not like to insist on the rules. He might appreciate a full and frank discussion about your concerns as the mental health of those under his authority is also part of his legal duty. By full and frank I do mean diplomatic not ranting but pointing out that you can't do your job as efficiently as the company deserves because you can't go in fridges, get past knots of gossips, maintain social distancing etc. It might be useful to start by explaining your past duties and the fact that legally you are bound to report these things.

 

As for wipes I think I would use my staff discount to buy my own personal stock (I have a pack in my car) and open all windows wide while wiping down inside the van and for the first few minutes drive "airing" it out. It is frustrating to watch others breach sensible H&S rules and even the law. It is not your responsibility to do any more than report it, but report it you should.

Funnily enough, I've literally just got back home, having been up to the store. I decided to catch my direct manager one more time, and asked him to sign a page to say that he has received my concerns, but he has refused to do so without reading through it first. I tried to engage in a diplomatic discussion, but, in short, kept being met with dead ends resulting in comments along the lines of 'politicians aren't following rules' and such like. You know- the sort of things you just can't argue with because you know you'll end up just going round in circles, even though your own points are based on written legislation and policy. . As per Bruce's suggestion, I've made it abundantly clear that I don't want to go over his head, as I appreciate him giving me the work, but I feel these things need to be dealt with.

Anyway, he's said that if I go in tomorrow morning, he'll arrange for my van to be preloaded so I don't have to go into the main backroom, to which I said fair enough, and have agreed to go in tomorrow on that basis, but I have also made it clear that the wider points need to be dealt with.

On the topic of supplying my own stuff, I'm already doing that to a degree. I've bought my own bumper pack of gloves, some decent hand sanitizer (the stuff they provide is horrible to use 30+ times a day). I've been reluctant to buy my own wipes because (a) it's in the policy that we should use the particular ones they provide, partly because they don't damage the hand held device screens; (b) why should I pay for something that somebody isn't pulling their finger out to get hold of in the store; and © as it's a workplace, it should be COSHH assessed, and (d) it masks the problem of other drivers who aren't making a fuss just not bothering. As it is now, at this point I think self-preservation is now the order of the day, so I'll pick something up tomorrow.

As for everything else, 'watch this space', as they say. It's ironic, but they seem to very much have a 'show must go on' mentality, but no-one seems to have told them about the 'but not at the expense of safety' addendum.

I've been in a similar (non-Covid) situation. The problem is a failure of local managment. The local managment will get their backsides kicked if deliveries are late or productivity is poor. They will only be held to account when somone falls ill with Covid and contact tracing starts. Most of the big supermarket workforces have good trade union representation, so your best course of action is to get the local union branch involved. In your current employment, trade union membership is well worth the membership fees to help you in this type of situation.

I'm somewhat loathe to join the trade union, as I really don't intend to be here that much longer. I'm also of the strong opinion that I'd much rather give them the chance to deal with the problems in-house- I know if I was in a senior management position in this situation, I'd much rather employees felt able to come to me (and expect to be taken seriously) rather than go over my head and not make me aware of the problems.

I work in Retail for many years albeit on IT and systems. In your shoes I would call HO and not initially identify myself, and ask to speak to whoever is responsible for health and safety within the organisation. Then share with them your concerns and identity, and the fact that you believe your boss is doing his best in balancing many balls, but clearly needs support and guidance. Point out the impact an outbreak linked to the organisation with have on PR.

 

It may still all go sour, but should get dealt with sensitively.

As above, I'm kind of over this job now, so I don't really mind if they know it's me flagging things up. If I don't do it any longer, my wife and I are pretty sure we'll be able to get by on her salary until such a time that events work comes back online. Good point about mentioned about the balls the boss is juggling.

If it is a large scale company - check for a whistle blowing policy - most have some form of confidential, the best ones even use an external company to handle employee concerns.

There is a whistle blowing helpline, and indeed it would be my next port of call. As above though, if it was me in the managers position, I'd appreciate a concerned employee giving me the opportunity to sort it out in-house, so I feel it's only fair to the store to work through this option first.

A couple of points -

There are arguments both ways about disposable gloves (I had this battle at my Remembrance event) - if you have been infected, or have contaminated hands, every time you put on a new pair of gloves you risk contaminating everything you then touch with these gloves, but are also likely to be less careful about what you touch, because you are wearing gloves (Catch-22).

 

Allowing customers to handle crates is also putting the customers, & their families, at risk.

 

Your mention oft people congregating reminds me of the early stages of the pandemic, when the bus drivers at our local garage (who were then at very high risk) would gather for a chat & a smoke at the start of their shift.

On the gloves front, I agree, there are swings and roundabouts- I tend to use them as a 'belt-and-braces' approach, combined with anti-bac gel, if I need to, say, go into an old/disabled persons house as per the policies. Similarly, if I need to go into a block of flats, I'll put them on before immediately before going in, and take them off and dispose of them when I get back to the van, along with wiping down anything I've touched that's going back on the van (tray/trolley handles). RE: the customers and crates, that's actually exactly what I tell them.

Hey folks,

Another not particularly theatre-y topic I'm afraid, but I feel that a wider discussion on this topic could well be applicable to us, and to be quite honest, I feel in need of a bit of backup from folks who understand that I do (generally speaking!) know what I'm talking about when it comes to matters of applying H&S policies pragmatically. With a few exceptions, the people I'm currently working with have no idea about what working in technical theatre actually entails...

As some of you will know, I'm currently filling my time delivering for a local big-chain supermarket. I've mostly just been trying to keep my head down and get on with the job (after all, as we would say if a show is being managed by someone else, it's not my gig, and I don't want to be treading on someone's toes...). What makes flagging the following up a bit more difficult is the department manager is actually a really nice chap, and was very understanding when I asked to reduce my hours (I was pretty honest, and quite frankly told him that the nature of the job, in comparison to my usual forte, was somewhat getting to me), and he transferred me onto a permanent contract in October when it became clear that live events were not going to be returning any time soon, so you can hopefully see how I'm currently feeling somewhat stuck between a bit of a moral and ethical hard place!

Over the course of the last month or so, I've been flagging up various things to the manager with regards to problems within the department ranging from a lack of approved cleaning wipes for the vans, to more general poor practices that are occurring, but nothing seems to be getting done or sorted, and every time I do flag something up, I very much feel like the response I'm getting is akin to a pat on the head and a nod and smile, so, given the current wider situation in our region, with COVID levels going through the roof, I feel I now have no choice but to go over his head.

Getting to my point in question, it's reached the stage where I feel that, given the current state of affairs, the department is no longer a safe place to work, as due to the following, I believe that there is a 'serious and imminent danger' in relation to section 44 of the Employment Act, and I really don't want to go in until it's sorted. Those of you who know me, or are familiar with my posts here will know that isn't something I'd say lightly. My next shift is due to be on Tuesday, so I'm going to try and phone the store manager (next level up from my manager) tomorrow to go through my concerns with her. Given that I feel there's actually a real danger to the wider community as well, I've got no problems with taking it even higher if it's not resolved 'in-house' in a timely manner.

Here's the list of what I intend to bring up:

-PPE (by way of disposable gloves) not available (I have identified a need for them and it's listed in the policies)

-Cleaning equipment (i.e. the COSHH assessed cleaning wipes as per policy) seemingly not available whenever I ask for a new pack due to there being none in the vehicle I've been allocated. Secondary point being that the company COSHH assessment and MSDS state that hands must be washed after using these wipes, which is obviously not possible on the road.

-Due to the layout of the room where we pick up our deliveries from, poor manual handling is prevalent, and social-distancing is non-existant.

-Many members of the department (including team leaders and management) are wearing face coverings improperly, or not at all.

-Other drivers congregate and converse around the (standard sized double) exit door to the loading bays, meaning those of us who follow the rules have to walk across (unmasked) conversations.

-Company policy of 'only one person at a time' in walk-in fridges and freezers is not being adhered to.

-Some drivers are, it would seem, leaving crates with customers and/or allowing customers to take crates into their, houses, against the company policy. This is causing confusion and friction at the doorstep when those of us who follow the policy deliver to those customers.

-Faulty and dangerous electric hook up cables are not being safely taken out of use.

I believe that these individual problems are potentially leading to following wider problems:

-Because cleaning equipment is not easily available, I believe many of the staff are effectively just shrugging their shoulders and just 'getting on with things'. This is putting the wider driving workforce at risk due to the shared van system

-Drivers allowing customers to handle crates is putting the wider dispatch/driving workforce at risk.

-Poor adherence to company COVID protocol (which is actually very well put together) generally, is putting the entire department, and therefore business continuity, at risk.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts / advice / comfort folks!.

Sorry I'm being a bit cheeky here... . I'm in the market for some to fit a minim if there's any chance you're thinking of getting rid and the price is right.

 

I'll drag some bent versions out for detailed measurements if you are.

 

Bit late I'm afraid...I left that venue a few years ago now!

I don't think I've ever worked at, or toured to a venue where the house tabs are on a winch, or indeed fixed speed, so to answer your questions:

- How fast / slow do your venues house tabs raise or lower?

As fast as artistically directed, and/or dependent on the skill/strength of the flyman. I've worked on some shows where the brief to the flyman is 'how quickly can you physically get them in", and a few where the direction was 'as slow as possible'...!

- Is the speed variable?

Yes. See point 1.

- What do you consider a reasonable speed?

Again, see point 1...!

I was attempting to work out what speed I'd need a motor to run at to fly out / in a set of house tabs on a model theatre.

Why not wire it such that you can vary the speed of the motor?

I have a bunch of tested and working dimmer cards, 2 channels per card/pcb to fit the strand tempus dimmer racks.

Does anyone need any?

Are these for sale, or being given away?