Problem with stage bar

[Johnno]

I was examining our school hall stage today and have just realised that the spot bar immediately behind the proscenium is partially obscured upstage by the box that holds the cine screen (~3m wide) when it rolls up. B :) mm :( r. In the past the lighting people appear to have just hung Pattern 137 floods fitted with RGB filters - and deep ones at that as the B is not visible on stage when it's on. It's the same lanterns and gels on the second stage bar too and judging by the dust on them they've been there a while.

 

The first bar has five dimmer channels feeding twelve sockets (channel pattern along the bar ABCDDEEDDCBA) and the second has three channels also to twelve sockets (ABCABCABCABC). The dimmers are 10A but the light sockets throughout the hall are 5A: I've to get the electricians to clarify this setup as I don't know what the wiring can be loaded with or whether it's fused correctly. (The dimmer is modern, I know nothing about the wiring).

 

I haven't tried anything yet to see how much stage coverage I can get from bar 1 without lowering the lanterns, or how intrusive they would become if I did. I'll be experimenting all this term. Should keep me quiet :P

 

What would you do?

 

The Drama Queen does musicals with no critical lighting requirements, and that's it for productions. Nothing much else ever uses the stage. Sad really. Mind you she's doing a good job: the stage was a storage area for old furniture until she got it cleared last year. Understage is the caretakers' store room although they have tidied it up for her so you can get across the stage unseen now. I'm trying to get the technical side up to speed.

 

Regards,

John.

[Ekij]

Can the screen be removed before the performance and replaced after?

[Johnno]

No

[jhaynes199]

Have you thought about dropping two vertical pieces of scaff either side of the cine box and then running a horizontal bit of scaff between these directly under the cine box (in effect making a second LX bar under the cine box). Would be quite easy to do and you could make a feature of the lights if the bar will end up being so low that the lights can be seen by the audience.

 

Just a note on your wiring,

 

Power = Volts x Amps

 

If each dimmer is 10A you shouldn't have a problem pairing lanterns. However if depends what mains power you have.

 

for simplicity, 2300W = 230V x 10A

 

so you could easily pair 4 x 500W lanterns.

 

However, if you only have a 32A supply to a dimmer pack with 6 channels, you can't put up all of these at once for obvious reasons. Even if your individual channels won't trip, your dimmer certainly will.

[David A]

You get precious little light out of a 137 anyway so ditch the deep colours and go to pale colours which will at least let some light out.The largest lamp that can be used in a 137 is a 200W which is under 1amp per unit so you shouldn't have any load problem

[Don Allen]

You will not be able to have anything directly underneath the cine screen as it will be damaged when it is lowered and catches on the lights underneath it.

 

How far apart are your lighting bars and are they on a hand winch so you can lower them ?

 

The cine screen does not have to be moved under normal use so if you can remount it half way in between your lighting bars at about the same height, it will free up the lighting bar.

 

If your lighting bars are fixed, you could run two short bars between two lighting bars to support the cine screen between two lighting bars.

 

If you can find some secondhand fresnels such as Strand Patt 123 500 watt fresnels, you will be able to get more light on the stage and be able to use stronger saturation colours which helps a lot of musicals.

 

If your budget is very low, use domestic 500 watt halogen floods. They will not have the life expectancy of theatre floods or colour frame holders so when budgets permit, upgrade your lighting. You will either find a resourceful person to construct colour frame holders for you or attach the gels with gaffa tape, leaving an air gap between the gel and the flood glass so the gel won't burn out so quick. Fixing gels with gaffa is never a good idea as it can come off easily when you don't want it to, but when you have a non existent budget you do what you can do.

 

One you prove what better lighting can achieve for productions, you may get a better budget.

[jhaynes199]

You will not be able to have anything directly underneath the cine screen as it will be damaged when it is lowered and catches on the lights underneath it.

 

Indeed, but it is not hard to rig and strike a piece of scaff. Not saying it would be a permanent feature, more of an install for a specific show which can be taken down at the end (or when the cine screen is next needed).

[benweblight]

you can also diy a kind of gel frame out fo chicken wire