lightsource Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 but no one apart from the company who own the building are allowed up ladders or anywhere near the lighting rig Under / over spec'd gear isn't really a problem, it can be changed. The quote above is the part I'm concerned about, as a taxpayer and someone who works in the industry(non theatre). 2 weeks to change a light bulb.... ;) TEACHER......." Sorry son, you can't close that window, we'll have to get someone in......" :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhole Posted October 7, 2006 Author Share Posted October 7, 2006 It really is like that. No bluetac is allowed on any walls. If you want something drilled into the wall, someone has to come in to do it. When they want lights focused etc, they have to get someone in, and its them who has to go up and do any changes, all we can do is be on the floor saying bit more this way, down a bit, unfocus etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightsource Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 That's really frightening..... I wonder what PFI hospitals are like, can the surgeon move the lights in his (operating) theatre ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhole Posted October 7, 2006 Author Share Posted October 7, 2006 ** laughs out loud **thats why it's not as easy as 'well its ok, we'll just move this here, plug that in there, add this and take this away' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul TC Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 That's really frightening..... I wonder what PFI hospitals are like, can the surgeon move the lights in his (operating) theatre ? The same, in one hospital, I know someone who has been waiting since it opened a couple of years ago to have some shelves put up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djw1981 Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 pFI hospitals are similar - its a bit like doing a long term show ina building that is not yours - you cant just knock it abiout to suit your needs! The hospital are effectively tennants of teh PFI company. To be fair there is often an issue between departments not sopecifying exactly what they want, and the PFI contract not being able to supply their fuill wish list - ie studwalling may be used as it allows reconfiguring of the floorplan later, but allows no possibility for heavy equipment to be attached to the wall. Likewise carpet looks good but is harder to push trollies across. Exter Council / the shcool in question are tenants so of course they need to consult the landlords before doing any work - its atoitally different situiation to that which we are used to in the UK, but one which we need to adapt to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Exter Council / the shcool in question are tenants so of course they need to consult the landlords before doing any work - its atoitally different situiation to that which we are used to in the UK, but one which we need to adapt to. I can see the issue if they want to bolt something to a wall or screw something to a stage floor, but... ...banning the re-focussing or re-aiming of lights on the rig seems to take the definition of "doing any work" to a ridiculous extreme. Even a short term hire in most theatres is allowed to adjust lighting, often just with the restriction that you return to "square rig" at the end. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djw1981 Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Yeh, but in most school PFI;'s the school janitor or building supervisor works for teh PFI company - thus basically you cant alter the lighst without the shcool janitor presnt - for under 18's at school this sounds more logical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 ...banning the re-focussing or re-aiming of lights on the rig seems to take the definition of "doing any work" to a ridiculous extreme. Bob Ah - but don't forget that John is less than a year old (sorry John, you need to sort your date of birth out). Seriously though, I know we are talking over zealousness, but students like John need to be able to focus lights! In fact, this is a critical area that gets assessed in BTEC - asking a caretaker or even teacher to do it prevents you passing - so the schools need to sort something out. There are ways, but perhaps this is going off topic a bit. I nearly caused a strike at Anglia TV a few years ago. A budget satellite channel they produced with minimal staffing. No sparks in the studio, A par can got knocked, it should have been focussed onto a sign, instead it was pointing towards the cameras. Everything stopped while they worked out if they could afford to call in the spark to fix it. X hours pay, call out, refreshments, taxi home etc etc - while they were doing all this, I (looking after sound) climbed the ladder, moved it back, put the ladder away. When they noticed, we carried on. Next day BIG notice from management saying whoever did it must go through the correct channels. It used to be like this in TV all the time. 3 hour wait for a carpenter to come in and hit one nail with a hammer, then we carried on - crazy. This was union stuff, but now, it's H&S stuff instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiochains Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Hey Jon, Which schools are we talking about here? is it all the newly built schools?Did Stage Electrics do all the schools?I also live in Exeter and do alot of freelance work. Just intrested because ive not seen any of the new school installs. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhole Posted October 9, 2006 Author Share Posted October 9, 2006 I'm talking about St Peter's, but I heard the other ones arn't much better. From a non-technical point of view I heard St Peter's has the best hall, but I haven't been to any of the others. Westexe's hall has a capasity of just a few hundred (st peters is over 1000).The other thing is St. Peter's do not have a stage. They have to use tempory staging blocks for anything they want to do (at the front is a chaple which has to be curtained off - under NO circamstances may it be used for anything else but chaple activities). edit: I lie, I have been to Pinhoe Primary too but didn't think it counted! Stage electrics fitted there too - I think they did all the schools, high and primary, as generally they all have the same equipment (st peters has the bull frog opposed to the fat frog, but apart from that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 I think it's worth saying that the root causes of these problems are not in any way exclusive to schools. ... And that's the rub. It's rare in the extreme ... to have somebody with both the knowledge and managerial clout to sit on the design team and specify what's needed. I've been on both sides of the PFI wall in the IT biz, and shared in both sucess and failure. And Bobbsy has it spot on. Deliverers of service will do what they are asked to do, and it is the failure of the buying side to get their team under control is the root of the failures. On the buying side it's normal to have someone who is charged to "keep the supplier in check", but never someone to keep the requirements in check. ... No bluetac is allowed on any walls.Mannah from heaven. My pet hate is random notices stuck on walls, a particularly prevalent disease in public building. Please let this antitdote spread throught the world... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhole Posted October 9, 2006 Author Share Posted October 9, 2006 Mannah from heaven. My pet hate is random notices stuck on walls, a particularly prevalent disease in public building. Please let this antitdote spread throught the world... How many Schools do you know that can't sick students work to the wall? And posters in classrooms?They can only use the limited notice boards around the area (they really are limited) or self-standing notice boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djw1981 Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Mannah from heaven. My pet hate is random notices stuck on walls, a particularly prevalent disease in public building. Please let this antitdote spread throught the world... How many Schools do you know that can't sick students work to the wall? And posters in classrooms?They can only use the limited notice boards around the area (they really are limited) or self-standing notice boards. Yes, but the school can buy more from the facilitiues company - the problem with public buildings in the Uk is that Public sector organisations never view them as assets to be maintained - how many Council owned theatres are lacking upgrades because the Council don;t see them as important - leading to equipment which is unusable. This way, the PFI company maintain their asset at a market value. It is all to do with a totally new way of doing business, and requires a mind shift by all concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bodsworth Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 ahh the joys of PFI!! As we say within our PFI school / 6th form college,,,,, its built to look good, at a minimum cost. The basics work, but so much more could have been achieved if they had spoken to the right people.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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