The runaway truck went down the track..............

[Ynot]

Now then, it's coming up to planning time for next season's big panto and in an effort to come up with a big WOW! factor, we've been asked to look at the feasibility of having a runaway mine cart (Panto is Snow White)..

 

The initial thoughts were around a cart that rolls past an opening in the 'mine' scene with the dame inside, then comes back across (all upstage, I reckon) maybe back and forth again, before finally coming back on stage to end up in the wings accompanied by the expected bangs, crashes & other SFX.

 

So - anyone ever done this before?

I'm not sure whether we'll need to use any sort of rails, though some arrangement may be in order to keep the truck running straight.

Bear in mind we only have 25 feet max of prosc width and very limited wing space, so it's gonna be tight!

 

Thoughts?

[Glyn Edwards]

Hi Ynot,

 

Could you do this with several sizes of cart in persepective so that only the last cart is practical and contains the Dame etc? If so "tracking" will be less of an issue.

 

The way I've done the track in the past is to lay the floor with a gap between pieces (or rout a groove into it) and then use a "keel" in the truck to keep it in a straight line. dependent on the size and weight of the truck you may need a second keel to keep to the straight and narrow. If you can acquire some, making the keels from solid PTFE or similar will help a great deal. The cross stage motion of the truck is then controlled by a crew, either with a winch, or simply a length of rope and pulling like mad.... It may be possible to divert the line so that your crew can move up and down stage along the wing if that helps with space.

 

The Rock and Roll motion could be achieved by mounting the wheels off centre on the axle so they effectively run as cams and cause the whole structure to rock.

 

HTH

 

Glyn

[Jambo_UK]

The way I know is to use projection onto either a glaze with the set behind and have the projection of the cart moving along a mine. with the crate in the centre of the stage only moving at the end. Its a good solutions if you have a projector and access to someone with video editing knowledge.

[cedd]

Have a word with your local miniature railway. 7 1/4 inch gauge should just about do, it's about as small a track gauge as will happily pull people. Length of portable track laid on ply (most societies have their own portable track or know somebody who does) maybe in panels that are quickly joined together. Nick a chassis from one of their trucks and set your carpenter on building a body. hey presto!

Of course there is the problem of the track needing removing from stage afterwards unless it can stay upstage somewhere.

[Jivemaster]

Something like a flightcase on a ramp like a see-saw so that it will go to the side that is down?

[gyro_gearloose]

Something like a flight case on a ramp like a see-saw so that it will go to the side that is down?

 

Bear in mind we only have 25 feet max of pros width

 

A 25 foot wide see-saw? Good luck with that...

 

Now, serious answer...

 

You don't want railway track unless you have some way of recessing it into the floor, otherwise people will trip over it. If you want some sort of track, do as Glynn says and have your own floor in 3/4" ply (18mm in new money) and make gaps where you want the track to run.

 

If you really want to wow the audience though how about a crazy-car style scene like Jambo suggests, but in 3d! Use two CRT or DLP projectors with polarised filters and give each audience member a pair of polarised glasses. Hey presto! Full colour 3d!! Creating content will be tricky but not impossible, and the same goes for syncing up playback of two separate sources. If you can get it to work though, the effect will be stunning

[andy_s]

if you have to do a U turn in the wings, look at using wheels set in a diamond formation - this will enable the truck to turn in it's own length. I'd look at industrial suppliers for a cart or truck to use as a base for the vehicle....

 

I don't think I'd bother with tracks for the reasons stated by others.

 

I'd also say, when blocking, that speed of movement is relatively unimportant - keep it very controlled, and create mayhem with noise and (fake) panic acting....

 

personally I wouldn't see this as a particularly "video" moment - the gag will be that the audience thinks it's really dangerous and scarey, so I'd think it's more of a live thing than a "special effect"....

[Nick S]

If you really want to wow the audience though how about a crazy-car style scene like Jambo suggests, but in 3d! Use two CRT or DLP projectors with polarised filters and give each audience member a pair of polarised glasses. Hey presto! Full colour 3d!! Creating content will be tricky but not impossible, and the same goes for syncing up playback of two separate sources. If you can get it to work though, the effect will be stunning

 

OT (given this sounds like something that needs to be a practical event), but for the short length of the effect, you'd probably be better off with a traditional anaglyphic red/cyan. That way, you only need one projector, you don't have the utter pain of the sync and the positioning, and it's just generally easier. You lose a bit in colour definition, but not too much.