Tom_Robbo26 Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Hey blueroomers, Was at a performance of "Cats" in newcastle last night and came accross 2 questions about the technical by the end of it. Theses being: Where was the lighting desk? I searched the whole theatre from top to bottom, in the stalls, in the grand circle in the lighting box where it usually is, in the upper circle and in the gallery and there was absolutely nothing there. Could it have possibly have been run from a wing or could it have even been a program run from the sound desk which was in the stalls? That just puzzled me completely. The whole show was majority intelligent lighting also, so what happens when a light malfunctions or when moving from venue to venue, is there a piece of software to automatically change the lighting plot to the venue? My second question was the laws on a safety curtain. I thought that it was law that a safety curtain had to be shown for at least 5 minutes in any performance. In the interval it didn't come down once, nor at the end or the beginning. I thought this was a law that must be obeyed or is this just a myth I have just heard? Thanks TR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbles Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 From what I remember, when I saw the Cats tour in Bristol, better part of a year ago, they had a Hog 2, based alongside the sound desk. I may be confused with another show, as I've seen many shows at the Bristol Hippo over the past year, but am pretty certain I'm thinking of the right time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewR Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 ...is there a piece of software to automatically change the lighting plot to the venue? If they were using a Hog2 (can't remember if Hog3 has it too...) yes, kinda.. its called XYZ positioning. But its far more likely that they just updated the focus palletes (or whatever the desk calls them) in every venue. My second question was the laws on a safety curtain. I thought that it was law that a safety curtain had to be shown for at least 5 minutes in any performance. In the interval it didn't come down once, nor at the end or the beginning. I thought this was a law that must be obeyed or is this just a myth I have just heard? Thanks TR Depends on the venues licence. Two venues local to me, one shows the iron every performance. The other just has to 'ensure it is regularly tested'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vooghtay Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 My second question was the laws on a safety curtain. I thought that it was law that a safety curtain had to be shown for at least 5 minutes in any performance. In the interval it didn't come down once, nor at the end or the beginning. I thought this was a law that must be obeyed or is this just a myth I have just heard? In the Venue that I do some work at we normally drop the Iron during the interval, however because of the audience meeting the cats during the interval we had the iron in when the house opened and took it out about 15mins before the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Re. the question of showing the iron - it's already covered (even down to the question arising from the same show at the same venue) here. Please, let's keep everything in one place and not fragment an otherwise coherent set of answers to a question, or duplicate everything that's posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychedelic Theatre Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 If it was the Uk Tour, then yep, it was a Wholehog II. When I saw it the other week it was to the right of the sound desk, slightly obscured by all the outboard stuff for sound. All LX equipment supplied by Stage Electrics.Sound equipment supplied by Autograph Sound Recording Ltd. Rigging by Unusual Rigging Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benweblight Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 There's also a Hog PC running as the backup for the tour (with an alcora there to run subs from it or something?), and as psychedelic says it was next to sound desk but they may have relocated it for that particular show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 There's also a Hog PC running as the backup for the tour (with an alcora there to run subs from it or something?), Sorry?An Alcora?On a full pro-show?You sure...??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benweblight Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I meant, its faders were being used to control something (it was labeled up)...presumably the Hog PC which it was sat in front of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilalexrose Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I meant, its faders were being used to control something (it was labeled up)...presumably the Hog PC which it was sat in front of. The Alcora (or similar small Z88 desk) was used as a fader wing to the hog II, giving fader control of stuff like haze machines, work lights, house lights etc etc. Stuff you'd normally put on subs for emergencies, but keeps things separate from the main cue stacks. The hog PC was sync'd to the main console via midi, ready for when the hog II crashed (which it does frequently from what I gather). When I worked on the show they were talking about putting a grandMa onto the show, for reliability. By the sounds of it that hasn't happened yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 They must have a very badly-maintained Hog2, then - when treated properly, it's one of the most solid consoles I know in terms of reliability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilalexrose Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 They must have a very badly-maintained Hog2, then - when treated properly, it's one of the most solid consoles I know in terms of reliability. When they were with me, it crashed, so they got a replacement console in from stage electrics (in the meantime running of the PC), then if I recall, the replacement crashed too. I think they ended up butchering the two to make a working console - hence the talk of putting onto a grandMA. Don't know if it was software or hardware faults. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schooltechie Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I'm going to see the newcastle version next saturday the 9th, will have a look while I'm there see if I can see it or failing that ask on my way out alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac.calder Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Don't know if it was software or hardware faults. If you have two console become unreliable in the one show (or even one season), there is a very good chance that the way they have programmed it is either incorrect, or encounters a software bug. 2 hardware faults would be an extreme case of bad luck. I have been trying to kill our HogII for about as long as I have been at this venue, and it just won't die (which is unfortunate, as the touch screens are nearly illegible). This HogII has lived a harder life than most consoles - gets lugged around, outside of it's flightcase up and down stairs, bumps into things etc. The console is built to last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychedelic Theatre Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Yeah, I saw what I thought was an Alcora sat next to the HogII and wondered what it was doing on the show. Then noticed that it had a channel list with house lights etc on, taped above it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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