RoyS Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Hi All, Last night I went to see the Cameron Mackintosh production of Oliver at the Southampton Mayflower and was very impressed with the technicals, especially the bits of set that appeared to track in from the wings seemingly unaided.. From our seats in the circle you could see lateral metal tracks running from SL-SR sunk into the stage. So my questions are: What technology is this? Who makes it. Was a groove routed into the stage floor to house it or was the entire stage raised temporally for the month-long run… Apart from a bit of laggy follow spot work it was all brilliant stuff.. Recommended.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 It'll almost certainly be an 18mm deep show floor with gaps for the tracks cut or routed into the show floor. A return hole for the cable can be cut on the underside or you can have a winch either side to save the need for a return. Most touring shows tour with a show floor of some sort, mostly wooden panels or rolls of vinyl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 This show (like most of the bigger touring musicals) has a complete stage deck that they travel with them - aka a "false floor" so that all the track and machinery can sit understage without actually having to modify the venue's stage. Newer theatres are being built (like west end venues) with a completely removable stage deck so that touring decks can be dropped in without having a "step" in the wings and keeping the asthetic of the stage the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyld Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Not sure about Oliver, but if you are interested in companies that provide the engineering for this kind of automation on No. 1 UK tours, a name to look for is Delstar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I was on the (VERY looong) out for Oliver at Birmingham a couple of weekends back, though I was working LX. However, yes the false floor as with many touring shows held metal tracks set into grooves allowed for the large set pieces with tracked wheels to roll in/out. Now whilst I saw a motor or two during the out, I don't believe that the majority of the floor sets were automated - I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Therefore I suspect that most of it was manually moved by crew concealed within the set pieces. (I didn't work the show or see a performance, sadly, so again I may be mistaken). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seano Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Therefore I suspect that most of it was manually moved by crew concealed within the set pieces.Or it could have been winched manually from the wings, its not at all uncommon for truck winches to be operated by hand. The winches are usually fitted with a little chain-driven counter that relates the truck position to a number to enable the operator to move the truck to a precise (ish) dead. I was just having a little cast about for a photo, but can't find one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyS Posted May 3, 2012 Author Share Posted May 3, 2012 Thanks for all the info. It all now makes sense re the false floor. Ynot: a few questions (some from my pupils..) Can you tell me what the 6x movers were flown on a FOH truss?What were the main FOH PA line-array hangs?How long was the out?How many artics Thank again.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbles Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Pretty sure the upstage sets are fully automated, believe the tracks in the floor are just guides and the peices are hung and driven from flown tracks on the overhead truss. And while the construction and steelwork was all Delstar, I believe automation was by Silicon Scenery (though I don know that for sure). E2A: tis a while since I've seen the Oliver rig plan, and they all blur somewhat into 1, but think the advance truss was 6 TW1 narrows, with revolutions on the pros booms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyld Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Pretty sure the upstage sets are fully automated, believe the tracks in the floor are just guides and the pieces are hung and driven from flown tracks on the overhead truss. That was going to be my suggestion, it's just as common for items to be flown and tracked overhead with the deck channel to control the other end as, er, stood up and tracked. Indeed, Silicon Scenery seem to have a part in most of the biggies in this area at the moment. I took the question to mean who makes all this steel junk in the UK, in which case Delstar are a pretty good bet. Regarding the how, well, it's all about drivebelts, winches and sensors. Positions are governed by the controller that takes it's data from various encoders around the place. E2A for the OP: ET Press or someone have a good guide to stage automation that worth a read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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