cedd Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Hi all. Wasn't sure if this was rigging or sound, but I think it's more sound specific than anything else. A couple of theatres we regularly work in require some under balcony delays to top up the HF for the back few rows. Not all theatres that we do have decent rigging points for these. One venue has a lighting bar mounted centrally in the middle of the balcony and circle front. We put drop arms down from it with the speakers mounted to them. The problem is the bar is only maybe 2m long, so we can only cover the centre. I've seen a couple of tours come around now that have had some kind of home made bracket arrangement that hooked over the front of the balcony. It was an upturned U shape, wide enough to hook over the balcony rail/parapet and lined with carpet or padding so as not to damage the plasterwork. These looked to be adjustable to account for different thicknesses of wall. I'm guessing they were purpose built for the tour or supplier, as I've never seen anything like them before on sale anywhere, and they had a bit of a home made look (albeit, very well made). I think I last saw a set on the national tour of Footloose, which was a Gareth Owen sound design. Basically if anybody has any photos or info on a solution that allows a speaker to be hung below a balcony that doesn't have specific rigging points in place, then I'd love to see them. A few thoughts were; they'd have to have a very low profile when viewed from the balcony - they can't get in the way. There'd also have to be some method to stop them being lifted off by a member of the public. They'd need to be adjustable to allow for different thicknesses of balcony parapet wall. I'd initially thought about unistrut, but it'd look ugly as hell and would intrude excessively upon front row of the balcony legroom and could get knocked. I'm thinking about some sort of folded polycarbonate arrangement in 2 halves - L shapes that fit together to make an adjustable width upturned U shape. It'd allow a drop down bar (scaff or a spigot drop arm) to hang the speaker from. Just looking for a few thoughts or ideas. Cheers all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete10uk Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I'm not a theatre guy at all but can picture / understand the type of thing your talking about. My concern would be home made and insurance, if theres not something specifically commercially made for to cover your requirements I'd be tempted to get something made by either a local fabricator who can certify use for your weight requirements or chatting to unicol engineering who I understand can make something in their one off's department, you never know, they may have made something similar previously and they will understand the safety requirements needed, it won't be cheap but will be right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GR1 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Ask Orbital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I would be more worried about not knowing exactly what the structure was. A modern venue that I worked in had big slab sided balcony fronts that were little more than plasterboard and chicken wire. I can't imagine what you are describing but could somebody like doughty offer something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 You could make something strong enough quite easily, then you hang it from an unrated (point) on the balcony edge. I'd want to at least look at the structure of the balcony front before bending steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamharman Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I'd hope the front of all theatre balconies are designed to cope with a fairly large audience member falling against them from a couple of steps up...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 When Phantom came to Auckland, I'm almost certain they (hopefully with permission) just drilled their numerous Control 1's into the building... but that was a 4 month season. How long are your runs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 An installation customer of mine built something very similar to what the OP is suggesting, except it was used to mount 50" flatscreens on the front edge of a balcony. It was put together by a local fabricator for not a lot of money and certainly seemed to work rather well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 Our show runs are a week at most, so we're talking very temporary. Certainly can't drill in one of the theatres - delicate plaster carvings on the balcony front. This venue though is the same one that I saw these brackets in, so they must have been happy enough that their design wasn't going to cause damage. I understand fully the fear about the integrity of the balcony walls, though I was taking Adam's view that the balcony must be able to withstand audience members sitting on its edge in the interval, being leant on, being fallen against etc. plus the speakers I'm thinking of hanging are relatively small (6-8kg max). I'll do a bit of asking around at the main theatre in question and see if anyone else can remember what they were like.I'll also catch up with Orbital at Plasa Focus hopefully.Thanks all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrolytic Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 what about extending the central lighting bar with scaffold and clamps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I've seen what appear to be similar "hang on" mountings in the Aldwych recently, and managed to find a photo. (click for more detail) http://www.aldwychtheatre.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/42.jpg They're actually slightly more permanent that I'd remembered, being formed round and fixed to the rear of the balcony wall. Food for thought? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamharman Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I've seen what appear to be similar "hang on" mountings in the Aldwych recently, and managed to find a photo.They're actually slightly more permanent that I'd remembered, being formed round and fixed to the rear of the balcony wall. Food for thought? They look very permanent to me. Probably the only way they could fix the lighting bars without damaging the plaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 That actually demonstrates my point. The modern balcony that I meant has a concrete/brick wall on the audience side and is covered with carpet. There is a hand rail loop on top.But the decorative front is then three feet further out and sloping, not designed for loads The ones in the picture are bolted onto a solid structure not just hooked over or reliant on the plasterwork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.