SamDram Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Our drama department are looking at Hook/Peter Pan as this years big production. I have been asked "can we do some flying". Quite frankly, I don't know.Our theatre is an old 1950's converted gym, with a ceiling full of encapsulated asbestos (yummy), so all lighting and sound is supported by QuadTruss ground support structure.It is 4 metres high, with very little head room beyond that.The effect that I want to achieve is a simple 'lift', straight up, straight down. Nothing too fancy.Any suggestions would be much appreciated it.If I can't figure it out, they ain't going up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Question to ask: Do you, or anyone else at the school have ANY experience of rigging for flying people? No? Then the FIRST call you make should be to a recognised and reputable flying crew who will need to come in and assess the venue, facilities and options and then give you a price to do what you want to do. When you've picked yourself up off the floor (because these things don't come cheap, even IF it's a feasible thing to do) then you'll likely go back to the director and give them the news that it's not going to be practical on the sort of budget you'll have for a school gym show. Sorry to douse you with cold water, but flying THINGS above performers and audience is not something to take lightly, and flying PEOPLE is a whole other story. (Even if it is 'just' straight up and down) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Flying is easy with the right equipment and the right training and experience. Flying By Foy is one company who do this who have lots of professional experience, there may be another. Supporting the flying rig needs to be done well, knowing that you cannot connect to the ceiling makes things harder than usual. Flying is effective but NOT cheap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Even if the money is there to cover flying someone properly, it's worth having a hard think about whether the budget could get more bang for buck if spent elsewhere. I'm guessing that a college performance is not going to have huge amounts to splash on special effects - you could do a lot more if you explored different areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerry davies Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 First get a stepladder.Next get Peter to climb stepladder to height possible off a 13 foot high suspension point allowing a safe clearance for his head.Show director how stupid that will look unless the Lost Boys are all under three feet in height.Do something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 a height of 4M and kids of 1.5M(?) doesn't give you much in the way of height. it's dangerous. The RA for this would be a nightmare in a school How about using projection?projecting onto black tabs can be more effective than you think. or you have a "media dept" in the promo video. set up a projection scene using a chromakey. worst case, a see-saw poked through the curtain might give a David Blane "lift"don't go too high with that - people fall off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamDram Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 Seems to me that the general consensus is disregard and move on. Which I am happy with. Nobody has any flying experience here and I'm not planning on breaking any kids legs by having a go at it.If we were The Leys School, I would probably spend more time and money working it out and getting people in, but alas...poor state run school.I will highlight these issues to the Drama Head and suggest we think of a different performance (literally in the "Ooo, let's do this" stage at the moment, so its not biggy). Although as mentioned, projection could be a good cop-out. Thanks for the input all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 There's always the old gag with stagehands dressed entirely in black carrying the actors around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 stagehands dressed entirely in black carrying the actors around. Literally rather than metaphorically for once... :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GridGirl Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I've seen Peter Pan done with puppets for the flying sequences - puppets (figurines might be a better word - they didn't have any moving parts) on black poles combined with heavily shuttered sidelight (so there's no spill below the puppets) and it worked really effectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IJWesley Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 stagehands dressed entirely in black carrying the actors around. Literally rather than metaphorically for once... :D We actually did this for our production - and it worked very well. We got a ceroc dance instructor to choreograph the sequence just to ensure that the lifting was done correctly. Peter Pan is a show about imagination - ask your audience to believe! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I worked on the Sooty show a couple of times and one was "Sooty's Underwater Adventure" ( Sootty had legs!) It was done by Black light UV and puppeteers running about the stage. It might be interesting for the kids as it is a different take on the standard school show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamDram Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 I like the UV idea...couple years back I worked on Seussicle, and we used UV puppets for a scene, looked pretty good.I worked on the Sooty show a couple of times and one was "Sooty's Underwater Adventure" ( Sootty had legs!) It was done by Black light UV and puppeteers running about the stage. It might be interesting for the kids as it is a different take on the standard school show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Ggood UV can look great! you need a stunning blackout though and depending ideally a great spotter who can pick up just a head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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