How far from an LX bar should a flying performer be?

[vinntec]

I am lighting an amateur production of Witches of Eastwick in a few weeks. The three witches will fly on tracks which a professional company has been brought in to look after. My concern is simply that one of the tracks is much closer to an LX bar than I was expecting. In this particular theatre the LX bars are motorised and fixed, although I could brail the LX bar slightly further away from the flying track if necessary. I might be being over cautious, but are there guidelines/regulations which specify what the minimum distance between a flying track and the nearest LX bar (or lighting fixture) should be? I do note that the two tracks (one dual and one single) are only about 400mm apart and the witches will cross each other side to side safely, so the gap I am worried about might well be smaller than I think.

[Jivemaster]

Go through the choreography and your concerns with the company who installed it?

[ontoprigger]

I normally ask for 1-1.2m either side of a track to the fixtures not the bar, and would expect to get 0.5-0.8m if I am lucky, the flying company should be able to work with the location of the LX bar, but if it is really close then I would expect to add a bumper cloth or a line but that would be a last resort.

 

The choreography in witches is not too bad for up and downstage moves and the witches usually stay in the air once they have taken off from the sofa, so there should not be a lot of up and down stage movement unless they get the choreography wrong.

 

the problem with lighting is that although the bar may be thin on the plan, by the time you add lanterns with all of the fixtures and appendages that get added to the front , and even if they point straight down you are going to have an issue with performer flying if they are within 400mm from the lamps and the performer does anything other than fly across the stage.

 

What type of system are they using, is it manual or an automated system, as long as the performers hit their marks you will get better repeat-ability from an automated system but a manual operator has more chance of seeing a problem and reacting to it quicker.

 

I would look at the risk assessment they have supplied, hopefully there will be some mention on what they have done to mitigate the risk of lx and performer system coming together and causing a problem, if not then raise your concerns with them, its their responsibility to provide a safe system for performers and crew and if they are at all concerned about the location of the LX, either ask for it to be moved or simplify the routine to avoid an issue.

[paulears]

I don't think anyone has produced any kind of recommended distance because it's an on site decision. With any of the flying stuff - it's not just us/ds distance, but the trim height of the tracks, and what on paper looks fine is often not when performers start to move. If they land, and move even a small distance, then they can start to pendulum up and down stage when they take off again. and if the track is high, then 200mm can easily become 150mm and the lines bash all your barn doors. This year in panto we had twin line automated stuff flying moons and hot air balloons, and this track got moved an extra 200mm away from the LX bars - the worst feature was twist. We'd not considered rotation!

[vinntec]

Thanks for the responses.

 

At this stage I just need to be clear if a. I use the LX bar where it is. b. I tweak my bar a little further away and still use it. c. I don't use it at all. As an LD, obviously the last option is rather drastic! The flying track is positioned about 400mm from the LX bar. If the theatre could brail my LX bar downstage, we should be able to move it at least another 200mm away, which sounds like would be just enough. There are things I can do on the LX bar too - I could relocate the LED wash movers here and have these doing all the backlighting. They could also turn to be flat along the bar while the flying is on. I can also minimise anything else pointing downstage to absolute essentials and perhaps use slighly less good angles to reduce the overhang so that there is a clear 400mm between them and the track.

 

The nearest flying track is dual with a witch flying on each side. Straight up then side to side. One snag might be that they are harnessed throughout the scene so if they are not exactly under their track when they take off, they might swing. The flying track will be on the grid, the LX bar about half-way down roughly. It is manual with multiple operators, so it should be possible to correct any swinging quickly by the sound of things. I am afraid the last time I had flying performance was a pantomime in the 1970s!

 

Any last comments before I have a word with the SM?

[MarkBarl]

I am lighting an amateur production of Witches of Eastwick in a few weeks.

As you are listed is Basingstoke, I assume this is for BAOS. I am doing the sound. See you there.

[vinntec]

As you are listed is Basingstoke, I assume this is for BAOS. I am doing the sound. See you there.

Yes indeed so will see you in a few weeks, unless you are coming to the technical meeting next week in which case will see you then. Your name sounds familiar...

[MarkBarl]

As you are listed is Basingstoke, I assume this is for BAOS. I am doing the sound. See you there.

Yes indeed so will see you in a few weeks, unless you are coming to the technical meeting next week in which case will see you then. Your name sounds familiar...

I work with Dan regularly, so you will probably recognise me. I am still waiting on Dan letting me know when the meeting is, so I'll chase him.

[vinntec]

I work with Dan regularly, so you will probably recognise me. I am still waiting on Dan letting me know when the meeting is, so I'll chase him.

Monday 6th March 09:30 am at the theatre

[AndyJones]

If you needed to move the bar either upstage or downstage, you could rig it on a hemp line and motor assist it out, the motor bars are The Haymarket are close enough that you should be able to gain up to a metre if needed.

[vinntec]

If you needed to move the bar either upstage or downstage, you could rig it on a hemp line and motor assist it out, the motor bars are The Haymarket are close enough that you should be able to gain up to a metre if needed.

Hi Andy. Thanks for your comments, I will bear them in mind in case we get stuck. I think 200-300 mm from just brailing will be enough especially with care what I put on the offending bar as well. This will put it 600-700mm from the flying track, which even allowing for noses gives a much more satisfactory clearance. It doesn't sound much, but much better than 400! It will be handy to have a joker up our sleeves if the witches prove to be too close when it is tested!