ollie.mitchell Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Hi, For a production of Macbeth that we have coming up, we are trying to achieve an effect where the three witches fly about 1 foot into the air. This will be a very quick effect where they'll say a speech, take off, and then there will be a blackout almost immediately. Rather than flying them with ropes etc (as that opens up a massive can of worms) I am thinking that the best option is to lift them from beneath. I'm leaning towards some form of fork lift/cherry picker setup but want it to be silent operation. Ideally the three of them would be on separate systems so that they do not all raise exactly together. Does anyone have any suggestions of what I can do, as I'm a bit lost. Many Thanks, Ollie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
empyfree Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Can you fake it by suddenly lowering the other surrounding scenery leaving them stood on a black riser? Bit of creativity with lighting and it should be convincing enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Rather than flying them with ropes etc (as that opens up a massive can of worms) I am thinking that the best option is to lift them from beneath. I'm leaning towards some form of fork lift/cherry picker setup but want it to be silent operation. Is this a school show, as your profile says you're a school theatre tech?I can see the worms starting to emerge from the can already... ropes or no ropes you have to be really really careful lifting people up - not the sort of thing you can d.I.y. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owain Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 seesaw with a concealed stagehand sitting on the other end. If you can have the witches sitting on the seesaw (broomsticks?) rather than standing there's very little risk of them falling off. If the lever is balanced the witch just has to kick to start flying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigclive Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 I like the seesaw idea. Especially if a large stage weight is dropped on the other end from a great height. With a small enough actress you should be able to get them right through the proscenium. (That's a joke by the way. Don't actually drop a stage weight onto an actor laden seesaw.) (Well not unless you film it.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 seesaw with a concealed stagehand sitting on the other end. If you can have the witches sitting on the seesaw (broomsticks?) rather than standing there's very little risk of them falling off. If the lever is balanced the witch just has to kick to start flying. You'd be surprised how quickly a "simple see-saw" turns in to 100kg of metal that requires some high quality welding and proper engineering design in order to make something that can actually cope with 2 adults, be moved about the stage easily and handle all the weird lateral forces playing on it. There's also a surprising amount of training and safety procedures required - if someone slightly over-Balances on one end they quickly fall off, the person on the other end plummets to the ground and someone gets whacked in the face by a metal beam. The last time we built something like this it cost the best part of a grand (to lift one person) and required 2 full days work by one of our team training the operators how to use it safely and anticipate the common problems. To the op - if the witches are wearing flowing robes and you can see their feet sticking out the bottom then you could make it look like they are floating 20-30cm off the ground using nothing more than a spare pair of shoes a bulldog clip and a bit of thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmdh Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Even simpler: as most solutions would seem to require set to hide mechanics anyway, why not build a step into the set for the actors to use? With a bit of practice at smooth movement and suitable lighting it seems like something they should be able to do on their own? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owain Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Trampets? Could they bounce instead of fly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Get the cost people involved, and have long costumes at the front, and a black painted step or two . The costumes touch the floor and they just step backwards up onto the step, and then the next if they can do it. If they keep their knees bent they can raise up quite effectively. (AND - totally safely) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 Real flying costs money, takes skill and practise time, it's probably left to professionals. Phoney flying is very effective if you can get the stage dark enough and ONLY light the bits you want to be seen. Lowering the rest of the scenery works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Pallet truck ? It's only a foot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owain Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 Could they whoosh horizontally on skateboards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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