Tips for New comers

[willjam39]

Hi Guys,

 

I have a simple question to pass the time. What are the best bits of advice for novice/ the not very experienced that you wish you'd known sooner?

 

I run a small blog on Amdram backstage to highlight the skills that go in behind the scenes and thought a post with this kind of thing would be a good mix up with look backs etc.

 

Will

[alistermorton]

Don't be afraid to ask questions.

[Barney]

Don't be afraid to ask questions.

 

He wasn't :D

Edited May 19, 2020 by Barney

[ImagineerTom]

More relevant now than ever.... have a backup. It's highly likely that we will have a similar shutdown in the next few years so having a skill or social circle outside the industry that you can escape to wold be a very wise move.

[sandall]

When running round the grid in the dark, or when the lighting bars are attached to the roof steelwork, wear a cap, preferably a thick one.

 

 

More relevant now than ever.... have a backup

 

 

Maybe less relevant for amdram practitioners?

 

 

Edited May 19, 2020 by sandall

[Brian]

What are the best bits of advice for novice/ the not very experienced that you wish you'd known sooner?

 

Don't give up the day job.

[willjam39]

The Hard hat is certainly a wise one.

 

I must admit I always worry I might annoy someone if asking questions of pro guys but its usually been worth it.

[ImagineerTom]

When running round the grid in the dark, or when the lighting bars are attached to the roof steelwork, wear a cap, preferably a thick one.

 

 

More relevant now than ever.... have a backup

 

 

Maybe less relevant for amdram practitioners?

 

 

Still relevant - if your only or primary hobby is built around theatre and you have no social or hobby links outside the am-dram sector then you really should be developing other interests or social links for exactly the same reason a pro should ensure they have some industry cross over skills.

[kerry davies]

I must admit I always worry I might annoy someone if asking questions of pro guys but its usually been worth it.

You only annoy when asking at inappropriate times or nagging constantly. Most "pro guys" actually get a kick out of passing on knowledge and engaging their inner mentor.

 

Things like safety, engineering and physics have rules, creative stuff like lighting angles only have guidance. You can't break the rules on gravity but breaking the rules on lighting angles is "art". Read all the texts, be safe at all times and have fun.

[IRW]

breaking the rules on lighting angles is "art".

 

To a degree...!

 

More relevant now than ever.... have a backup. It's highly likely that we will have a similar shutdown in the next few years so having a skill or social circle outside the industry that you can escape to wold be a very wise move.

 

I would also add to this, don't let your pride get in the way of putting food on the table...Most people on here know me in my technical management/theatrecraft tutoring or touring LX #1 capacity, but given the extreme unlikelyhood of any theatre work this side of September, if not later, and with a baby due in September, I can currently be found bobbing around Liverpool doing home deliveries for Tescos...!

Edited May 19, 2020 by IRW

[sandall]

The Hard hat is certainly a wise one.

Hard hats are for building sites, places where someone might drop something on you (though of course you shouldn't be standing where someone might drop something on you!!) & for politicians doing photo-ops. IMHO for rigging or focussing lights, whether crawling round a grid or up a ladder, the amount they restrict your vision makes them dangerous. On the other hand wearing a bump-cap, or even a baseball-cap or beany, can save you leaving portions of scalp on things you thought you had ducked under.

Edited May 19, 2020 by sandall

[paulears]

The very worst amateur are those who try to emulate professional productions without knowing very much about what happens. Crazy rules that transfer from venue to venue badly. Stupid adherence to hierarchical pyramids. The worst of course is assuming that age=experience. The best amateur companies give the jobs to the most appropriate people, and live with an 18yr olds running clever, expensive and technical resources - simply because they understand it and can do it properly. The worst ones need the 18yr old, but put them working under an older person who simply is out of their depth. They get fed up and leave.

 

The good news over the past 20-30 years is that amateurs are getting better at everything, sometimes even better than the pros, who always have budget ahead of art, yet shout the reverse loudly.

 

Over the past year I've restarted doing jobs for amateur organisations and I like it.

[Charlotte_R]

The Hard hat is certainly a wise one.

Hard hats are for building sites, places where someone might drop something on you (though of course you shouldn't be standing where someone might drop something on you!!) & for politicians doing photo-ops. IMHO for rigging or focussing lights, whether crawling round a grid or up a ladder, the amount they restrict your vision makes them dangerous. On the other hand wearing a bump-cap, or even a baseball-cap or beany, can save you leaving portions of scalp on things you thought you had ducked under.

 

What about when you're focusing lights from a work positioning harness?

 

Bump caps and baseball caps also have a peak, why are they so much safer? It is possible to buy hard hats without a peak - I own a petzl vertex - are they acceptable?

[kerry davies]

If you are climbing up into a space that has overhead obstructions, especially metal ones, it is only sensible to wear a hard hat. It has been BT/GPO policy to do so for decades and it became second nature for me. Bashing your head when stepping up is as dangerous as having something drop on you, not only do you risk head injury you become much more likely to fall off whatever you are climbing.

[sandall]

Of course hard-hats have their place in some professional work environments, & there are many better alternatives to the standard site-issue hard shell, but that wasn't the OP's question. This is personal opinion, based on personal experience, & I admit to being biased, but in over 40 years of climbing steel ladders the first time I was required to wear a (standard site-issue) hard hat it nearly led to me falling 40 feet, because I couldn't see the obstruction that caused me to lose my grip. The last time I was required to wear one was visiting a totally open site where the only possible overhead hazard would have been a bird with poor bowel control.

 

If you climb up into something while wearing a hard hat both you & whatever you hit can suffer considerable shock, possible causing one or both to be dislodged & fall. If you are wearing a soft hat you (a) get warning that you are about to hit something that might hurt you & (b) have time to stop before it does. Just my 2p-worth.

Edited May 20, 2020 by sandall