Sensors and Encoders
This was a good session presented in part by Loren Schreiber which covered the various types of encoders and sensors. The bulk of the time was spent on encoders. And he gave away good swag – booklets called BEI Industial Encoders for Dummies.
The last session for me was Scene Shop Structures: Commercial, Regional, Educational, with David Boevers, Joel Krause, Shannon Nickerson, and myself. David Boevers has the power point of his slides online on his blog, which you can check out here: http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/2008/03/usitt-slides.html
The session was interesting. While there was a comparioson done about how the traditional lort structure is, the opera structure where the TD is over props and paint, and then the commercial structure. The rest of the session was about CMU’s “crazy scheme” where they adapted to a commercial structure in their educational setting. It was interesting, and it made me wonder if such an experiment would be good on a larger scale. For instance, handling multiple projects in the “real world” is very common, yet academically, you may not always be in a position to handle multiple theatre assignments, or when you do they are in different positions or departments.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
USITT Day 3
Simple Machines
This session went over the various simple machines – levers, pulleys, wheels and axels, and the wedge. The session coupled first presenters with more experienced panelist which created a good opportunity for students to get involved.
Each pair demonstrated how the simple machines worked, provided a few examples and the math involved.
ETCP Rigging Certification Information Session. This session discussed who the certification was aimed toward (the top third), and how to apply. They also took audience questions.
Postering Session. Here 4 different individuals presented “posters” regarding information they had been researching. One was about the plastic PETG – PolyEthelene Terephtalate Glygol, Copolyester sold under the brand names Vivak and Spectar. It’s available in .20 to .236” thick sheets and runs about $34.00 for 1/16” thick sheet. The samples passed out were pretty durable. The cool thing about this plastic was that it could be used for vacuum-form.
Another topic was presented by C. Randell Newton about the Physics of Water regarding creating pools on stage.
The third was presented by Heather Hillhouse-Deans which was about simple projects for teaching Lathe work.
The forth was about TTR – Technical training on the Road. This is a 4 hour workshop that can be taken to colleges and high schools. It comes in two varieties- a pneumatics and a motors and drives workshop. It sounds like a great program and will allow a variety of people to work with valves and motors and cylinders and such without having the equipment on hand, or under the pressure of a production. Secondly, I think it’s a great way to create a learning environment. It reminds me of a portable station like can be found here:
http://www.amatrol.com/Products/Automation_Systems.htm.
I really believe that innovative classroom hands-on learning is necessary for learning automation in particular, and helpful for classes such as rigging.
This session went over the various simple machines – levers, pulleys, wheels and axels, and the wedge. The session coupled first presenters with more experienced panelist which created a good opportunity for students to get involved.
Each pair demonstrated how the simple machines worked, provided a few examples and the math involved.
ETCP Rigging Certification Information Session. This session discussed who the certification was aimed toward (the top third), and how to apply. They also took audience questions.
Postering Session. Here 4 different individuals presented “posters” regarding information they had been researching. One was about the plastic PETG – PolyEthelene Terephtalate Glygol, Copolyester sold under the brand names Vivak and Spectar. It’s available in .20 to .236” thick sheets and runs about $34.00 for 1/16” thick sheet. The samples passed out were pretty durable. The cool thing about this plastic was that it could be used for vacuum-form.
Another topic was presented by C. Randell Newton about the Physics of Water regarding creating pools on stage.
The third was presented by Heather Hillhouse-Deans which was about simple projects for teaching Lathe work.
The forth was about TTR – Technical training on the Road. This is a 4 hour workshop that can be taken to colleges and high schools. It comes in two varieties- a pneumatics and a motors and drives workshop. It sounds like a great program and will allow a variety of people to work with valves and motors and cylinders and such without having the equipment on hand, or under the pressure of a production. Secondly, I think it’s a great way to create a learning environment. It reminds me of a portable station like can be found here:
http://www.amatrol.com/Products/Automation_Systems.htm.
I really believe that innovative classroom hands-on learning is necessary for learning automation in particular, and helpful for classes such as rigging.
USITT Day 2
First, I apologize for the multiple postings. The hotels wireless network, and my laptop didn’t play nicely together. Hence, I am now posting the remaining posts.
The Expo opened today, and the floor was hoping. Lots of good books have come out, that are being offered – Heads and Tales by Bill Sapsis, the new version of John Huntington’s Show control book. They have the new automation book, as well as the normal offerings.
Integrating Show Control into your system was the first session I went to today, presented by John Huntington. It was a good session. I thought the session was very though and well presented. One of the things he said a couple times, and true in many more ways than just show control was if you can’t afford to do it right / safely, then you can’t afford to do it at all. He had a bit on value engineering that I thought was interesting. It is true that after deductions, somehow most designers still assume they get the fully functionality and ease of operation after cuts. I have never been quite sure how they that occurs, but I have been a victim of it – I’ll admit. At any rate, I enjoyed the session.
Next was the Physics of Rigging, presented by Eric C Martell and Verda Beth Martell. It too was very well presented. They started with a simple situation (a bowling ball hung from a cable / rope and showed the forces mathematically. They also demonstrated this with load cells. They moved on to moving forces, then multiple points and bridles. For more information about the information they presented you can check go here: http://www2.kcpa.uiuc.edu/kcpatd/physics/index.htm
I ended the sessions today with the Technical Production Commission reception. It’s always great to put faces to names – people on the stagecraft list, people who design this or that from the tech expo and such. It’s also interesting see all of the commissions and a bit of the inner workings of USITT. It’s an avenue that I would like to get more involved in, myself.
The Expo opened today, and the floor was hoping. Lots of good books have come out, that are being offered – Heads and Tales by Bill Sapsis, the new version of John Huntington’s Show control book. They have the new automation book, as well as the normal offerings.
Integrating Show Control into your system was the first session I went to today, presented by John Huntington. It was a good session. I thought the session was very though and well presented. One of the things he said a couple times, and true in many more ways than just show control was if you can’t afford to do it right / safely, then you can’t afford to do it at all. He had a bit on value engineering that I thought was interesting. It is true that after deductions, somehow most designers still assume they get the fully functionality and ease of operation after cuts. I have never been quite sure how they that occurs, but I have been a victim of it – I’ll admit. At any rate, I enjoyed the session.
Next was the Physics of Rigging, presented by Eric C Martell and Verda Beth Martell. It too was very well presented. They started with a simple situation (a bowling ball hung from a cable / rope and showed the forces mathematically. They also demonstrated this with load cells. They moved on to moving forces, then multiple points and bridles. For more information about the information they presented you can check go here: http://www2.kcpa.uiuc.edu/kcpatd/physics/index.htm
I ended the sessions today with the Technical Production Commission reception. It’s always great to put faces to names – people on the stagecraft list, people who design this or that from the tech expo and such. It’s also interesting see all of the commissions and a bit of the inner workings of USITT. It’s an avenue that I would like to get more involved in, myself.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
USITT Day 1
I arrived in Houston today for the first day of USITT. The flight was good – the weather was good (for once I am glad I didn’t try to come a day early. Took in a view sessions, and ran into a lot of people – which is always one of my favorite things about coming here. Thought I would take a few minutes and write down a little about the seminars today.
Designing and building simple performer flying systems Presented by Dilbert Hall and Johnathan Deull.
The seminar was good for the most part. They present systems I haven’t used before, and variations of ones I am familiar with. I wish for seminars like this one that the power point outlines were made available, as it would be nice to have a copy of the schematics. Though I suppose, that publication creates a risk (presenting does as well of course). He covered straight lifts, pendulum swings, interdependent pendulum swings and some tracks. Most drawings showed variations – direct pull, mechanical advantage, and counterweight situations. The danger in a seminar such as this is that I belive it is a little deceiving. First, there is a great debate about whether or not flying effect should be done in house – or if you should bring in a reputable company. Second, calling it simple is deceiving. There are terminations and connections and working load factors and design factors that are important – even vital for the piece to be done safely. As they say – the devil is in the details. Many of these weren’t mentioned or glossed over. And as questions from the audience clearly indicated a low level of rigging proficiency, I wonder if seminars like this increase risks. You know have 60 or so people who just watched how you could simply “safely” rig a performer to fly, and who are in an age range that won’t often question the deeper intricacies of the situation.
Cruise Ship Safety for Technicians and Designers
This was geared mostly to people who were looking to work on a cruise ship. The panel discussed who governs cruise ships (and it is interesting that maintenance is handled by an agency that isn’t theatrical in nature), and what the biggest safety issues are. They talked a little of show control (though the automation control and the rest of the show are on different systems), and automation. They mentioned that all soft goods are flame retardant and tested yearly, and that all scenery must be secured when not in use. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping to learn a little about how they make scenery and props safer for the boats. The rigging on the line sets are tracked in a different manner, automation is used a little different, and stuff like that. I had also wondered if any different scenic materials were needed due to the environment and safety issues. Or if things were built in a different manner – say mostly out of aluminum, for example. While it didn’t answer all of my questions, I did like that it was talking a little about commercial theatre, and that it involved outside people (a rep from the Coast Guard was one of the presenters).
Lifting, Moving, and Stopping: Tools and machines that help.
This was presented by a large panel of people, and was perhaps my favorite of the day. Each person had slides of things they had worked on. There were pancake cyclinder feet, the same with casters, Chris Fretts pads that were in the tech expo last year, and a variety of traps, and effects. A rotating step unit was also nicely done. They also called out pneumatic cable guides – showing one small unit as a project browser. I think these units are very interesting, and think that there could be a lot more uses for the cable guides than what is being seen currently.
Designing and building simple performer flying systems Presented by Dilbert Hall and Johnathan Deull.
The seminar was good for the most part. They present systems I haven’t used before, and variations of ones I am familiar with. I wish for seminars like this one that the power point outlines were made available, as it would be nice to have a copy of the schematics. Though I suppose, that publication creates a risk (presenting does as well of course). He covered straight lifts, pendulum swings, interdependent pendulum swings and some tracks. Most drawings showed variations – direct pull, mechanical advantage, and counterweight situations. The danger in a seminar such as this is that I belive it is a little deceiving. First, there is a great debate about whether or not flying effect should be done in house – or if you should bring in a reputable company. Second, calling it simple is deceiving. There are terminations and connections and working load factors and design factors that are important – even vital for the piece to be done safely. As they say – the devil is in the details. Many of these weren’t mentioned or glossed over. And as questions from the audience clearly indicated a low level of rigging proficiency, I wonder if seminars like this increase risks. You know have 60 or so people who just watched how you could simply “safely” rig a performer to fly, and who are in an age range that won’t often question the deeper intricacies of the situation.
Cruise Ship Safety for Technicians and Designers
This was geared mostly to people who were looking to work on a cruise ship. The panel discussed who governs cruise ships (and it is interesting that maintenance is handled by an agency that isn’t theatrical in nature), and what the biggest safety issues are. They talked a little of show control (though the automation control and the rest of the show are on different systems), and automation. They mentioned that all soft goods are flame retardant and tested yearly, and that all scenery must be secured when not in use. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping to learn a little about how they make scenery and props safer for the boats. The rigging on the line sets are tracked in a different manner, automation is used a little different, and stuff like that. I had also wondered if any different scenic materials were needed due to the environment and safety issues. Or if things were built in a different manner – say mostly out of aluminum, for example. While it didn’t answer all of my questions, I did like that it was talking a little about commercial theatre, and that it involved outside people (a rep from the Coast Guard was one of the presenters).
Lifting, Moving, and Stopping: Tools and machines that help.
This was presented by a large panel of people, and was perhaps my favorite of the day. Each person had slides of things they had worked on. There were pancake cyclinder feet, the same with casters, Chris Fretts pads that were in the tech expo last year, and a variety of traps, and effects. A rotating step unit was also nicely done. They also called out pneumatic cable guides – showing one small unit as a project browser. I think these units are very interesting, and think that there could be a lot more uses for the cable guides than what is being seen currently.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
A blog to check out
I came across the following blog from Carnegie Mellon:
http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/
It has some great information. I also like the idea behind it. Having been in grad school not so long ago, a community resource like this could have been nice.
http://cmuptm.blogspot.com/
It has some great information. I also like the idea behind it. Having been in grad school not so long ago, a community resource like this could have been nice.
Monday, March 17, 2008
LED's
Lighting has become a great area to work with when trying to create a good bang for your buck. Plus, there are a lot of products out there that are simplifying processes that used to be time consuming, costly, and never as effective as desired. Though, admittedly, these new technologies don’t come without a price tag of their own.
The following two links over a product that is a flat sheet material. It can be used on floors, and can be bent as well.
http://www.ceelite.com/products/panels.asp
http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/rolipad6ledl.html
Flexible Led Lighting has gone way beyond rope lights and now can give neon a run for the money. Plus the RGB products look nice. I saw a production of Sweet Charity using these, and it was a nice effect. Below is one link – one example, it should be noted that this effect is available in many places – and in many names.
http://www.ledneonflex.com/mini-ledneon-flex.html
This site also has a glossary that seems to be a good resource:
http://www.ledneonflex.com/information/glossary.html
The following two links over a product that is a flat sheet material. It can be used on floors, and can be bent as well.
http://www.ceelite.com/products/panels.asp
http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/rolipad6ledl.html
Flexible Led Lighting has gone way beyond rope lights and now can give neon a run for the money. Plus the RGB products look nice. I saw a production of Sweet Charity using these, and it was a nice effect. Below is one link – one example, it should be noted that this effect is available in many places – and in many names.
http://www.ledneonflex.com/mini-ledneon-flex.html
This site also has a glossary that seems to be a good resource:
http://www.ledneonflex.com/information/glossary.html
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Slanted Spacers
I was looking for some spacers today and ran across these angled spacers at McMaster.com.
They also had spacers for pipe:
Seems silly, but I haven't used them before - but they could be handy in a variety of circumstances.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Chain
I recently read that Sencoa is producing a theatrical chain “rated for overhead lifting”.
You can found more information about it at:
http://prweb.com/releases/2008/1/prweb606631.htm
http://www.secoa.com/SpecsBrochures/STCAlloyChainCUtSheet.pdf
Previous chain was often too thick for normal hardware, however there were several available:
http://livedesignonline.com/gear/staging/theatrical_alloy_chain_anchor_shackles/
http://www.versales.com/ns/chain/theatrical.html
Lastly, it should be noted that “not for overhead lifting” is not defined quite as literally as it sounds. It really refers to being used in a chain hoist and not in the situations that we normally
http://www.jrclancy.com/Downloads/ChainforTheatricalUse.pdf
You can found more information about it at:
http://prweb.com/releases/2008/1/prweb606631.htm
http://www.secoa.com/SpecsBrochures/STCAlloyChainCUtSheet.pdf
Previous chain was often too thick for normal hardware, however there were several available:
http://livedesignonline.com/gear/staging/theatrical_alloy_chain_anchor_shackles/
http://www.versales.com/ns/chain/theatrical.html
Lastly, it should be noted that “not for overhead lifting” is not defined quite as literally as it sounds. It really refers to being used in a chain hoist and not in the situations that we normally
http://www.jrclancy.com/Downloads/ChainforTheatricalUse.pdf
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
HDU
Leafing through a sign magazine during lunch today I came across a product that made me wonder if it would be practical for scenery. Its High Density Urethane. Its works like wood, but is much more durable. And it comes in sheets up to 20" thick! It seemed like it could be a good alternative to foam when durable carved surfaces are needed. It also seemed like it would be a great alternative for outdoor theatre.
You can look at the FAQ at:
http://www.precisionboard.com/Sign/faq/SignageFAQ.pdf
You can look at the FAQ at:
http://www.precisionboard.com/Sign/faq/SignageFAQ.pdf
Monday, March 3, 2008
Looking Around Corners
I recently just finished reading “Looking Around Corners: The art of problem prevention” by Andrew Dubrin. There were points in the book that I really liked and agreed with. Basically the author aims to provide the reader with some tactics to avoid common pitfalls and problems, as well as teach mechanisms that will enable the reader to learn to avoid potential problems on their own.
A couple of the ideas that I thought were particularly interesting was the use of visualization to both picture both potential problems and solutions. Also the author touched on investigating true causes and not fixing the superficial problems or indicators, which I feel is important. At one point he asks the read to ask why 5 times. Each time you get closer to the root of the problem. He also talks about double loop learning. The problem may be in assumptions that you take for granted, and one must think about what underlies the problem as much as the problem.
For groups they recommend starting the team with 3 actions: sharing who they are, what they have to contribute, what they do outside of work (interests / hobbies), and finally concerns and thoughts about joining the group. I thought this was a fascinating way to put the resistance out front – though I think the answers to the last could be very predictable.
Finally, I thought it was good that they talked of unintended consequences. Sometimes a solution that works creates other problems. Have a sale to raise sales in the first quarter, can affect the sales in the second quarter. Choosing a construction method might be great in the shop and next to impossible to transport…. Thinking through not just the solution, but the potential of future problems is important as well.
All in all it was a decent book. Easy to read, though a little dry at times.
A couple of the ideas that I thought were particularly interesting was the use of visualization to both picture both potential problems and solutions. Also the author touched on investigating true causes and not fixing the superficial problems or indicators, which I feel is important. At one point he asks the read to ask why 5 times. Each time you get closer to the root of the problem. He also talks about double loop learning. The problem may be in assumptions that you take for granted, and one must think about what underlies the problem as much as the problem.
For groups they recommend starting the team with 3 actions: sharing who they are, what they have to contribute, what they do outside of work (interests / hobbies), and finally concerns and thoughts about joining the group. I thought this was a fascinating way to put the resistance out front – though I think the answers to the last could be very predictable.
Finally, I thought it was good that they talked of unintended consequences. Sometimes a solution that works creates other problems. Have a sale to raise sales in the first quarter, can affect the sales in the second quarter. Choosing a construction method might be great in the shop and next to impossible to transport…. Thinking through not just the solution, but the potential of future problems is important as well.
All in all it was a decent book. Easy to read, though a little dry at times.
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