'The Party Never Stops'
Planning
I spoke with the group and asked:
What will the seating layout be?
How long is the show?
How many head mics are needed?
Chairs and tables on the floor
45 minutes
1
What is the style/aesthetic of the show in consideration of lighting?
Any extra technical requirements?
1930s Old Hollywood
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Projection Screen
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Floor LEDs
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Voiceovers
Considerations this information creates are:​
Problem
As this is mostly comprised of dancing, is another technician necessary OR can I utilise timecoding and QLab to create a more automated setup I could run alone?
Solution
I can explore setting up timecoding on the day once I know the complexity of the light plot, but even without this I see solo operation as an available option, much like I was told is common in the industry at Theatre by the Lakes.
Problem
Should I choose to operate alone, will I still need to recruit extra people to help me put up projection screen?
Solution
The show on the previous day has the projection screen up so I should be able to leave this up.
Problem
Have they recorded voiceovers or will I need to take them into studio?
Solution
They have arranged to have them recorded by a media student, so I only need to ensure I am sent the audio files.
Problem
Where can I safely position floor LEDs without creating health and safety risks?
Solution
I can use the row of tables they are setting up across the front to place the lights beneath or along the front of.
SHOW DAY
22nd May
​
The start of this morning was much easier than the last, as the PA system, lights, mic receivers, desks and laptops were already set up from the last show. There was only one mic being used in this show for exclusively speech so a ring out wasn't overly necessary, but nonetheless this was conveniently already done on the previous day.
However, instead of setting up hardware, I still had to set up software, as the lighting plot was incomplete due to lack of available time in the theatre. I resumed this as we began a stop and start tech run, collaborating with both tutors and Hannah, the student I had previously been working with on the lights, to complete the ideas and plot for the show. As this piece is mostly dancing, I was able to create some effective lighting states using silhouettes and highlighting, but with the piece being set in the early 20th century, I had to keep colours and effects minimal and appropriate.
The lighting issue with the moving heads from the previous show initially continued, so as stated in my last evaluation, I went to our technician for an opinion and some assistance. He informed me that we have some spare heads of the same type, so we switched out the two most problematic ones for the spares. This did appear to solve the issue, however they did have their own issues with one of the heads having some colour problems. These heads are LED and use R(ed)G(reen)B(lue)W(hite) diodes, but one quarter of the head seems to just have G+W. This is not an easily fixable problem, but also isn't a major problem and the main issue of the heads switching off did not come back for the rest of the day.
​
Their tracks, media and voiceovers had been edited into one MP4 that I set up to play through QLab. This made operation significantly easier, however it came with a downside where if we wanted to change something, for example we wanted to replace a low quality backing track with a higher quality one, the whole thing had to be taken off to be edited and then replaced. While this was still a good setup, another issue was the QLab software showing on the projector before and after the video played, which looks unprofessional. I was able to problem solve this by screenshotting the opening title, and putting it as an image into QLab for a huge length of time, so that it would act as a resting screen before and after the performance.
With this setup, I could not use my idea I had considered in my problem solving (at the top of this page) of timecoding the lights to the tracks in ChamSys, but with so many media segments and voiceovers necessary, and once again with myself operating this independently, this was probably the best possible setup.
Thus, operation during the show was surprisingly simple. For the lighting operation side, the main challenge was that unlike usual theatre, there wasn't always a line or lyric to cue from, so I created a cue list as I had learnt about when researching industry documentation, and found this a better way of keeping track for this kind of production than working off a script. You can find my cue list attached below.
'The Party Never Stops' - Full Show
Final EvAluation
I found this an interesting project to work on, as with the media tracks and voiceovers all being one MP4, there was no variability on timings. This brought pros and cons, as everything was consistent and required much less operation than usual, however there was no room for error, nor was there the chance to extend blackouts for any reason as we usually would for perhaps a technical issue or delay in performers or set reaching the stage. While this required me to be intensely focused throughout the whole show, it was thankfully only a short show for this level of intensity. This length also allowed more dress runs which gave me more familiarity with the show, providing an extra level of comfort and confidence as well as more chances to make edits and fine tunings.
Furthermore, this time allowed me to create a cue list, which I felt was particularly useful for this production. This was an opportunity to apply my research on industry standard paperwork, with this being my first attempt at creating such a document, as well as familiarise myself better with common theatre terminology. Both of these aspects will help me greatly in the future should my freelance career involve more theatre.
In terms of the show itself, the only issue I really had was hitting a cue too early, however I was able to react quickly and immediately return to the correct cue. In reflection, this happened due to the fact from where I was sat, I had quite low visibility so I could not see that the SL spot was on, heard him speak and presumed the current cue to be a blackout hence the next cue to be the spot. To avoid any similar issues in future shows, I will arrange my desk and computer setup in a manner that allows clearer visibility, as well as trying to source a higher seat, or in the case of a show on the flat, perhaps a staging block.
From the previous show, I had continued my problem solving on the moving head issue and thankfully it turned out successfully, with the heads remaining on for the full performance, a testament to my persistence in solving the issue rather than just giving up and accepting it.
Ultimately, I was satisfied with the resulting lights, or as satisfied as I could be regarding the fact most lights were created on the day. The feedback I received from Hannah, the student I worked closest with on the lighting plot and tech, showed she shared this view, giving a 5/5 for satisfaction with the final result and responding 'Yes' when asked if she would consider me for future roles in a professional context after my work on this project.