Do you trust your tech?

Post by **happywaffle** » April 11th, 2012, 9:19 am

Spaztique wrote:
AllisonAsher wrote:
jillybee72 wrote:Why aren't the theaters training their techs?
Amen.

Paging David Zimmerman for class patrol...
I really want to lead a tech workshop. It's just a matter of where and when.

Pleeeeease do this.

I haven't dealt with any *disastrous* tech that I can remember, but I have seen the booth miss a "wipe" signal (or an obvious button) from the stage many times, and it hurts the energy of the scene/show if the lights don't drop when they should.

I always loved teching because of how much control you had over the show by doing so little. But you have to be watching the scene like a hawk to do it right.

jillybee72 · Post by **jillybee72** » April 15th, 2012, 3:05 am

Yeah, techs miss buttons. You know who else misses buttons? Everyone. Some scenes go on longer than they should and someone should edit them. This is a thing that happens. It's okay. The same thing that happens when your friends onstage don't edit should happen when your friend in the booth doesn't edit. You make some strong moves and keep going.

ratliff · Post by **ratliff** » April 15th, 2012, 9:16 am

Also: someone trained in one tradition is going to read a completely different button than someone trained in another. If you haven't ever thought about narrative, it's unlikely that you'll instinctively realize that the climax is not necessarily the end of the show, and anyone looking for a narrative-style conclusion in a Harold is probably going to have her hand on the switch for a long time.

Roy Janik · Post by **Roy Janik** » April 15th, 2012, 11:14 am

ratliff wrote:Also: someone trained in one tradition is going to read a completely different button than someone trained in another. If you haven't ever thought about narrative, it's unlikely that you'll instinctively realize that the climax is not necessarily the end of the show, and anyone looking for a narrative-style conclusion in a Harold is probably going to have her hand on the switch for a long time.

Agreed on both accounts. Though ultimately it's a communication thing. If don't clearly communicate how the ending should be navigated with tech, you shouldn't complain.

"After 24 minutes, pull the lights on a big laugh."
"We'll say 'And that's the way it was.'"

PGraph's normally goes like this:
"We'll wave the lights down ourselves, unless we're over time. Then, of course, do whatever you have to." We also demonstrate the hand gesture we're going to use.

NOW, if the tech screws it up after that, you get to blame them for ruining your show.

ratliff · Post by **ratliff** » April 15th, 2012, 11:29 am

Roy Janik wrote: NOW, if the tech screws it up after that, you get to blame them for ruining your show.

... and if your show can be ruined by the out, it might not have been as good as you think it was.

kbadr · Post by **kbadr** » April 15th, 2012, 1:10 pm

ratliff wrote:... and if your show can be ruined by the out, it might not have been as good as you think it was.

A fantastic run on a treadmill can leave you feeling quite perturbed if someone unplugs it 30 seconds before you intended to stop.

jillybee72 · Post by **jillybee72** » April 15th, 2012, 2:32 pm

A good thing to do is be unmistakable.

Post by **happywaffle** » April 15th, 2012, 6:15 pm

jillybee72 wrote:Yeah, techs miss buttons. You know who else misses buttons? Everyone. Some scenes go on longer than they should and someone should edit them. This is a thing that happens. It's okay. The same thing that happens when your friends onstage don't edit should happen when your friend in the booth doesn't edit. You make some strong moves and keep going.

Sounds like y'all focused on my parenthetical. And yes it's a "thing that happens," but it's something that we can all work on getting better at, both in the booth and on the stage.

However the most relevant, correctable problem is the tech missing an actual physical wipe signal, which (once you're close to the end of the set) they should be watching for very carefully. And as a more minor point, a sudden blackout is usually (but not always) preferable to a slow fade. It gives the end of the scene "punch."

[Obligatory: mentioning areas of improvement doesn't mean I think the folks in the booth don't rock it on a pretty much constant basis. Cause I don't think they don't rock it. I think they rock it.]

jillybee72 · Post by **jillybee72** » April 15th, 2012, 9:19 pm

Just get a remote control to use from stage if you're going to do that wipe gesture thing.

Post by **happywaffle** » April 15th, 2012, 9:24 pm

jillybee72 wrote:Just get a remote control to use from stage if you're going to do that wipe gesture thing.

Interesting…

I take it y'all don't ever do the wipe gesture thing? It's pretty standard fare for any short-form show around these parts.

jillybee72 · Post by **jillybee72** » April 15th, 2012, 9:28 pm

We don't have to do the wipe thing. Our techs all know when a game is over.

sara farr · Post by **sara farr** » April 16th, 2012, 12:49 am

jillybee72 wrote:We don't have to do the wipe thing. Our techs all know when a game is over.

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell · April 16th, 2012, 8:59 am

well, if we're getting a remote control, we should just go ahead and develop tech androids to run everything from the booth. who will then become self aware. and replace all of us. oh gods...what have we done? WHAT HAVE WE DONE???

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell · April 16th, 2012, 11:04 am

(all this tech has happened before. all this tech will happen again.)

Post by **Jon Bolden** » April 16th, 2012, 11:19 am

jillybee72 wrote:Just get a remote control to use from stage if you're going to do that wipe gesture thing.

I would have absolutely no problem using this.