Stagecraft Sem 1

Scenery and lights

Wood Hardness

Soft, semi, hard

Defects in Wood x7

Checking, Cupping, twist, wane, warp, bow, bend

Dimensional Lumbar

H x W x L

Actual is always 1/2” less than Nominal

Ex. 1 ½ x 5 ½ x 12’ ——- 2 × 6 × 12

Surfaces of Wood x3

Ingrain, Face, Edge

Tangential wood

Has been cut through

Pilot Bit

Hole to guide the screw in

PLYWOOD

Sold in thickness

Structural wood (Def + Examples)

Doesnt need reinforcement

• Plywood

• OSB

• Particle board

• MDF

Nonstructural wood (def + Examples)

Needs reinforcement

• MDF

• Luan

• Masonite

• Soundboard

• Homosote

Plywood Grades

A- No flaws, sanded

B- Sanded, filled

C- Unsanded, some flaws

D- Major flaws

OSB wood (characteristics)

Fragile type of wood

Structural

Less common, than plywood

Rabbet Joint

Dado Joint

Half Lap Joint

Screw

(what is it and draw/label it)

Fastener

Bigger shank = more force applicable

Types of Screws

• Drywall (Most Common)

• wood screw

• concrete screw (x2 threads)

• Tek Screw (steel)

Types of staples

Crown & Legs

• narrow crown

• medium crown

• Brad (T)

Bolts

(Needs what + types)

Needs nut and washer (dissipates force)

• Hex head

• Carriage head

Other types of Bolts

• lag bolt

• Machine screw

• flat metal screw

Golden rule of Fasteners

Always 2x the thickness of material you are attaching

Screw vs Bolt

(when to use which)

-Lower than waist height = Screw

-Higher than waist height = Bolt

PVA (GLUE) Types:

• Elmers

• Wood glue

Elmers Vs Wood glue

Elmers: cheaper & mixes w water

Wood glue: Expensive & hydrophobic

Liquid Nails

(what material are they used with)

Used for foam

Epoxy

two part adhesive

Spray Adhesive

Fabric to steel

bad to breath in

‘Great Stuff’

to fill cracks & glueing foam

very sticky

Hot Glue

For props and small things

Tape

Duct tape - DONT USE

Gaf tape - spike tape

Contact Cement

Faux brick/tile

only adheres to itself

Lighting Designer

Unifies the production

Brings all elements together

Scenic Designer

Creates the World

Costume Designer

Communicates importance of each character

4 Functions of Lighting

• Visibility

• Directing Focus

• Time of Day

• Setting the Mood

Qualities of Light / Controllable Properties of Light

• Distribution

• Angle

• Intensity

• Quality

• Color

• Movement

General Illumination

Wash- multiple lights doing the same thing

Specific Illumination

Specials- Only does one specific thing

Candles (types):

Beeswax: Steady, burns nicely, smells nice

Tallow: smokey

Most common lighting instruments

Fresnel & ERS (Ellipsoidal Reflector Spotlight

All types of Lighting Instruments

• Fresnel

• ERS

• PAR

• Scoop

• Beam Projector

Reflectors

Spherical - classic

Ellipsoidal - has 2 focal points

Parabolic - Straight jut of light

Flood lighting

How wide the light spills

Barn Doors (In lighting)

Helps to shape the light (a lil)

Tungsten Halogen Lamp

• Envelope

• Port?

• Base

• Filament

• Gas

Combo Reflector

from ground to 40ft up is all lit evenly

HMI Lamp

Not dimmable

Ballast (on lamp)

means its not dimmable

LED Lamp

visible spectrum of light: 370-700 (blue to red)

Hard to make white

emits heat// needs to be cooled

Planoconvex Lense

Heavy

Can crack

Weird glass always has tension/ can explode

Power Lens

Oval shaped / concave

Wash

GEL for Lens

• Color median

• made from acetate

  • absorbs all wavelengths of light except ones its designed to show

Seachanger (Lighting)

dichroic filter

wide range of colors

Moving Lights (Types)

• moving head

• mirror

Moving head Light

Head moves anywhere

is very slow and loud

uses addresses

Mirror (moving light)

only mirror moves // object is static

limited range

quiet & fast

Volts

Difference in electrical potential

Amps

Amt of electrical charge per second

Watts

Power being used

Resistance

to which a material opposes an electrical force

conductor: low resistance

Insulator: High resistence

Conductor

Low resistance (to electrical charge)

Insulator

High resistance (to electrical charge)

Types of Electricity

AC- alnternating over long distances, sin wave

DC -direct / short distance

“Dirty Power”

Power that can fluctuate in a theatre

• lights should always be able to resist this

Amps

Amount of electrical charge per sec

Series Circuit

Switch

H- hot

N - Neutral

Load

Source

Parallel circuit

H

N- neutral

Load

Source

Switch

West Virginia

W = V * A

How much a load can be on a circuit

Volts are forced // Amps are offered

Overheating Prevention

• Circuit breaker

• Thermal

• Magnetic

• Circuit fuse

• GFCI

• Matching V/W/A to the system

  • Polarity (matching to motor)

Mechanical Dimmer

Altered amt of light you got from source

(First ever used)

Saltwater Dimmer

used water evaporation

• caused salt to build up (and rats ☹ )

• not consistent or safe

Autotransformer (dimmer)

• high heat

  • high resistance caused fires

SCR (dimmer)

Allows only some electricity through / controls flow of electricity

clicks on/off for Hz / min

Power Circuit

How power gets to the lighting instrument etc

Control Circuit

Low Voltage

Used to send data

Needs a language

DMX Language (Control Protocol)

Most common in theatre

512 addresses in one universe

Address

how to tell a lighting instrument what to do

lighting pieces are all connected to one anothe

Universe

Needed to tell software what universe an address is in

Hard Patch

plug one piece of hardware into another (to transfer power)

‘cpmputer hardware’ ~ the stuff you can touch

Soft Patch

Like hardware ~ computer software: the buttons you press to tell it to do smth

Channels (On sound board)

Things you manipulate

ex. assigned light 1 to channel 6t

more things assigned to one = less control over

ETC Net

Transport of lighting data(DMX etc)

ASCAN

Sends multiple data on multiple universes to the whole building

Cueing

ex. Light1 to 80% and light2 to 50%

types: split fade, Auto follow

Split Fade

cueing light1 on, adding light2, dimming light1

Auto Follow cue

Able to link a cue to immediately follow a previous cue automatically

Breaking Strength

Force smth can withstand before it breaks

Safety Factor

Ratio applied to a breaking screen

most common in theatre is 1:8

Working Load Limit (WLL)

Using the safety factor ratio 1:8

ex. 2000lbs / 8 = 250 lbs

Static Load

Load is stationary, not moving, hanging

ex. chandelier in natasha pierre

Working Load

Load is a system in motion

Shock Load

Sudden force applied to a load

ex. chandelier hitting ground

Compression

Force pressing down

Tension

Pulling force (you cant push a rope)

Ways to build a rope

Braided

Twist

Braided Sheath with core

Natural Fiber vs Synthetic Fiber

Natural: cheaper, weaker, short life, needs friction to keep in place

Synthetic: expensive, stronger, longer life, doesn’t need friction, longer

Types of Natural Fiber

Hemp

Sissal

Cotton T

Types of Synthetic Fiber

Polyurethane

Polystyrene

Nylon

Polyester

Rigging Hardware

Aircraft Cable

NICO

Crosby

Thimble

Shackle

Turnbuckle

Quick Link Hang

Hanging Hardware

Bottom Hanger

Top Hanger

D-Ring

Chain

Mechanical Advantage

MA = Distance traded for Power

ex. seesaw example