Author Topic: TECH: Red and Yellow and Blue and Green (spike tape)  (Read 6517 times)

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philimbesi

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TECH: Red and Yellow and Blue and Green (spike tape)
« on: Oct 30, 2006, 01:07 pm »
Two quick questions, whats the consenus on spike tape color,  everyone use different colors or does everyone use the same color?  

and

If you use different colors do you split it by scene or by piece?  In other words act 1 scene 1 is the blue spikes or the sofa goes on the blue spikes?
« Last Edit: Jun 08, 2009, 11:54 pm by PSMKay »

megf

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Re: Red and Yellow and Blue and Green
« Reply #1 on: Oct 30, 2006, 01:22 pm »
Depends on what the show needs - the last musical I did had a number of locations with large pieces, but virtually nothing moved during scenes. We assigned a single spike color to each location. When I did a show with a multilevel unit set at my college, we spiked all ground-level pieces in green (like earth... or grass...), all flying pieces in yellow (sun...) and any moving pieces in red or blue, depending on whether the cast or crew were responsible for moving things. Stairs were in white and gray, depending on on/offstage position.

MatthewShiner

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Re: Red and Yellow and Blue and Green
« Reply #2 on: Oct 30, 2006, 02:00 pm »
I think in the end you have to spike what is best for the show - don't get too caught up in making a system and sticking to it every show - because every show will have it's own needs.

I have done spikes per scene, per set or funriture peice. It depends.

I am also a big fan of getting rid of spike tape and replacing with paint pen marks - that way the fear of tape being ripped up is gone.
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reds

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Re: Red and Yellow and Blue and Green
« Reply #3 on: Oct 30, 2006, 02:12 pm »
I like that idea of the paint....it will save me a ton of time during shows that have a lot of movement and dance numbers.  Also, because I often work with kids, it will keep the "little ones"  from picking on it.  Thanks!
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thehayworth

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Re: Red and Yellow and Blue and Green
« Reply #4 on: Oct 30, 2006, 04:05 pm »
My system varies by the needs of each show.  Each is different.  Sometimes walls are one color, platforms another.  Sometimes each scene is a different color.  Sometimes the cheap producer won't buy spike tape so it is all one color.


In rehearsals, always BRIGHT.  Most of my shows, the audience is very close to stage so we use a duller spike tapeto blend in more with stage floor.
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angelofmusic1781

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Re: Red and Yellow and Blue and Green
« Reply #5 on: Oct 30, 2006, 10:25 pm »
Each show needs different things.  You have to do what is best for the actors and set of each show.  Once the show goes into preview I pull up the tape and switch to paint.  While in rehearsal I keep a ground plan (in scale) showing the different spikes and their color.  This way when the director or designer says lets put the chair back where it was during rehearsal four days ago I can quickly pull out some measuring tape and recreate the old spikes.

Aerial

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Re: Red and Yellow and Blue and Green
« Reply #6 on: Oct 31, 2006, 12:18 am »
I agree that all shows are different, and I too, tend to go brighter in rehearsal.  For shows with spiked furniture or set pieces, the color often depends on who is moving the piece.  If it's crew, I usually like brown, dark green, or just Sharpie.  If it's an actor...I tend to go a little brighter.

butch

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Re: Red and Yellow and Blue and Green
« Reply #7 on: Oct 31, 2006, 01:03 am »
The last several shows I did, it ended up being mostly glow tape. Almost all of the scene changes for the season were done in complete blackout in pretty much a dead sprint. I don't remember a BO longer than 15 seconds. Granted it was the round, so there were no walls to contend with...

Whitewater

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Re: Red and Yellow and Blue and Green
« Reply #8 on: Nov 06, 2006, 05:23 am »
I worked with a director once (mercifully, I forget the show) who insisted on different colors for each piece of set that moved. There were a lot of set pieces that moved. We wound up using red/yellow/green/blue/brown/pink/orange/purple/white/glow and neon of all of the above. Yikes!


Now I generally go with one color per set change and make a rough sketch/map to refer to if necessary.


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TheaterTek

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Re: Red and Yellow and Blue and Green
« Reply #9 on: Nov 07, 2006, 09:06 pm »
Different colors mean different things and they change as the show goes on.
it may be different levels of a stage that doesn't move, or one color for each piece of a larger set, or the different placements for different pieces.
if spike tape is used during a perfrmance the color changes to blend better with the stage color.

 

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