Author Topic: Stupid Question..  (Read 4841 times)

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nrs2014

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Stupid Question..
« on: Feb 28, 2013, 10:23 pm »
This is probably going to sound sooo stupid but I'm brand new to stage management. I'm currently reading a stage management handbook and on the master cue sheets there is a "count" section then it will say 10 seconds or something like that. What exactly does this count mean?

I know this is probably one of the most common things used in stage management and I should know it..but I don't!

Thanks in advance for any help! :)

PSMKay

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Re: Stupid Question..
« Reply #1 on: Feb 28, 2013, 10:36 pm »
Usually it refers to how long it takes a cue to complete.

This was more necessary to know in the days before computerized boards became commonplace - we'd have to count down the process of slow light fades using our stopwatch to keep time. We still will sometimes have to count down the length of a cue over headset so that multiple ops can take it together. (Think - pacing a 15 second long manual sound cue fadeout, a follow spot iris and a rail cue to end at the same time.)

This is really how the stopwatch became an symbol for stage managers - it used to be far more crucial to the job than it is now. (Although it's still quite handy!)

nrs2014

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Re: Stupid Question..
« Reply #2 on: Feb 28, 2013, 10:40 pm »
Ohhh!! That makes so much more sense now! Thank you so much! :)

One more question, in one of the spaces it says "bump" rather than a number. What does this mean?

PSMKay

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Re: Stupid Question..
« Reply #3 on: Feb 28, 2013, 10:52 pm »
A bump cue executes immediately, with no fade time. So, if someone says they want a "bump to black" that means an immediate, sudden blackout.

LCSM

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Re: Stupid Question..
« Reply #4 on: Feb 28, 2013, 10:54 pm »
I usually hear/use "snap" for the same thing ("snap to black").

nrs2014

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Re: Stupid Question..
« Reply #5 on: Feb 28, 2013, 10:56 pm »
Oh okay, that's what I was thinking but wasn't sure. Thank you both!

KMC

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Re: Stupid Question..
« Reply #6 on: Mar 01, 2013, 08:36 am »
There are no stupid questions.   ;)
Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action. -T. Roosevelt

RuthNY

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Re: Stupid Question..
« Reply #7 on: Mar 01, 2013, 09:36 am »
A bump is a "zero" second count, on today's light boards.





One more question, in one of the spaces it says "bump" rather than a number. What does this mean?
"Be fair with others, but then keep after them until they're fair with you."
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hbelden

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Re: Stupid Question..
« Reply #8 on: Mar 02, 2013, 04:40 am »
The "Count" is especially important for flying scenery, which (at this point) is still manual.  It's also a useful column for automated scenery, but I usually leave that blank as most often the set designer wants to figure it out onstage instead of theoretically.
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Heath Belden

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