Author Topic: So our theatre is poor, but I'm trying to make a cue light system.  (Read 5242 times)

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dackj

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So I ask my fellow SMs for advice: How do you think I could make an after-market cue light system? I'm thinking of using those remote controlled outlets along with a coloured nightlight plugged into them, but the distance between my booth and the stage is too far. What do you guys think?
Is there a cheap solution that I'm overlooking?

nick_tochelli

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If the theater has a headset system and you have spare belt packs you could use the call button. Providing you have people who are smart enough to never use the call button around the time you have a cue.

SMrose

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I had to cue a scene change crew upstage (not enough intercom packs in this case), so I ran a cable from one of the lighting circuits to their area and used a blue light bulb.  I programed the chanel to a submaster on the light board and then used the "flash" button to blink the light.  Light blinking meant "time to exicute the next scene change".

If you had enough spare circuits, you could use different color lights to expand the cueing.
« Last Edit: Nov 27, 2011, 08:21 am by SMrose »

maximillionx

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I had to cue a scene change crew upstage (not enough intercom packs in this case), so I ran a cable from one of the lighting circuits to their area and used a blue light bulb.  I programed the chanel to a submaster on the light board and then used the "flash" button to blink the light.  Light blinking meant "time to exicute the next scene change".

If you had enough spare circuits, you could use different color lights to expand the cueing.

I've done this before. Worked great. I even once managed to program the cue light into a lighting change so I never had to worry about it.

I've made my own cue light system with a few switches, a spool of wire, a gang box and some black lights. Definitely cheaper than the commercial ones and way easy to do if you know your way around simple wiring.

ScooterSM

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For several years we used a small clip light attached to a long extension cord which ran through the ceiling into the booth, where it was attached to a power strip with a rocker switch.  Turn the power strip on, light comes on, turn it off and the light goes out.  Worked wonders!
“I've never been paid a lot, but the theatre has kept me, and for that I shall be eternally grateful.” Tony Church

dackj

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Some people on Reddit have recommended x10: http://www.smarthome.com/_/X10_USA/_/1yN/nav.aspx
I'm not sure how easy this would be to implement, since I'm not allowed to actually install anything into the theatre.

missliz

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I once worked in a space where the sound op (on the other side of the venue) had a blue clip light, run with extension cords all the way to the booth, plugged in to a power strip in the booth. I could click the power strip on for standby (turning on the blue light) and then flick it back off to call the cue.
I personally would like to bring a tortoise onto the stage, turn it into a racehorse, then into a hat, a song, a dragon and a fountain of water. One can dare anything in the theatre and it is the place where one dares the least. -Ionesco

Mac Calder

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X10 is probably a bit too slow for cue lights - at times there can be a good 3 second lag on it before the light will come on.

Most theatres have XLR patching to pretty much everywhere. You can use a switch, power supply and small lightbulb to make a really basic cue light system - just wire one side of the switch to pin 2 on an XLR, pin 3 to the negative side of the power supply. Then join the possitive to the other side of the switch. At the other end, join pin 2 to the + on the bulb, 3 to the -'ve. Bobs your uncle.

PSMAK

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I'm currently doing the power strip method at the moment and I find it hard to execute the cues, especially with three or four of them. I mostly use them for follow spots. We don't have the budget as well for any big system. I've suggest this: http://www.idjnow.com/StoreModules/ProductDetails.aspx/PID=SC8FSYSTEM#fulldesc. I don't think it's that bulky and I wouldn't have power strips unevenly spaced and everything is closer together. Right now for cue lights we're using rope lights, which (I think) don't give off much power. So it all should be alright for one of my wall outlets in the booth.