Author Topic: stopwatches?  (Read 24627 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

isha

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 101
    • View Profile
    • http://
stopwatches?
« on: Mar 27, 2005, 03:17 am »
I've heard a lot about stopwatches recently. I think someone made a joke about how stage managers all have the same brand. What is "the" stopwatch? Is it "the" stopwatch because it's really accurate, or easy to use, or is there some other rockin' feature?
-isha
~isha

linka

  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 82
    • View Profile
stopwatches?
« Reply #1 on: Mar 27, 2005, 06:11 pm »
I stock upon my brand of stop watch because it has big numbers and doesn't make audible beeping noises or loud clicks when I start and stop. But I use the sports clocks like the sportline: giant timer when I'm at the table and only pull out my stop watch when I have to time specific scenes or quickchanges.

isha

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 101
    • View Profile
    • http://
stopwatches?
« Reply #2 on: Mar 27, 2005, 08:52 pm »
Thanks! Any other brand(s) types/reasons?
~isha

Tashi

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 15
    • View Profile
    • http://
stopwatches?
« Reply #3 on: Mar 31, 2005, 09:34 am »
Generally I've only used them for scene changes and quick changes. Every so often though a director may ask in a rehearsal for someone to time the acts so that they get an idea of the running time.

The one that I use is a typical sports stopwatch. Like Linka's it's got large numbers and doesn't click or beep. It's also really easy to use.
-- Tash

isha

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 101
    • View Profile
    • http://
stopwatches?
« Reply #4 on: Apr 01, 2005, 11:15 am »
Ok..got it. So, big numbers and no beeping.....*goes off to walmart to look for stopwatch that meets criteria*
THANKS!
-isha
~isha

linka

  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 82
    • View Profile
stopwatches?
« Reply #5 on: Apr 01, 2005, 03:20 pm »
or try a sporting goods store! I ususally go to Big 5 where there is a selection. Or if you are an online shopper, http://www.stopwatches.com/index.html?s=g&kw=stopwatch

isha

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 101
    • View Profile
    • http://
stopwatches?
« Reply #6 on: Apr 02, 2005, 03:17 pm »
I'm checking the internet site you gave me......

....We don't have any sporting goods stores.....only a Walmart, Safeway and Albertsons....gotta love living in Eastern Oregon : )
~isha

smejs

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 475
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, AGMA, SMA, USITT
  • Current Gig: Freelance SM in Denver
  • Experience: Professional
stopwatches?
« Reply #7 on: Apr 06, 2005, 02:22 am »
Okay, so does anyone have a brand name and/or model for this perfect stopwatch that doesn't beep?  Seems everywhere I go they're in plastic boxes and impossible to really test.  I have lucked out lately with ones that are fairly quiet even though they do beep, so it hasn't been terrible.

I also tend to use the stopwatch in moments where the beep doesn't really matter.  For rehearsals I'll use it to start the breaks so I can keep an eye.  But as for timing actual things in the show, I make up a run sheet where I start the stopwatch at zero for a runthrough, then put a running countdown on an Excel document of every thing that happens.  Can be a little intense during a runthrough, but I've done it so much I've got really good at multitasking with this (or writing it in script and putting in the document later).  If possible, I time every single entrance and exit, scene shift, and if it's a show with not too many cues, I'll also take the timing each sound cue or major thing happens.  This way I have all sorts of things that I can later do the math on (actress exits at 5:10 and re-enters at 15:20 so therefore has 10 minutes and 10 seconds to change).  You never know exactly what someone will want to know the length of, let alone if your board op wants to know if he has time to pee.  

The most amazing use I had of this once was when an actress playing Ophelia in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead went into an asthma episode....I worked directly with the EMTs on the scene...they gave me certain parameters they needed (so much time to give her the shot, so much time for her to sit still, so much time she'd be fine again, etc) and with them and the stage manager (I was assisting at the time) we figured out which scenes she could do, which she could be cut from, and ultimately how to administer the medication by EMT (they were the ones who said she'd be okay to keep performing).  Strange but true.  And the audience never knew.

Erin

giabow

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 32
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Experience: Professional
stopwatches?
« Reply #8 on: Jun 22, 2005, 08:10 pm »
My favorite stopwatch is on my PDA.  I have a Handspring, and I use the Big Clock program.  It can run two clocks at once.  I keep the first one counting up to time the show (usually just during tech week to give the house manager an idea of running time,) and the other counting down from 15:00 for intermission.  It can beep or not beep (intermission timer beeps, running timer does not) and flashes when time is up.

linka

  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 82
    • View Profile
stopwatches?
« Reply #9 on: Jun 23, 2005, 07:21 pm »
I have a ... "pro Survivor accusplit" which I picked up in a Big 5. www.accuplit.com is what is listed on the back as theirorder site. The one that I have is... 601X... waterproof, light weight, big number, date, alarm, split time... the usual.

but mainly, no beeping!

Aerial

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 199
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, SMA
  • Current Gig: The Winter's Tale, Gamm Theatre
  • Experience: Professional
stopwatches?
« Reply #10 on: Jul 22, 2005, 02:58 pm »
I fell in love with the time I now use back in February, after using a supervisor's.  It's a white Radio Shack timer with a large display, and its silent.  It has a clip on the back, so I can put it on my belt during intermission, and it also has a magnet so it can be propped up in easy view during rehearsal.

prizm

  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 54
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • http://www.mikear.com
  • Experience: Professional
stopwatches?
« Reply #11 on: Aug 11, 2005, 06:29 am »
I have used several stopwatches, and I always just get a small screwdriver and remove the speaker, I have never found a reason I would actually want it to beep, so I figured why not get it cheeper and take out the speaker and have no fear it might go off, I often Have to use them to start shows wher I work the directors like to time out the top of acts with SQ's and I find timing helps me call them

groovygert

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 26
    • View Profile
    • http://groovygert.tripod.com/
stopwatches?
« Reply #12 on: Nov 15, 2005, 01:39 am »
mine is just a part of a watch i have. it doesn't make noise when i stop or start and i can turn the alarm off. during show run i  record times (start to finish, curtain times, etc) and only really use the stop watch function to keep track of scene change times and things that we are working on staging to fit in a certain time or to be timed with music.

Sarah

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 203
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, SMA
  • Current Gig: Noises Off
  • Experience: Professional
Re: stopwatches?
« Reply #13 on: Dec 28, 2007, 05:46 pm »
I've had the same stopwatch for ten years. Not different versions of the same model, but the same stopwatch. The battery lid is held on by a small piece of gaff tape now, as one of the tabs that hold it in place broke off a few years ago, but it still serves my timing needs. Here is a picture. I just can't bear to part with it...

BLee

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 151
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
    • BrandyLee Hatcher, SM
  • Affiliations: University of California-Irvine, Graduate SM, Class of '13
  • Current Gig: Assistant Stage Manager at Disneyland Resorts
  • Experience: College/Graduate
Re: stopwatches?
« Reply #14 on: Jan 26, 2008, 11:02 pm »
The walmart I was at a while back had a phenomenal sport style stop watch meant for people practicing to run marathons and track competitions. I have yet to hear it beep and it has the coolest feature ever. It has a "lap" function that when you are timing a show and need to write down a time (like just before the scene change and directly after the scene change) you can tap the "lap" button and it will freeze the number it is on, but the overall time is still running in the background. Record and re-tap the same button to return to the running time and repeat as necessary. Doing musicals or dance programs where time is fairly rigid this is perfect.

It doesn't have a brand name, but it has a large easy to read face, digital watch, black and is made in China.
XX. The only valid excuse for missing one's cue is death.
-Proverb from the Techie Bible.