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JAnderson

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What software do you use?
« on: Jun 08, 2008, 10:36 am »
Thought it would be fun to hear about your favorite software that makes your life a little easier!

  • What are some of your favorite programs that you use for work? Any tips/tricks?
  • What programs should SMs avoid at all cost?

Thanks,

- Josh
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SM: 42nd Street Moon (San Francisco, CA)
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PSM: Sacramento Shakespeare Festival (Sacramento, CA)

MatthewShiner

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #1 on: Jun 08, 2008, 10:58 am »
I am Mac

word
excel
powerpoint (I do visual scene by scene transition charts)
e-mail program
toast
photoshop
iweb (for my web pages)
iphoto
illustrator
vectorworks

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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

Scott (formerly Digga)

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #2 on: Jun 08, 2008, 11:31 am »
I am Vista

Word
Excel
Outlook
Dreamweaver (for my web pages)
Photoshop
Nero

Word and Excel are by far the most handy and the only 2 that I use regularly on both my desktop and laptop.  I only started using my website for shows with this current production but I really like Dreamweaver for that.  And Outlook is just nice for keeping track of all of my different email accounts and contacts, as well as syncing with my phone.

Matthew - how do you use powerpoint for scene transitions?  Would you mind sending me a sample?  I've never thought of it before and would love to get an idea of what exactly you mean by it.
« Last Edit: Jun 08, 2008, 11:33 am by Digga »
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VSM

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #3 on: Jun 08, 2008, 01:15 pm »
I am also interested in your powerpoint presentations.
And...what is toast?

I'm also a Mac Man
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Jessie_K

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #4 on: Jun 08, 2008, 02:46 pm »
I am XP

word
excel
outlook
vectorworks
picassa
itunes
powerpoint (never used for scene shifts but would love to know more and I might start)
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loebtmc

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #5 on: Jun 08, 2008, 03:16 pm »
I would also love to know how you use power point, Matt

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Scott (formerly Digga)

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #6 on: Jun 08, 2008, 06:01 pm »
Quote from: VSM on Jun 08, 2008, 01:15 pm
And...what is toast?

I'm also a Mac Man
Toast is a Mac CD burning software as far as I know.
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MatthewShiner

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #7 on: Jun 08, 2008, 06:02 pm »
LOL - it's not thrilling.

It's just a mini-ground plan with details.

This is what I use to communicate with Scenic and Lighting designers, and hand out to crew.

I can always hook up a projector and use it to talk through crew heads during run book meeting.

I don't update once we hit the theatre . . . but this gives me and the designers a visual rep of the show, and try to problem solve on paper.



Posted on: June 08, 2008, 04:02:22 PM
Toast is a CD burning software - great to run off multiple rehearsal cds.
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Sarah

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #8 on: Jun 08, 2008, 06:25 pm »
Wow, Matthew, the PowerPoint is groovy. How in the world do you have time to create such a document?

Anyway, I have a machine with XP and use the following:

Word
Excel
PowerPoint (Not anywhere near Matthew's detail)
Outlook
Calendar Creator
GoogleTalk
Sonic (CD burning software)
VPN/Citrix (For working from home)
Flash
VectorWorks/CAD (The theatre I'm at, at present, prefers CAD but I prefer VectorWorks)
Photoshop
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MatthewShiner

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #9 on: Jun 08, 2008, 07:25 pm »
That document is done sort of a day by day basis when we stage things.  So, I probably put about three hours into it.  There are usually a lot of typos since I don't often proof things . . . but an assistant will usually clean it up - so they may spend an hour or so on it.

I know it's not the "right" program for what I am using it for, but it sure works.  Especially when you are working with a "buffet-style" set design where the director can pick and chose what they want for every look.

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Scott (formerly Digga)

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #10 on: Jun 08, 2008, 08:41 pm »
Looking at it I can see how it works.  I can also see why I've never thought of it.  Haven't worked on a show with that many set changes in a long time or at least with that many individual groundplans by a designer.

Might be good for musicals too though.
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PSMKay

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #11 on: Jun 08, 2008, 09:46 pm »
Currently using XP SP2 and Linux Ubuntu v. 7 on a dual boot.

I use the open source/freeware equivalence suite:

Openoffice Writer
Openoffice Calc
Google mail & calendar w. Blackberry sync
CutePDF Lite (for printing PDFs out of apps other than openoffice)
Foxit Pro Reader (for viewing PDFs)
Filezilla FTP server/Client
Irfanview (image viewing)
Gimp (image editing)
Notepad++ (basic web dev)
Dreamweaver (heavy duty web dev) - I'm currently reviewing NVU and Aptana, which may well replace Dreamweaver soon!
MyDB Studio (Database management)

Not sure what I'd use these days for the more theatre specific apps, i.e. CAD, lightwright, etc. but the above list would be applicable to most purposes anyhow.
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MatthewShiner

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #12 on: Jun 08, 2008, 10:22 pm »
Quote from: Digga on Jun 08, 2008, 08:41 pm
Looking at it I can see how it works.  I can also see why I've never thought of it.  Haven't worked on a show with that many set changes in a long time or at least with that many individual groundplans by a designer.

Might be good for musicals too though.

Yeah, I worked on way too many big, big scene change shows.
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kiwitechgirl

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #13 on: Jun 09, 2008, 02:47 am »
I'm an XP user (home and work):

- Word
- Excel
- Outlook
- Abbyy FineReader (top-notch OCR program)
- PatronBase (our booking system, I have access so I can see wheelchair bookings etc etc)
- Audacity (for the occasional quick sound edit)
- iTunes
- Sound Cue System (in rehearsal when I don't have an operator)
- AutoCAD
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Trevor7

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Re: What software do you use?
« Reply #14 on: Jun 09, 2008, 12:55 pm »
I'm a Vista user.

Word
Excel
Powerpoint
Publisher (most under appreciated Microsoft program ever)
Access
Photoshop
image ready
dreamweaver
Auto Cad

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