Author Topic: WWW (Who What Where)  (Read 31878 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

sevon

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 8
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
WWW (Who What Where)
« on: Jul 26, 2007, 04:14 am »
I'm looking for examples of WWW forms created in excel or word. If anyone has one to share, I'd appreciate it.

EDIT: Unnecessary poll removed. - PSMK
« Last Edit: Mar 11, 2011, 11:26 pm by PSMKay »

Jessie_K

  • Superstar!
  • *****
  • Posts: 528
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
    • International Stage Manager of Mystery
  • Affiliations: AEA, AGMA, SMA (on leave)
  • Current Gig: Queen of the Night
  • Experience: Professional
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #1 on: Jul 26, 2007, 11:13 am »
Here you go.  Not opera, musical/ play.  I had a to delete a lot of it to make it small enough to be uploaded.  But it should give you a good idea.  PM me and I can send you the full file and/ or WWW from other shows.  (Under the category of placement, I have used only page because we were not using a full score, in opera it would be PAGE, BAR, MEASURE)

stagemngrjb

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 7
    • View Profile
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #2 on: Jul 26, 2007, 10:05 pm »
What is a WWW Form?

Jessie_K

  • Superstar!
  • *****
  • Posts: 528
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
    • International Stage Manager of Mystery
  • Affiliations: AEA, AGMA, SMA (on leave)
  • Current Gig: Queen of the Night
  • Experience: Professional
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #3 on: Jul 26, 2007, 11:35 pm »
Who What Where

It is a document that basically tracks everything backstage and entering or exiting the stage for the show.  Mostly used in opera, but I have adapted for my own use in theatre (especially large casts and musicals).

lauria

  • Link Checker Supreme!
  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 63
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA
  • Experience: Professional
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #4 on: Jul 27, 2007, 10:22 pm »
My Production Manager Always said, "Who What Where When" and sometimes, I wonder "WHY?!"
:-P

She found that they weren't useful for most shows, but the ones that they WERE useful for, they were REALLY useful for. :)

ljh007

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 340
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: SMA
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #5 on: Jul 28, 2007, 11:32 am »
WWWs are standard issue for professional opera, and extremely useful overall.
I love WWWs and begin drafting mine before rehearsals even start. This puts me ahead of the game, especially because they can involve a lot of formatting. All my run sheets are then created from the master info contained in the WWW.

Here is my WWW in MSWord format for a "Pagliacci" I did (along with a short comic opener called "Il Maestro di Cappella") at Lake George Opera.
I tried to attach the file for an "Aida" (the opera please), but it was way too big - no surprise there.

I draft preset deck plans marking the placement of props and scenery for each act or major change. But I do these by hand and insert them into the final WWW packets, so I can't include them here.

And when I show this to people who don't work often in opera, they always ask what the "Placement" column here indicates. It is the music score indication: page/system/measure/beat (often beat is not included). So 64/3/3 = Page 64, System (stanza) 3, measure 3. When I write "L" (as in, 72/L/L), it means "last" - technically here the event happens at the very beginning of the first measure of the next page (page 73). But we cue it at the end of the last measure of the previous page - it keeps you from missing that precise cue as you're flipping pages. Make sense?
« Last Edit: Jul 28, 2007, 11:41 am by ljh007 »

LisaEllis

  • Guest
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #6 on: Jul 29, 2007, 07:32 pm »
I would have to disagree with both of the uploaded forms here.  They are both far too inclusive of detailed instructions that should be included in run sheets or other department specific paperwork.  To be fair, the general idea with columns of time, placement, en/ex, who, where, props, and costumes is rather standard.

I would like to say that I have worked from and generated a fair number of w/w/w's at large opera companies.  I have NEVER seen a groundplan anywhere near the w/w/w.  That is in the deck sheet, the tech master, the prop run, whatever your crew run sheets are, but NOT the w/w/w.  The w/w/w tracks singers, not tech.  And tech does not want to know what the singers are doing.

They are most useful when doing a remount, world premiere, etc., where the exact staging (and therefore entrances and exits) are likely to be closely replicated in subsequent productions.  They should contain artists' entrances, exits, prop handoffs, and costume quick changes.  From that, they MAY also contain rail cue placements, and GENERALIZED scene shift notes.  (i.e. "Scene Shift to Scene 2: Tavern"or "Deck Q2:  Well tracks on")

During the run of a show, the most likely department to use a w/w/w is wardrobe or wigs.  The dressers or makeup staff may want to know where to meet Ms. Soprano to powder her nose or with a water bottle.  They are also the most likely departments to be interested in where the singers are and when.  Often, these departments do not want them and the only reason they exist is for archival purposes.  So it's not a wise use of time to put so much information in them that will never be looked at.

I would love to post an example, but it's my experience that the information contained is propriatary.  Both the company mounting the production and the director who created the staging would not appreciate the public posting of the creative work.  And a blank form does not exactly convey the full intention.

Best of luck.

Mac Calder

  • Forum Moderators
  • *****
  • Posts: 977
  • Plan for the future, live for the now
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: Live Performance Australia / Media Arts and Entertainment Alliance
  • Current Gig: Technical Director
  • Experience: Former SM
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #7 on: Jul 30, 2007, 06:19 am »
I guess it all depends on what you need in your www. Mine is a simple table which literally has "WHEN"
 "WHO" "WHAT" "WHERE" and I use it when I first get the script to break down the show - then keep updating it as the show goes on. I won't post mine, as it really is as boring as I indicated, and also blank as I prefer to fill it in as I go in pen.

I do each script page on a fresh page (or scene, depending on how 'dense' the show is) and I just cross out deletions, and add additions at the bottom - I don't do corrections, I just cross out and add a new line (keeps things clean). Then if I decide I need a WWW for the show, I enter all my details into an excel sheet and use the sort functions to create WWW's for individuals/departments/myself

ljh007

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 340
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: SMA
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #8 on: Aug 07, 2007, 08:51 am »
A WWW is not a run sheet, and you shouldn't use it that way.
The WWW tracks everything, not just singers, not just tech.
You break out a WWW into run sheets for each department. Really, no one but the SM team ever needs to see the WWW.

Depending on how you use it, the WWW can be a marvelous time saving device. By the time I've done the WWW, slamming out the run sheets takes literally a few hours - not days of work.

I stand by my WWW (which is generated from the WWWs from top US opera companies like Houston and SFO), and would also say that I think it's fine to post it here in the interest of professional community education - we're not exactly sharing state secrets here.

Bloobs

  • Tourist
  • *
  • Posts: 1
    • View Profile
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #9 on: Aug 08, 2007, 02:32 pm »
I have to agree with LisaE that technical information in the W/W/W should not be so detailed.  That is why we create documents such as tech masters, deck run sheets and prop running paperwork.  I have worked at some of these larger companies and have neither created nor seen so much detail in a W/W/W.  It's overkill.  They should be a tool used primarily to document the show for remounting.  Nonetheless, each person can use a W/W/W however they so choose.

I also agree that publishing such documents in such a public forum is uncouth.  Please understand that you work for the company and all paperwork you do and your score belong to the company.  You don’t have the right to publish any paperwork from a show even if it is for educational purposes.

Jessie_K

  • Superstar!
  • *****
  • Posts: 528
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
    • International Stage Manager of Mystery
  • Affiliations: AEA, AGMA, SMA (on leave)
  • Current Gig: Queen of the Night
  • Experience: Professional
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #10 on: Aug 08, 2007, 04:28 pm »
I generally think it is ok to post sections on a publi/ educational forum.  One page or so is enough to get the idea across while still maintaining integrity of others' work.

I guess that the WWW, like all other paperwork, should fit your show and your company.  I like having the tech info in mine.  I really work well with one large document with as much info as possible that I can then edit down for distro to departments.


philimbesi

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 117
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #11 on: Aug 09, 2007, 09:36 am »
As long as you have permission to post it, that's the whole purpose of this board, to share ideas, get and give advice to your fellow SM's and ASM's.   

sievep

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 204
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AGMA
  • Experience: Professional
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #12 on: Nov 15, 2007, 01:13 am »
Ah, yes, and here again we all must take into account that we all do things a little differently, right?

I think both uploaded forms are good examples of a WWW.  Given that these forms are swapped all over creation all the time for remounts, who cares if someone posts an example for educational purposes?  Paperwork I generate is not the intellectual property of the director or the company I'm working for. 

I just worked with a WWW from the Met that was so insanely detailed it was 24 pages long.  I say good for them!  The production was documented with accuracy and precision for every department.  Comparing that to the WWW from another company on the same production was like night and day . . .the other one was almost completely useless.

I've also done WWW on Filemaker, which allows you to make run sheets by just changing a few things, but the entire production is contained in a database.  It's fabulous. 

I guess you could put too much detail in a WWW, but I've yet to see it!
"This lovely light, it lights not me" - Orson Welles

LisaEllis

  • Guest
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #13 on: Nov 15, 2007, 07:54 pm »
So you would be comfortable posting that w/w/w from the Met?

I would like to point out that documenting your own production for remounting purposes and doing 6 performances at Lake George are 2 extreme ends of the spectrum.  If the production is unlikely to survive, over-documenting it isn't worth the time or effort put into it.  The company may just throw out all that documentation the week after closing.  So you do what you need to run it, but don't break your back doing it.

There's a difference between doing a world premiere vs. 2 performances on a rented set.

sievep

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 204
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AGMA
  • Experience: Professional
Re: WWW form...anyone?
« Reply #14 on: Nov 15, 2007, 11:13 pm »
Well, Lisa, I wouldn't find a problem with posting part of it to display how the Met formatted the paperwork.  It's nifty paperwork!

Thanks for your advice, though.  I'm really glad that you've found a way to stage manage that suits you and your needs.  That's not how I choose to stage manage, or how I choose to format my paperwork or what to include in it, and that's ok.  As I've said before we all have different ways of doing things, and I'm comfortable with that.  I think it's great that you express your opinions on this open forum, as we all do, I just wish you wouldn't speak in absolutes as though your methodology is the only or "right" way.  For me, whatever production I'm working on, whether it's at the Kennedy Center or a smaller regional company, a world premier or a 2 show run deserves the same attention.  I care about the productions I work on, and I don't even think of it as "over-documenting" . . .it's just how I run things, it's how I make my run sheets . . .for me, it's doing my job completely for every engagement.   We run in the same circles and we both know that, and I don't want this (or any post) to be a personal thing. 
« Last Edit: Nov 18, 2007, 10:34 am by sievep »
"This lovely light, it lights not me" - Orson Welles

 

riotous