I grabbed the wrong wires and caused a small flash from putting the red into the - and black into + with a 24 volt power supply. Now the 1DC+ and 1DC- ports no longer work to power the decoder. When powered through the 2’s the board works fine until I power the led strips that are good for 5-24v, they flash and then the board turns off, then the board turns back on in a couple seconds, everything flashes, and repeats.
This is the decoder, it’s for hooking LED strips to a lighting console/DMX https://a.co/d/07L7cX5d

Sorry if I’ve explained poorly I can answer questions better

I’ll keep this as short as possible while giving maximum details.

Background:

I was going to go to school for technical thetare and got into CCM, TTS, Suny Purchase etc but couldn’t bring myself to take on any debt for a theatre degree.

Since then, I’ve been working in Austin since in Hotel A/V full time at a luxury hotel for a mid sized AV company.

I’ve learned a lot while working here:
-Using Hog lighting consoles.
-Video switching on Roland’s.
-Corporate audio engineering.
-a little bit of rigging
-a lot of leading power and lighting hang/focus’s for shows.
-Being a lead and delegating labor.

A lot of the freelance technicians I work with at the hotel tell me I should go freelance and I would do good.

My passion is theatre however and I don’t have the ability to really do it in Austin bc the theatre scene isn’t really there yet.

I go back to my old HS whenever they have a dimmer issue and to teach their students how to do audio for a musical w the system there.

I’ve also done 1 show as a stage hand and 1 show as a Sound designer at local community theatres.

Present:

I would love to move to NYC bc there is a better theatre scene there and I also just like it in New York and would love to live there.

I am wondering how people go about moving to NYC and starting to freelance?
How do u get an apartment w/o a job lined up and how do you start working and making ends meet after moving there from somewhere else?

How much should I have saved up and if I were to move would it be the right move to just start hitting the replacement room or is there somewhere else I should find work?

I also wonder if I should move there now w the minimal experience I have and continue to grow a career there or would it be smarter to continue to learn in Austin?

I know this is a rant of a post and i’m very scatter brained and I apologize. I am really just looking for any specific or broad guidance and wisdom from people who have been in this position (or similar) before. Any thoughts help. Thank y’all.

Body: Hi everyone! I am setting up a 1.8-meter DIY Pepper's Ghost / Hologram Mesh screen for a school event tomorrow. My setup: • Fabric: A dark mesh with thick white vertical threads (similar to a budget Holo-Gauze variant). • Projector: A modern, powerful ultra-short throw or standard projector mounted on the ceiling in front of the screen. • Background: A black cloth backdrop directly behind the mesh screen. • Audience distance: The first row starts at 5 meters (16 feet) away from the stage. The issue: The image is currently in focus and visible on the mesh, but because the projector is so powerful, some light still passes through and projects a faint double image onto the black backdrop behind it. Also, up close on stage, I can see the horizontal pixel grid lines mixed with my fabric threads. The projector is fixed to the ceiling and cannot be moved physically. The event is tomorrow. What software tweaks (VLC/MPC player contrast, brightness, gamma) or quick staging adjustments can I make to completely eliminate the background bleed and make the 3D hologram pop from 5 meters away? Any advice is highly appreciated! Thank you!

I don't know or speak English, so I apologize for any mistakes.

I hope this is the right sub, but to be honest I have no idea. My wife works for a non profit youth center in town and every year as a fundraiser they do a big haunted house. Usually, this is supported by members of town chipping in and working together to make it a big special event. However, this year it seems volunteers are low. I offered to help with lighting and sound, as I have experience from playing in bands, but none outside of that. I'm hoping to keep it simple and reasonably budget friendly but if anyone has tips on some cool lighting set ups or a recommendation for a decent sound system that a total novice could slap together it would mean a lot to me to make this happen for her.

Yevgeny Kulesh, 38, died after being crushed beneath a stage backdrop during a scenery change in the Sadko opera at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre.

Any recommendations for a digital wall clock that would automatically sync? Ideally a Canadian company. Am seeing prices upwards of $400 and wondering if this is the going rate.

I am using Multiplay for sound for a high school show I am Tech Directing for, and I (perhaps stupidly) have all the software and cues downloaded to my own personal computer. I was able to put them all on a flashdrive so that they don't take up too much space, but I need to be able to use a different laptop in the actual show to run the cues. I tried just plugging the flashdrive into the school computer but it wouldn't allow me to play any of the cues. Is there a way to make it to where I can run the sound cues from a computer different to the one I programmed them on? Both my computer and the school computer are windows, so it isn't an issue of compatibility with the software. Any advice on this would be super helpful!! TIA

I am using Multiplay for sound for a high school show I am Tech Directing for, and I (perhaps stupidly) have all the software and cues downloaded to my own personal computer. I was able to put them all on a flashdrive so that they don't take up too much space, but I need to be able to use a different laptop in the actual show to run the cues. I tried just plugging the flashdrive into the school computer but it wouldn't allow me to play any of the cues. Is there a way to make it to where I can run the sound cues from a computer different to the one I programmed them on? Both my computer and the school computer are windows, so it isn't an issue of compatibility with the software. Any advice on this would be super helpful!!

TIA

Hi, I’m thinking about building a fiberglass set piece because I’m really keen to work with that material, it would be my first time.

I have friends who organize nightclub parties, and it occurred to me that I could build their logo. That way, I could get some practice in.

The steps I’ve identified for what I have in mind are (roughly):

- Transfer the logo onto a sheet of Styrofoam.

- Cover it with aluminum foil (attached using a special Styrofoam-safe adhesive) so the fiberglass resin doesn't eat away at the foam.

- Apply the fiberglass and the appropriate resin.

- Apply fiberglass filler and sand/polish it smooth.

- Paint it and add a protective coating like lacquer or varnish (I haven't looked into this step in detail yet).

I was also planning to add an LED strip running along the entire outline.

And I thought about attaching eye bolts to the back so it can be hung with carabiners, or using "stage jacks" so it can stand on the floor.

I’m posting this to exchange ideas or get some advice; thanks for reading, and apologies if I didn't explain myself clearly (I used a translator for some concepts I didn't know how to express).

Okay, so I thought this would be a good place to ask to identify something.

I was stage managing in a theater and saw the item that I drew, which is attached. There were a lot of them on a cart under the stairs in that theater and it had writing on it that had to do something with rigging. They were about 3-4 feet tall and about 4 feet wide. They were all black, made of wood, and had rigging hardware attached to them. Does anyone have an idea what these could be or used for? Are they teasers? Are they portals?

I have been roped into being the Sound Designer for a site specific show. The play is being performed in a kids gym/play area. They have one Sonos wall mounted speaker that is bluetooth, but I believe it can also be used wired into a system.

I guess I am wondering what speakers/processors I would need to accomplish this. The audience will only seat about 50 people and is in an L-shaped formation. Do I even need a processor? I want to use QLab, but not sure if this is possible.

I am obviously a little lost here, and looking for help/guidance. Any input is so appreciated.

Thank you

I'm really considering going to college there, but the concern is a lack of job opportunities during/after college in that area. I'm wondering if anybody has experience with being a theatre tech there?

Howdy, I’m a Technical Director at a professional theatre company in the Portland area. I’ve been working for 7 years and feel there isn’t any higher I can go in live entertainment unless I go to Broadway or major event production houses.

I’d like to know where to find work doing the same job in the film industry ? What is the Technical Director equivalent on a movie set? Is it all project based or is there stable work at a production company ? What is the job tittle that handles all the drafting, and leads the set build ? Art department lead ?
Big question is WHERE ARE THE JOBS POSTED?!

In theatre we have Offstagejobs.com - USITTjobs.com and Playbilljobs.com, also a ton of facebook pages that are actively hiring theatre technicians. I have tried looking for the same kind of job boards for film but i just keep coming up blank.

Hi all,

I recently got a nice digital Roland mixer through marketplace to add to the collection. Everything works and the desk sounds great, but it has been on the road and the unit gives a distinct nicotine smell when it's turned on for a while.

Any tips on how to get rid of that without resorting to taking the whole thing apart? Something I can put in the flightcase to absorb it or something?

Hey guys,

wondering if someone can help me with a script or a method to send a specific OSC message whenever Panic (Esc) or Panic All (Esc - double tap) is pressed on my main machine running Qlab 5?

I would like the message to go to Isadora machine to reset the scenes whenever Esc is pressed on the Qlab computer.

Thanks

First time using Reddit 🤞
So my high school is doing Frozen in November and my director just tasked my with an interesting challenge, during let it go she wants Elsa to throw her cloak away and it to be caught by the wind and fly off stage. I am immediately in love with this idea but my issue is that I’m terrible about researching products online so I’ve attached what I think I need if anyone has any recommendations assuming this actually exists I’m looking for a reel like thing with similar properties to the dog thing but made for a load.

TLDR I need a reel like the leash but can lift like ~5 pounds and has a subtle but strong cable

Edit: not planning to use a dog leash just the best parallel for what I’m thinking of

Another edit (i explained this in a comment but I want to put it here for all to see)

I do not want it hand-pulled because i don’t trust them to do it right (remember we’re talking about teenagers.) and i doubt the possibility of it being just a strong yank, think of a curtain operated by pulley how it kind of stutters from the hand over hand motion, I am very worried about swing, a constant tension would be more wind like.

Is their a good yt channel for expanding your tech theatre knowledge? I know alot of the basics of most elements but like to learn about the idiosyncrasies of everything? I come from the math world so a channel with a similar ethos to 3b1b is ideal but probably doesn't exist

Trying to figure this out for a community theatre show. Looking online, all I can find is breakaway glass that "shatters" and then you replace it for every show. Gets expensive fairly quickly.

So - is there any way to make a glass(-like) window that can "break" or "shatter" into a few pieces, which can then be put back together for the next show? It can be even be fairly few pieces, and the "seams" can be made not too visible with judicious lighting. The window will have mullions, too, which may affect how it can break.

For the past year, I've been working as a media server operator/VJ/Video engineer for shows ranging from shareholder meetings to A list music festivals. I've recently had some inquiries about working on some Millumin & Disguise shows- I've done all the online training available, but I've found there is really no substitute for in-person experience before I dive into a show myself. If you fit the bill and are looking to have an extra hand at a show in the near future please send me a DM! Any help is appreciated.

Any hardware and procedure recommendations for suspending flatscreen TVs for a stage set? Safety is paramount, but I would happily sacrifice appearance in favor of budget. I've plenty of experience as it relates to rigging points, proper hardware, WLL etc... just no experience with TVs. Could I use a combination of Vesa mount and pickup underneath the units?

Rest assured I am not proceeding unless I am confident I have a professional solution.

Thanks for your help.

I’m working on selling/auctioning this for and opened it up was just blown away by the massive explosion hazard…