Olly's Blogbook

technical theatre blog

[ollyblogbook]

BECTU and Equity

Bectu helps technicians working on a freelance basis in lighting, sound and stage occupations (everyone in the BBC is a member of Bectu) where equity is more aimed towards actors and stage management. 

As unions they both offer support to their members in the form of Legal Representation/Advice, insurance and discounts for different companies that work with each of them. Both unions campaign to help their members be paid fairly, be treated correctly at work and ensure that they can work in safe environments. (all current campaigns are on their websites bectu.org.uk and equity.org.uk) They both endorse training courses to help members gain better skills and develop themselves, e.g. they provide courses such as working with heights, first aid courses, and pyrotechnics safety training courses.

They also provide social event such as “The freelancers day” which is advertised on the BECTU website.

[ollyblogbook]

Hire companies

LX- 

PRG - biggest lighting hire company in the world White Light - big in the west end, do a lot of UK tours Stage Electrics - smaller than the others

Sound- Autograph Orbital True Sound

Set- Scenetec Clockwork Scenery 3D Creations

Props- David Finch The National Theatre (also supply costumes)

Hire companies such as these help provide discounts to educational establishments such as the miskin theatre due to them knowing we have less of a bugdet than a professional theatre. They also provide discounts to networked colleages, this is why it is good to network with these companies, i.e doing work experience for them or working at hire companies as a casual.

Hire companies are also useful to small theatres that can’t afford to buy and go through the maintenance of owning their own lighting for example, whereas using hire companies they don’t have to worry sbout maintenance, and also give them the option to use a range of different lights for each show ranther than using the same lights over and over again. This would be sueful for a company lthat like to explore different genres of theatre i.e. ballet, opera amatear dramatics that all use different types of lights.

[ollyblogbook]

Training before going into the industry

Apprenticeships for technical theatre and production lighting are available are on websites such as “notgointouni.co.uk” and “hotcourse.co.uk” and starting costs are only around £400 a year. They are a good way of getting on-job experience aswell as paid casual work depending on what apprenticeship you have. These courses can also help you to network and job work after the course has finished. They are also now more recognised than before by employment, some companies only search among people having done apprenticeships for experienced hands-on workers.

Another form of training before going into the industry in university of drama school which provide a range of technical theatre related 3 year degrees. These kind of courses also provide on job experience when in your third ear but can be more beneficial academically rather than physically.

I personally have decided to further my training through a university degree as I feel academic training is more important initially than physical training, which can be learnt through work and over time.

[ollyblogbook]

[ollymayy]

Public and Private funding

Private funding can be unreliable as its run usually by a family or person with a lot of money that they use to help fund different educational and artistic projects, and their funding application is based on how passionately the applicant is about the project rather than looking specifically and at the projects actual income. Also a private funder will look for applicants who will provide in interesting story from the press to gain publicity. They can sometimes give very large awards, others are strictly for small local projects. They are more willing to source of start-up or experimental funds and also they can be much more flexible in responding to unique needs and circumstances. They can often provide alternative forms of assistance, i.e., software/hardware donations, materials, expertise, etc. They can generally be much more informal and willing to help with the proposal process. But in general there are alot less applications send to private funders than there are to public funders.

Public funding can be much more bureaucratic and they focus on functions usually impacting significant groups in society. They have the most money and more likely to award large grants/contracts. They are more likely to pay all project cost and/or cover indirect costs. They make is easier to find information about and to stay current on project needs/interests. Also application processes and deadlines are public information and very firm.

So in the instance of the Miskin Theatre we would look public funding due to it being an educational establishment, but if all else fails then we’d move to finding a private funder, even though they are historically harder to obtain.

[ollyblogbook]

Manor Farm House

Manor Road

Bexley

Kent

DA53LX

The Wolfson Foundation

8 Queen Anne Street

London

W1G 9LD

To who it may concern,

I am a student in need of help. I go to North West Kent College and I am an aspiring technician learning within the Miskin theatre. Through research into your establishment I have discovered the prestigious and kind nature of everything you do to help students in need of help to further their careers, and we as a company would be honoured to receive any help with funding that you are willing to give us.

We’ve been given a concept for a new show based on the Grimms Tales in the form of promenade theatre. And without a clear budget I fear that the acting cast aswell and the technicians will suffer and will not get to explore into the show due to the lack of costume, scenery, props and electrical equipment.

If the show had a budget of £7000 then the performance as a whole would be phenomenal. We might even be able to extend the show for another week to allow more audience members to see the show! Also it would be really inspiring for the actors as this is the end of year show would help them walk away from this experience with an open heart and a happier look into the future.

If you are willing to help us out in our predicament we will be willing to accept any further ideas about the show aswell as issue you free tickets. Thank you so much for reading and on behalf of the Miskin Theatre I would be thrilled to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Olivia.

[ollyblogbook]

Paint

For scenic painting a designer will usually first prepare their paint i.e. mixing to get the right texture and water ratio if using Rosco, then will use a base colour of emulsion paint (normally in white so that the colour appears more vibrant onto) and then 1/2 layers of colour. it is important that the paint is mixed properly or the end result could be the wrong colour or shade and therefore a waste or time, money and paint.

-poster paint

Not good for scenic painting due to it being water based

-oil based paint

Not good for scenic painting use due to there being coloured particles rather than the paint having colour pgiments, this means that the paint will fade quickly, won’t give an even spread, and will look quite thin so would need lots of layers

-emulsion

thick paint good for use as a base coat.

-acrylic(Vinyl Acrylic)/ Rosco

This has colour pigments rather than coloured particles and also is a VOC (volatile organic compound)

-spray paint

this is good for use in the theatre as it is solvent based

-gloss

this is too expensive and unneccessary in the theatre.

Another two types of pint not neccessarily used in the theatre include latex paint and powder paint, powder paint is created be adding PVA or glaze (vinyl acrylic)

[ollyblogbook]

MATERIALS BREAKDOWN

Compass

Can be purchased in all stationary shops and is used to draw circles or semi- circles, this is useful in set design for design circular set pieces.

 Metal ruler

This is used in set design to give a straight and safe cut when using a scalpel knife as is it strng and due to the grip at the bottom is it les likely to jog when doing work so can give accurate measurements.

Set Square

This is used in set design to help draw accurate perpendicular lines for things such as squares and rectangles, without this it is harder tocreate the perfect square.

Silicone glue

Not a contact adhesive, it takes as long as 24 hours to dry, and can only be used it both sides that are being stuck togther have glue in them. This type of glue sticks well with fimo.

Bostik glue

This glues sticks due to solvents reacting, bostik can be used for things that absorb water, and for porus and non porus things. But when used on non-porus things apply glue to both sides.

[ollyblogbook]

MATERIALS BREAKDOWN

Card/ Mounting Board (CS10)

Made from different layers of paper and wood shavings to create a strong material used for set design model making due to its durability and strength when held to another material by PVA or bostik glue.

Pencil

Ranges from 8B-8H this marking on the pencil means what shade it draws, HB being the most common from children writing at primary school and its easy to see but also not too hard to rub out.

PVA glue (Poly Vinal Acrylic) 

the sticking of PVA is caused by water leaving the glue and and leaving a clear acrylic finish. It can be used on materials such as paper,card and other porus materials.

Poly weld glue

This is a pure solvent glue that dries slowly, is highly toxic and flammable and is used on plastic materials.

Foam board

A board made with two layers or card and has foam in-between. Its used for making white card set design models as it is thick and obvious to convey ideas about a set but it is harder to add detail using foam board due to the foam on the inside. This material doesn’t take well to paint because the card on each side contains plastic and has a shine and also foam board can’t be glued with bostik because the solvents leaving the glue cause the foam to melt and shrink.

[ollyblogbook]

Overall I am proud of what i have achieved and have stuck to the brief in which the directors gave me of doing whatever i feel contributes best to the shows. Here are final photo of what the huts looked like after I helped construct and attatched branches to them aswell as after I stained them. I used rosco paint with a high water to paint ratio so that when it was painted most of the air from the water evaporated and left the wood still showing its grain but looking a different shade of brown.

Luckily due to the wood only needing staining we didn’t need to buy extra paint but only needed one pot of rocso paint which is normally around £14 pounds a pot but only needed 1 part paint to 10 parts water.

After the set was finished (both huts aswell as the frames) I looked at the health and safety issues of the set and then thought of solutions to these issues:

-The paint on the set could drip and be toxic or hazardous during certian weather conditions--- I made sure that I used oil based paint that releases oxygen when it dries so it doesn’t contain any water and thereofre cannot drip.

-The branches could fall off of the huts and could injuries--- due to the weather conditions, any wet weather will make the wood expand and therefore tighten the rope and branches knots, making it harder for knots too loosen or branches to fall.

-The branches edges could be sharp and be a safety hazard to actors--- make sure that the actors are aware of these issues, also I have made sure that branches arent attatched at head height, either above or below to prevent injuries to the head. Also make actors aware of branches and poles in the ground by their feet and that they may be a trip hazard.

The frames could have sharp edges or have nails sticking out that could be a safety issue for the actors--- all wood has been sanded down and any nails sticking out or sharp edges have been grinded down to ensure safety.

[ollyblogbook]

A designers process through each show

-Read the script 

-Re-read the script

-Understand the plot in detail

-Meet with the directors and understand their concept

- Research the show

-Mindmap, sketch, and create ideas

- Show the directors your ideas

- Make a rough scale model

- Go to the directors to see if they like it

- If they like it create a white card model

- Go to the directors to see if they like it

- Make a full colour model (accurate)

- See if the directors like it

-Do technical drawings

- The technical drawings go to construction

- Once construction have built the set, then the designer will paint it

- Make sure the set is health and safety tested

-Dress the set

-Rub

- Set get-out

- Returns of materials 

[ollyblogbook]

Here is a final image of the constructed and stained framed i designed. I took my ideas for minimalist art aswell as modernism to give an artistic and natural feel to them rather than them looking like unfinished frames. i felt like my ideas of modernism were able to show doors and windows through simple shapes and placement. Having this simplistic theme means thats they are highly adaptable for different scenes i.e. they could be put into a square shape to represent a house or a shop, and then could be rotated round and opened to the audience to create something else.

[ollyblogbook]

I researched into the history of wigwams and TP huts and discovered that they were used as as homes for traveling native americans who took the short amount of time in under a few days to create different styles of huts. I designed both my huts to be created like the really old fashions huts made out of old branches and twigs rather then the more common ones that are made and layered with rags and materials as I designed my new to be more natural and euthentic to the mystical style.

Relating to the theme of mystery I researched into a film called the blair witch project where there are scenes of twigs and branched being placed or put together in a humanistic way but scare a group of teenagers because the things they see are natural and untouched by human hands, which makes it unexplainable and gives the idea of twigs and branches being tied together quite a sinister display.

I wanted to relate those ideas to my huts, so another reason why I only used branches and twigs rather than materials is it give them a sharper and more myesterious edge. I personally believe than adding materials would soften the look of the huts and due to both plays (The Juniper Tree and Gambling Hans) being quite dark and sinister I think that it was the correct idea to keep them natural looking.

[ollyblogbook]

June 2015

Towards the end of my set model making process I orgainsed to meet with my directors and decided to simplify the original TP huts to make them cheaper and easier to make aswell as more achieveable to built. Also I discussed with them the height of the person standing inside the hut because if the pole for the smaller hut are ordered at 8ft, having them lean on eachother at an angle means that no-one over 6ft would be able to stand under it without risk of hitting their head, lucky i discovered that a boy of 5′6 would be standing inside it.

The measurements of the poles being ordered to make these huts were either 10ft long at £12.50 or 8ft tall at £10 so I decided for the bigger hut to have 10ft long poles and the smaller one to have smaller poles so that there could be a distinction between the two.

[ollyblogbook]

I looked at two other websites “The stage” and “The guardian” which are orginially newspapers. I researched into the quality of their job adverts swell as the application process. 

Through initially creating an account on both of these webistes I was soon to discover that by doing this i would have to recieve free emails and reminders about the news aswell as new job adverts, which in some ways is useful when searching for jobs but is irrelevent in terms of news reminders. 

From a lighting technicians point of view I found that looking for relevant jobs was harder then using stage jobs pro due to there being less specific adverts and advertised jobs such as “technical assistant” and technician” which aren’t very specific and don’t give much information. Also both these websites have considerably less job adverts than stage jobs pro. 

Also I looked as the application process for a technician job at a carnival and saw that the application process was long winded and didn’t save any information about yourself after the process was finished. Thats when it came apparent to me that all jobs that I apply for on these websites will make me repeat information I’ve said about my work experience and education through each application. 

I came to the conclusion that Stage Jobs Pro is the most simple, easy to use way of applying to jobs for me personally due to the large amount of information given about each job advert on the we bite, and also due to me being a student with little experience, it helps me to understand what is required of me when I apply for jobs, rather than applying for random jobs blindly and getting immediately rejected. 

[ollymayy]

I researched into the effectiveness of using various publications that advertise job opportunities. Firstly I looked at stage jobs pro, which allows users to both create a detailed profile about themselves including a CV and allows them to write down all work experiences and educational gains, but also allows employers to adveritse jobs for theatre professionals that members of the website can apply for online throught their profile.

As a lighting technician I researched different work oppotunities and career path including theatre, touring, and TV and realised that alot of the job adverts are very specific and include a variety of roles within the job description. For example I came across two adverts that i was interested in, one being for a touring stage electrician and one being for a sound and lighting assistant. Even though both job descriptions mention lighting they both include seperate responsibilities including the the touring stage electrician has to work with AV and the other job description involves sound aswell as lighting.

After research into this website I make the conclusion that being a technician having skills in all aspects of the theatre and being adaptable is more likely to find a job suited to them rather than someone looking for a specific job (such as a lighting programmer) due to alot of jobs (especially in the touring industry) having interrelating roles, maybe due to budget or other cost related problems which don’t allow companys to hire more than one person for a department i.e. sound and lighting.

[ollyblogbook]

Technical theatre CV