And Another

StudiocraftS11

What's It All About

There's an anonymous commenter that wants to know exactly what the Masonite cleat was all about.  It's about this:

Crumpled Paper Backdrop
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama

The 2009 production of Grapes of Wrath Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama provided a unique challenge for the production team revolving around the curved paper backdrop designed by Meg Cunningham. The goal was to create a curved backdrop that was completely covered in crumpled brown paper in a specified pattern outlined in the model (fig 1).   Depending on the lighting this drop would represent mountains, clouds, or water.

The project provided 2 major challenges.  The first challenge was to come up with a way creating the paper shape in such a way that it would look correct and also able to be manipulated without tearing.  The second was to find a way to get the large irregular piece to hang properly in the space without an unreasonable amount of install labor.

Many fabrication techniques were discussed: chicken wire, hardcover backing, carved foam, laminated paper layers, starch combinations, aluminum backed molding cloth and even a metal pencil rod topographical system.  There was much concern over the crumples “hanging out” over time, leaving a flat drop.  Because of this, the team decided if we were to use actual craft paper some kind of rigid backing or armature would be required.  Eventually a solution of laminated layers of craft paper and a Tyvek backing won out.  The Tyvek selection centered on the large available size of the raw material, its being very light weight, and its resistance to tearing.

The final drop construction had a back layer of overlapping Tyvek sheets adhered to each other with 30NF Contact Adhesive.  The overlapping pieces were required due to the overall size required exceeding the height of a roll.  The backing was married to a middle layer of standard brown craft paper, again using the 30NF.  The middle layer insured that what we would see would be paper if the front layer gapped.  At this point the perimeter shape was cut out.

Scenic artists worked with the piece applying a crumpled layer a little bit at a time.  This layer was adhered with Rosco Flex Bond so the adhesive wouldn’t crack when the drop was handled.  The long tack time of this adhesive also allowed for some adjustments to be made as the overall shape started to manifest.  Occasionally the top layer was stapled down to the floor or held down with weights while waiting for the glue to set.  At the conclusion of this step the drop was treated with a liberal amount of spray flame retardant.

Once everything was dry and set the carpentry crew grommeted the top edge of the piece through the backing and mid layer on two foot centers.

The design of the drop called for a curved footprint in plan and as little visible support as possible (fig. 2).  Since the top of the piece was irregular it was not practical to create a batten on the drop.  The shape was created by a custom curved batten made from 1”X1” square metal tube that bridged two house pipes above the vertical sightline.  Since there were so many lines required, and the overall weight was insignificant, the connection from the batten to the drop was made by over thirty 1/16” Dacron ® lines.  The abundant number of picks helped maintain the curve and enabled precise trim heights for the multi-dimensional object.  The 1/16” line turned out to be nearly invisible in this application.

Due to the irregular shape, keeping the curve flat and the top from lolling over between picks required very precise and fairly repetitive trim adjustments to every support line.  The original plan was to terminate the line with a knot and then untie and retie to adjust the length.  In practice the 1/16” line proved fairly inconvenient to make and break.  To streamline the process the team employed a cleat fabricated from 1/4” Masonite (fig. 3).  A square piece of wood had small band saw kerfs cut in from each side.  The support line went through the drop’s grommet from front to back and then laced through each of the kerfs on the cleat.  The lacing provided sufficient friction to keep the line from pulling out, and the cleat kept the assembly from pulling through the grommet thereby supporting the drop.  Adjusting the trim by unlacing and re-lacing the cleat turned out to be simple.

The final result (fig. 4) was a successfully scaled up paper drop using cheap effective means for the paper to maintain its crumpled appearance and shape. The micro-adjustment cleat developed for the drop has been utilized several times at Carnegie Mellon University since, and has proven useful for lightweight scenic pieces rigged with several thin lines that require fine tensioning.

I Should Post Something

Trying to keep it going.


Closed a house today.  Two year anniversary of my Mom's passing.  It snowed a lot.  Maybe I'll just post a picture.

I think that's a nice picture of Mrs. TANBI.

You Can Go With This... Or You Can Go With That

This:

Or That:


Which do you think is more appropriate for publication?

One Down

BasicPTMS11

Now You Can't Go, To the Boat Show

We went to the home show today, well the Remodeling EXPO. There were the exhibits you'd expect although I looked for the guys that did our windows and gutters on the old house and couldn't find them, and the jerky guys weren't there. There always seems to be a table where you can get Elk Jerky at shows at the Pittsburgh Convention Center. Also the Greyhound Rescue was there and a guy selling heating pads and for some reason the Upper Cervical Health Association.

While we were parking in the garage at 9th and Penn, while in the garage it occured to us that this would be a good chance to use the new ParkPGH app I have on the phone. It said the Convention Center Lot was full, which was fine because we weren't trying to park in that lot, but if we had we wouldn't have been able to. Must remember to look at the app before deciding where to park.

Mostly though today I was thinking about how many times The Simpsons wind up going to trade shows. I was wondering if this is something people with kids really do often or if it was more of a plot device to get the family into some jam that wouldn't ordinarily be available. I'm sure I can't remember all the shows but I do recall a car show - that's where Homer buys the truck with the plow. They do go to some kind of green energy show, or maybe it was the home show; they buy a windmill. There's one where they go to a restaurant franchise show. Marge gets left out of some kind of catering truck and I think she buys a pretzel franchise.

The title to the post is a lyric from "Big Big Trouble" off "The Simpsons Sing the Blues." So we can add Boat Show to the list.

There were a bunch of families with kids at the convention center today. I guess if you score free tickets from someplace it winds up being cheaper than the movies, and today it was certainly warmer than going to the park. Still a little bit it seems like an odd choice for family entertainment.

The Spring Semester is Long

I know, I know; somewhere during this semester I'll be saying "you may not realize it, but the year is already over." Its usually right before spring break and the sentence goes something like: "there's one week and then there's break and then we're back and there's carnival and final projects and the year is over, so get your shit together." Invariably I will be writing a letter to 3rd Year Grads this week to say "oh by the way, your time for thesis is almost up." But let me tell you, looking at the course timelines today when I was doing syllabi, the spring looked really long indeed.

Of course it isn't true, and it will be May before we realize (and hopefully by then I will have moved again, finished a kitchen renovation and sold a house in Chicago amongst many other achievements). In fact classes this spring actually end in April, which actually sounds pretty early.

What happened? A confluence of scheduling decisions conspired to get us nearly every day of the semester for a change. In the entire spring there are only 4 missed days. In the fall we miss 3 days in Thanksgiving week alone. This spring we miss half a day for MLK day - CMU does a "day on" with MLK activities in the afternoon. I guess the thought is that if people didn't have to come for the half day they wouldn't come in for the activities. We miss one Friday for midsemester break. I think I remember a time when this was a Friday and a Monday and it was a month away from Spring Break but now they are contiguous and it's just the one day. And then we miss a Thursday and a Friday for Carnival. The upshot? MW classes miss one half day for the entire semester and TR classes miss one full day. Even the oft canceled Friday classes don't do too poorly compared to normal.

Oh yeah, "normal" so what isn't happening that does in a normal year? In other years, in what sometimes look like alternating years, but that isn't by design I think, we have a week off for Playground. This year's Playground festival was in the fall. So there's one week on for class that has often been off. But definitely the biggest blow this year was the scheduling of USITT. Drama Design and PTM classes often wind up canceled for as much as a week for the annual theatre technology conference. This year USITT, which is in Charlotte, is also scheduled concurrent with our Spring Break. It's like an academic double whammy: there are class days that are typically not class days and then on top of that there are work days (ok maybe "work" is too strong a word, but they certainly aren't vacation) that are typically off days.

There's also typically a Spring Faculty Meeting that manages to cancel at least half a day of class, but curiously this year there isn't.

You know how sometimes when you're talking about a workday and you say the hours aren't bad but the minutes seem to go on forever? At least looking forward it seems like the semester won't be bad but the weeks seem to be piling up.

But yes, I know I'll be sounding the Critender 2000 in what seems like 5 minutes.

Ellipses...

I've reclaimed the greenpage, at least for a little while... I'd like to say I can't believe the House is wasting their time with a repeal vote they know won't pass, would be vetoed if it did, and couldn't be overridden if it was, but I'm not... Long article on TCG about the terrible awful really bad state of MFA Theatre Design programs, I don't so much agree but can't figure out the proper place to respond - or if... Too bad for Casey on Top Chef, I didn't think she deserved it... I'm not making the progress I would have hoped for on my list; scratch that, I knew better than to hope... Sometimes it just seems like I really can't stand anyone. I think I am beginning to understand the concept around the need for a sabbatical... Got a "maybe" feedback on the Chicago house today. Here's hoping... Tried today to identify what the intellectual property concerns are for PTM type people. Failed a little... Twitter is not a chat program. Sometimes people forget. I think that's the textual equivalent of having a shouting phone conversation in public, except that the other person is there too... One of our school's biggest benefactors passed away. Not sure what that will mean... It snowed a little bit here today and people actually didn't lose their shit. Well done Yinzers... Speaking of Yinzers, research now shows that use of our particular dialect is on the decline, has become fairly class related, and a little bit is supposedly hip... We still have a cat to give away if anyone is in the market... In the old house my desk consisted of three surfaces, in the apartment I have dropped down to two and can now say without reservation that I need three, maybe four... It's really a shame The West Wing isn't on TV anyplace... I'm going to be a lot busier this semester than last, I hope I'm up for it... I have a good idea for the next First Night, I wonder if I'll be able to sell it... That woman from Comcast was supposed to call me back and didn't. Might be time for an EECB... Close on the new house in four days. Surreal...

A Brief List

of things I should probably have already done, but are pretty much due Friday...

1. Studiocraft Syllabus
2. PTM Business Practice Syllabus
3. Find guests for PTM Business Practice
   
4. Scenic Fabrication & Installation Syllabus
5. Basic PTM Syllabus
6. Thesis "Endgame" Timelines
7. Stagecraft eve/weekend mini 3 calls
8. Sophomore PTM TD Crew Assignments
   
9. Travel arrangement for Bill Sapsis' visit
10. Fix audition tour coverage
    
11. Abstract for USITT Poster session
12. Three (3) Tech Expo entries

and that's just the work list, and it's only the things I haven't already forgotten about, and it doesn't include keeping my head above the rising tide of email.

But then, it's barely Wednesday. This probably isn't too bad.

Last Night - First Night

So Mrs. Boevers did the Pittsburgh First Night thing again. Lots of new stuff this year including two new positions. Lots of items in Theatre Square and an "Entry Icon" for people coming across the bridge from Heinz Field and the Winter Classic:



Here's the whole shebang:



And here's some of the Midnight show. We were father back this year, at 8th Street. From there you can actually see the ball and the fireworks, although you don't have much of a view of the band. If you listen carefully you might just make out a little Tower of Power and "What is Hip?"



Mrs. Boevers was on the TV too! Look for her at about 1:25 here: First Night Celebrations in Downtown Pittsburgh - Video - WTAE Pittsburgh I tried to find an embed code, but failed so you have to go to their site.

And of course it wouldn't be New Years without drunk people fighting. Here's some for your enjoyment:



Plans are already underway to make next year's show even bigger and better! Congrats to Marisa!