# I once turned the house lights on during a show.



## lee624 (Mar 3, 2013)

Hello! I'm a tech member at my high school in NY! I'm light crew only and not audio though.
I'm not new to lights but I still have a lot to learn since I only really started working the light board about 5 months ago? 
I joined CB after hearing about it from the musical director/music teacher at my school. He's a member of CB also. 
So I hope that I can learn a lot here, especially about moving/automated lights since that's a big thing in our next show (HELP!)
So nice to meet you, this introduction was pretty long so sorry.


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## derekleffew (Mar 4, 2013)

> I once turned the house lights on during a show.


I'm curious whether this was a good or bad experience? At Intermission or end of show=good. During Hamlet's soliloquy=bad, most likely. Live theater--accidents happen. Apologize, learn from it, and move on.


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## Les (Mar 4, 2013)

> I once turned the house lights on during a show.



Guilty. I was about 15, and running a Colortran Status (not the exact one, but the same model is pictured below - hated that board) for a community theatre production of a A Christmas Story. I was pretty new at running that console, and was more focused on getting the cue timed right than I was making sure my hands were in the right place. See, on the Colortran Status, to advance cues programmed in to the cue stack, you have to move both of the large crossfaders either up or down, and they have to go together. All my fade times had been pre-programmed, so my goal was to get those faders from one extreme to the other rather quickly. 

So here we are, both faders at the "down" position (just like the photo) and I'm watching the stage and listening to the SM on headset. Unbeknownst to me, my fingers are actually on Crossfader A and Channel 48... Guess what was on channel 48? Yep, house lights. Oops... Very hard to "cheat" your way outta _that_ mistake! Needless to say, that was not a positive experience . The only other time I've brought the house lights up mid-show was for intermission, or one time when the fire alarm started sounding.




5 months on a console and you're going to start programming moving lights soon? Err, I wish you the best of luck! I hope there are people around who can help you out. If not, that's what we're here for, but truthfully I'd start out simple if at all possible! What moving lights are you using, and with what console?


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## josh88 (Mar 4, 2013)

welcome aboard! who's your music director?


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## rochem (Mar 4, 2013)

lee624 said:


> Hello! I'm a tech member at my high school in NY!.



Where in NY? The city, or upstate?


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## Kelite (Mar 4, 2013)

Welcome to the ControlBooth lee624, it's good to have you along!

Plenty of stories to share here, kick back and enjoy!


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## lee624 (Mar 4, 2013)

derekleffew said:


> I'm curious whether this was a good or bad experience? At Intermission or end of show=good. During Hamlet's soliloquy=bad, most likely. Live theater--accidents happen. Apologize, learn from it, and move on.



It was pretty bad in a way cause it was during a show like during a scene but pretty funny cause the sound crew also accidentally muted all the mics on the same show. 


Les said:


> 5 months on a console and you're going to start programming moving lights soon? Err, I wish you the best of luck! I hope there are people around who can help you out. If not, that's what we're here for, but truthfully I'd start out simple if at all possible! What moving lights are you using, and with what console?



omg at least i'm not the only one with a accidental light change! 
My directors been helping out of course and I've been slowly learning but the first preview is in a week so! I need all the luck i can get so thanks!!! 
I'm working with two legends 2000 and one intimidator (not sure which one specifically.) and the board is EOS ion 


josh88 said:


> welcome aboard! who's your music director?



Joe Owens! 


rochem said:


> Where in NY? The city, or upstate?


 Right of the city in a dinky land called Long Island. 


Kelite said:


> Welcome to the ControlBooth lee624, it's good to have you along!
> 
> 
> Plenty of stories to share here, kick back and enjoy!



Thanks!!!


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## Tex (Mar 5, 2013)

> I once turned the house lights on during a show.


I went to see a show in a black box and arrived late. There were several of us standing against a wall watching the show when the house lights came up and then went off again. It happened two more times and as I was wondering what was going on in the booth, I realized that I was leaning against the switch that controlled the house lights. Oops... 
I blame the consultant.


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## n1ist (Mar 5, 2013)

I have had to put molly-guards around house light switches in a number of venues. Too easy for audience members to lean on the switch at the wrong time, and some of them would get rather upset when you asked them to move.

/mike


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## derekleffew (Mar 5, 2013)

Never heard the term Molly-guard before. Please make a new entry for our wiki.

From Big red button - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia :

> A Big Red Switch often includes a molly-guard, a cover that must be lifted to trip the switch. The original molly-guard was jury-rigged from Plexiglas to prevent a programmer's young daughter Molly from pressing the BRS on an IBM 4341 server, after she had done so twice in one day.



Perhaps include a picture of the "blue button" on the back of a Wholehog II, the most prevalent example I can think of.


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## JohnD (Mar 5, 2013)

Welcome Lee624, I wasn't familar with that color, so I had to look it up, Yep there it is, Lee 624 Full Digital LED C.T.O.
Colour Information and Spectral Charts for LEE Lighting Filters


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## lee624 (Mar 6, 2013)

Tex said:


> I went to see a show in a black box and arrived late. There were several of us standing against a wall watching the show when the house lights came up and then went off again. It happened two more times and as I was wondering what was going on in the booth, I realized that I was leaning against the switch that controlled the house lights. Oops...
> I blame the consultant.



my director actually told me to blame it on someone like that LOL! he was joking of course(?).


n1ist said:


> I have had to put molly-guards around house light switches in a number of venues. Too easy for audience members to lean on the switch at the wrong time, and some of them would get rather upset when you asked them to move.
> 
> 
> /mike




derekleffew said:


> Never heard the term Molly-guard before. Please make a new entry for our wiki.
> 
> 
> From Big red button - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia :
> ...


I need those guards so I won't hit the lights


JohnD said:


> Welcome Lee624, I wasn't familar with that color, so I had to look it up, Yep there it is, Lee 624 Full Digital LED C.T.O.
> Colour Information and Spectral Charts for LEE Lighting Filters



I'm a pretty peachy color


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## lwinters630 (Mar 6, 2013)

lee624 said:


> So I hope that I can learn a lot here, especially about moving/automated lights since that's a big thing in our next show (HELP!)



You will find lots of info here. Do a search and you will find post like . . .

http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting-electrics/27587-moving-lights-ion.html

and more.

There is a lot of training videos from ETC on line. Copy your show file and you can down load an off line version that you can play with at home.

Enjoy your ION.


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