# Into the Woods, floating witch



## Ward (Sep 10, 2012)

Hello
New to this board... we are producing "into the woods" this year and I need to have a witch appear to levitate
Of course we dont have any sort of fly system or large amounts of cash for one either. Has anyone used any sort of a sissor lift type system? My only problem so far is making it appear as if she is floating with nothing underneath her feet. any ideas?
thanks
WMHS


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## mstaylor (Sep 10, 2012)

How high? A hydralic platform is a good answer, hiding it is another story.


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## JChenault (Sep 10, 2012)

mstaylor said:


> How high? A hydralic platform is a good answer, hiding it is another story.



However I still remember the act 1 finali of Wicked where they hid the lift with lots of black fabric. ( and kept the light off of it )


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## Ward (Sep 10, 2012)

mstaylor said:


> How high? A hydralic platform is a good answer, hiding it is another story.



I thinking of using a custom sissor type lift with a platform that extends out from the center of the lift. it this way I can hide the lift behind a piece scenery and make it look like she is leviating. My main problem (I think) I'm going to have is keeping the lift from lifting in the rear. I am going to have to build some sort of anchor to hold it down so the center of gravit doesn't allow ti to tip over. Remember, I what to entend the lifting platform out from over the center of the lift. I really want to make it seem as if she is leviating (nothing under her feet)
Steve


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## chausman (Sep 10, 2012)

*into the woods floating witch*


JChenault said:


> However I still remember the act 1 finali of Wicked where they hid the lift with lots of black fabric. ( and kept the light off of it )



I can't find it now, but somewhere there is a video whee they talk about it. They hid the boom of the lift with the same black fabric that her dress is made out of. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## gafftaper (Sep 10, 2012)

Thinking about Jchenault's comment. That look from Wicked could fairly easily be duplicated on the cheap with a small one man Genie lift, an extra wide flowing dress and some careful follow spot work. It would be a lot easier to hide behind scenery than a scissor lift too.


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## Ward (Sep 10, 2012)

This really looks like it might the the solution, do they make a lot of noise? is it a hand crank ? hydraulic? electric? I just looked up a genie lift, any idea as to how far the arms can reach out?


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## kiwitechgirl (Sep 10, 2012)

A Genie lift (at least, what is commonly referred to as a Genie - technically it's a Vertical Personnel Platform lift) will only go up and down. You shouldn't even think about modifying it so the actor is not directly in the basket - it will end badly (we had an episode in New Zealand about fifteen years ago where a technician leant out of a Genie, over the handrails, to reach something and it tipped over, killing him). You can get scissor lifts which have extensions to the basket, but they're much bigger. A regular Genie is not silent, but the electric ones aren't too loud. I've done several shows where we've put actors in Genies for effect and it works pretty well.


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## chausman (Sep 10, 2012)

kiwitechgirl said:


> A Genie lift (at least, what is commonly referred to as a Genie - technically it's a Vertical Personnel Platform lift) will only go up and down. You shouldn't even think about modifying it so the actor is not directly in the basket - it will end badly (we had an episode in New Zealand about fifteen years ago where a technician leant out of a Genie, over the handrails, to reach something and it tipped over, killing him). You can get scissor lifts which have extensions to the basket, but they're much bigger. A regular Genie is not silent, but the electric ones aren't too loud. I've done several shows where we've put actors in Genies for effect and it works pretty well.



Genie (the company) does make other lifts that are not Aerial work platforms. Although they are MUCH bigger.

Genie - Scissor Lifts

And, I found the video:


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## Ward (Sep 11, 2012)

Hey everyone!
I've never had such a reply in any other forum, you guys are great!
I'm sold! I'm going to look at genie lifts this week I'm sure it will fit the bill perfectly
THANKS!


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## kicknargel (Sep 11, 2012)

Allow me to express some concern/caution about this, or any flying effect. This is ALWAYS dangerous to do. Climbing ladders, using lifts, etc. carries risk in any circumstance. Put it into a show setting and you're trying to do it a dark, noisy environment where the operator may not be able to see an obstruction or hear something going wrong. That awesome Wicked rig has all kinds of safety interlocks and a professional crew monitoring the operation. 

Being in a school, you have to put safety as #1. If a student is injured, it's a tragedy for them, and will threaten your job and the whole program. At the very least, you have to comply with all labeling on the device and use it exactly as intended. Harness, outriggers, etc. You should also comply with OSHA standards on fall protection/arial equipment use. I'd also say you should get approval of the idea from up the hierarchy. 

Truth be told, I don't think this should be attempted in a high school. 1% risk of injury is too high. It's been a while since I've seen this show and don't remember the moment but I'm sure it's done all the time without any sort of arial effect. Spend the money on a great cow costume.


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## millamber (Sep 11, 2012)

How high are we talking here? The only time I remember the witch from Into the Woods ever levitating, it is less than a foot off the ground. The last time I saw it she stood on a floor pocket smoke machine and it raised her up and billowed dry ice fog to cover the gap. You could even get away with attaching a small platform to a mechanics car jack and having a crew member jack it up slightly, again using her dress or some such to cover the apparatus. 

If you are trying to have her fly to the rafters, I would ask only why? How does that serve the play? Is the cost and liability concerns worth the effect, or wow factor?


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## Benjod82 (Sep 11, 2012)

We did this show many years ago (I was a student at the time) and we had the witch sitting on a chair near a wall in the set and had created a "see-saw" of sorts using sections of schedule 40 pipe. The crew behind the wall would pull down on the pipe raising the chair in front. With pinned connections in the right spots the chair remained level throughout the entire effect (no leaning the witch backwards as she was lifted). Relatively cheap and easily controlled and engineered, however very specific in the blocking and set design The pipe was virtually invisible as the pipe was level at the chair's highest point.

Of course safety is always an utmost concern, however I think the chair was only a foot or two off the ground during the effect (still plenty far to injure someone). Things that I would think about a lot harder now then I did at the time is the structure of the chair and how/where pipe attachments were made. I would probably also do a fair amount more training with the crew adding weight (sandbags) to the system to practice the effect many times before using even the most willing human volunteer.


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## gafftaper (Sep 11, 2012)

*As long as you don't modify the Genie lift in any way and you use the outriggers* I think it's a perfectly safe approach. It's designed to lift people, it's not typically used on stage but I see no reason you can't. Yes noise will be a problem. You will need to cover with a loud sound or music effect of some sort on the way up. They are typically pretty quiet on the way down. I would have some sort of a cape that can hang over the front of the bucket to hide it without any modification. The control buttons are usually located in the bucket and so the actor will have control of their going up and down. Call some local rental companies and see what they have. Don't forget to see if you can work a deal of free advertising in your program in exchange for a deal on the rental. 

That said, I agree with the other guys that this might be overkill for the show and one of the lower to the ground ideas would probably be a lot more appropriate... and cheaper.


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