Blithe Spirit
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Set Design and Construction
Forum Discription: Post your questions or suggestions about designing or building a set here.
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2683
Printed Date: 11/23/24 at 7:49pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Blithe Spirit
Posted By: centeronthesqua
Subject: Blithe Spirit
Date Posted: 9/20/07 at 9:38pm
| Can anyone suggest low-tech effects for the tricks in Blithe Spirit? Doors opening and closing, pillow flying across the room, drapes opening and closing, or any others? |
Replies:
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 9/20/07 at 10:13pm
to me the simplest is to pick a hieght impaired crew! - Boom Boom! {Sorry about that!}Not knowing 'Blithe Spirit' beyond what I believe is gained from a bottle - this is only hear say, as I tend to preffer being a tea wozer! Anyhow now I got that out of my systern. Using pullies, counterweights, fishing line & other simple bitts & bobs on hand, can work wonders & gaps of "How did they do that?" is what's it's about! Can you give any more specific info of what you would envisage happening? {for a thick as a brick &completely spiritless wombat - like me!}  ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: biggertigger
Date Posted: 9/22/07 at 9:38pm
|
I think Joe is saying "Use a high grade fishing line." Just figure out how to run it threw out the set to keep it hidden. It has been many years since I was involved with this show and most of what I remember is running fishing line for the different effects. Not everything needs to be wired from preset. If the vases don't need to fly until act three you can swap out the ones on the set with the wired ones during scene changes.
------------- The two greatest days in a theater persons life, the day you start a new show and the day the damn thing closes. |
Posted By: drose
Date Posted: 9/23/07 at 1:25am
| We used keyhole shaped holes in two different flats behind paintings which were hung by an handle thru them. When the paintings were just hanging, the handle was fitted in the keyhole. When it came time for the pictures to move on on the wall, someone behind the flat lifted the picture up by the handle and wiggled it around. We also popped books out of the bookcase by running fishing wire behind the books we wanted to pop out, and then when we pulled it taut, it pushed the book out. (Required some finessing of stationary books: we made glued,false fronts for the stationary book and drilled them to run the line thru the front edge. Then the line ran behind the moveable book, and then thru the false fronts onthe other side ...and then thru the flat so someone backstage could pull it at the right time. We had a peg holding up the curtain rod over the french doors that we pulled so it would fall (pulled from behind a flat again.) There was a foot pedal under the table that lifted and knocked from underneath (I think it was similar to a drummers foot pedal) I don't remember how we rigged the door to open, it was a counter pully of some sort, but as I didn't understand it then, I cant explain it now. Most of our effects were from directly behind the affected flat by the stage crew (or an actor, as the ghosts aren't on stage in the final scene) I hope this wasn't too muddled. I'm not terribly good at explaining things. |
Posted By: MartyW
Date Posted: 9/23/07 at 8:54am
|
For the door, the cabinet doors and we had a record player with a lid and doors... anyway, for all of those we used dowel rods attached to the back side of the door. rods were hidden by either the door opeing out as in the french doors, or by the door being opened down stage as in the cabinets.. all of these had access through holes in the flats behind the item. ------------- Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.." |
Posted By: TimW
Date Posted: 9/25/07 at 12:16am
| For us, we used french doors and attached small cables and pulleys in a loop pattern for them to open independently. the bell on the fireplace mantle was set on a mouse trap with a removable pin, launches very well. There were pictures on a shelf that had monofilament attached to the shelf, then under the frame from the front, over the top, back down to a hole through the wall under the shelf. The one I liked the best was with the pictures. We had one rigged with a small bungee cord at the bottom, pull pin also at bottom, and launched it in the air. |
Posted By: TonyDi
Date Posted: 9/25/07 at 9:13am
|
Depending upon the weight of the object that is being moved - fishing line works HOWEVER there is that single problem of it being seen because it's shiny. EVEN if it's "dulled off" it can still be seen. Magicians use a heavy duty SILK THREAD which is dull, in many lighting situations cannot be seen, it's black or dark dark brown, is VERY strong (again depending upon the weight of the object needing to be moved) and is relatively inexpensive for the amount of it you can get off a spool. Just have to FIND it. Shouldn't be impossible to find - just not often easy to find heavy duty stuff - which can be smaller but close to a thin nylon shiny fishing line - and quite strong for what it is - AND undectable in most lighting situations. I know a mag who used it for an effect even in ANY lighting (single strand of silk thread) and you couldn't see it against his skin - yet was able to move a coin attached to it. Try different things. I know fishing line is the norm but I've never NOT seen it hidden well enough to fool me.
By the way you MAY find it at a medical/surgical supply place as they DO use silk sutures and those things hold VERY well to stress.
TonyDi
------------- "Almost famous" |
Posted By: drose
Date Posted: 9/25/07 at 1:00pm
| Don't get me wrong. I think the silk and suture are very good ideas, and I look forward to trying them. But I do have to disagree about the fishing line. Old school fishing line was shiny and came in about three tints, blue green and off-clear. I agree: too shiny. They now have line designed to not reflect light (apparently fish are getting more savvy) and they have super strong weaves like spider wire (comes in dark colors). Much can be accomplished with these, especially if the set designer really helps to disguise any possible sight with textures and colors. I have seen really crappy effects that show the hows and whys (curled fishing line hanging from the ceiling), and I have seen some really spectacular effects that made the audience crowd around the stage and block the exits after the show, because they were trying to see how it was done. |
Posted By: biggertigger
Date Posted: 9/26/07 at 9:54pm
|
drose, you are correct, there are many shows I have seen where the effect is lost because of shotty concealment. The trick of any trick is finding the solution that works best to creat the effect that the audience can't decipher how it is done.
I worked on this show many, many years ago and the one thing I remember was each effect had many different wires, lines, and contraptions labeled behind the set but if you looked at the front of the set you couldn't tell that many things were rigged for the special effect. ------------- The two greatest days in a theater persons life, the day you start a new show and the day the damn thing closes. |