Information for Student Productions

Spring term can only mean one thing. It's show time!

Audio visual are here to help but we do need some information from you too.
Below is a guide to things you need to do / know before show week, things we can do, things we can't do and what it will cost you.

Useful Files

Please note: These files are provided for information but may be out of date. You will be given up to date information when you make your booking.

Staffing

We will provide you with up to 12 hours of technician time free of charge. This is more than enough to rig and focus the standard lighting rig. These hours will be at times arranged in advance, subject to our other commitments. It will normally be 2 people for 6 hours. Any extra hours will be charged at £35/hour/technician plus VAT. You should book time for all your rigging, show & derigging needs.

AV Technicians need to be present whilst any access to the technical balcony, gantry and stage canopy is required. These areas are out of bounds without a technician in attendance.

Key Timings

Please let us have the following documents by the Monday of the week before your show starts…

A timetable showing rigging, plotting, rehearsal, show, & derigging time;
A lighting plan
A sound plan
A stage plan
Your risk assessments for the event

The earlier we have these documents, the more efficiencies we may be able to make by sharing arrangements with other groups.

Seating/Staging/Orchestra Pit

The seating, staging & orchestra pit are looked after by the porters. See plans attached for some possible layouts. Please let the porters have details of your setup requirements, and book suitable timing into your schedule as soon as possible. The maximum seating capacity for blocks 1-5 is approx 1000. It is not necessary to have the handrails attached to the steps to the stage when in use for dramatic purposes but this should be marked in your Risk Assessment. It is advisable to highlight the edge of the stage with white tape, and to cover the holes where the stage is worn. There is a ramp than can be fitted by the porters to the front edge of the stage, the top of which is at stage left.

If you are planning on using the orchestra pit, then you should be aware of the following

The handrail must be inspected by estates in advance of the show
The front row of block 3 must not be used by the audience
The stewards and duty manager(s) / responsible person(s) should be aware of the pit

There are 32 legs for steeldeck available, cut to the same height as the fixed staging. Ther are 8 stage weights and 8 set braces in our storeroom available for use.Beware that large staging will not fit in the lift.

You may wish to create a technical area behind block 3 – this must remain clear of the fire doors at all times and we would advise you not to use the back row of seating if you do set up here. It is also possible to retract the top section of seating of block three and use that area.

If you wish to use the stage balcony as part of your performance, the porters can remove the boards, however you will need to find an alternative storage space for the seating & tables that are stored on there currently.

Any use of this space will need to be risk assessed and copies provided to the facilities manager and to AV.

Set construction

Construction of your set within the hall should be kept to a minimum, and all painting must be carried out outside. All set pieces should be free standing; nothing is to be screwed to the stage or pillars.

There is one banner bar on each side of the stage – max SWL 125kg each. See the plan for dimensions. We will operate if rigging is required.

Lift/Rehearsal Room

The lift internal dimensions are 2.2m high, 1.8m deep and 1.5m wide. The lift doors are 1.1m wide, 2.0m high and there is a handrail at waist height and fold up seat on the rear wall of the lift.

The wheelchair access to the auditorium is via the lift and rehearsal room, and a clear access to the corridors at either side of the rehearsal room must be maintained at all times.

Access Equipment

We have use of a set of Zarges ladders within the hall. There is no access equipment provided for your use.
If you need heavy items rigged from the canopy (e.g. MACs) we will hire a scaffold tower, and the cost for this will be passed on to you, along with the extra time taken.

Canopy

The canopy has a weight limit of 450kg static load. The acoustic baffles are already taken into account. We estimate that the existing loading is 300kg (4 speakers @ 25kg, 12 pole-ops @ 15kg & 4 floods @ 5kg). The load must be distributed evenly across the canopy. A copy of the structural engineer’s report is available as pdf. If it is intended that the weight limit is approached, then the exact weight of the existing items should be confirmed first.

Access to the canopy is via appropriate access equipment. This may not be possible once set pieces/staging are in place, and should be borne in mind.

The Canopy is 6.2m high above the stage and the stage is approx 0.75m high.

Health and Safety

All set items that may come into contact with ignition sources (heat/lighting) should be suitably fire retardant. There should be a clear walkway kept backstage between the fire exits at each end.

The partition wall between stage & backstage is a fire break and must be closed during performances.

The Facilities Manager will provide you with a fire safety briefing before the start of your rehearsals.

We recommend you arrange with an AV technician and the duty manager to walk round the hall well in advance of the first performance to check that all items are to their satisfaction.

We will instruct you in the use of harnesses on the lighting gantry, and then you will be permitted to focus when an AV technician is supervising. The AV technicians are trained in effecting a rescue from the balcony.

Clearing up

After your show, all items must be removed from all areas of the building (including the outside walkways) by the end of your booked time. Any items left after this time may be disposed of and any costs involved will be billed to your group.

Lighting

There are 96 channels of Zero88 chilli dimming, and there is a Zero88 BullFrog desk (and monitor) available. This has 96 generic faders, and control of up to 24 moving lights. Control of the permanently installed house lights is available from the control room or backstage; alternatively there are floods rigged as house lights which can be controlled from the lighting desk.

There are

48 dimmer channels and 1 DMX outlet on the gantry (5 used for house lights)
24 dimmer channels and 1 DMX outlet on the canopy
6 dimmer channels technical balcony stage left
6 dimmer channels and 1 DMX outlet technical balcony stage right
6 dimmer channels stage balcony, stage left
6 dimmer channels and 1 DMX outlet stage level, upstage right

All outlets are on 15A connectors; the stage balcony, and stage level outlets are also duplicated on Socapex connectors. A DMX splitter is provided for the listed outputs, which are all on the same universe.

Various profile, fresnel, PAR & flood lanterns are available, also 2 Martin MAC250 Kryptons. Please provide your own gels. looking at the gobos they all appear to be 'B' size and we have four holders. We currently have two CCT Turbo 15-32, five CCT Turbo 11-26, seven Freedom 15-32 and two CCT Silhouette 3

The profiles are CCT Freedom 16-30s and CCT Turbo 15-32s and take gobo size A.

We have no followspots available. If you wish to use followspots – 2 will fit at the back of block 3, but 4 really need to be on the balcony.

Battery backed emergency lighting is provided. The exit signs should be illuminated whilst the building is open to the public – these are controlled by a switch in the porters lodge.

Power

Extra power supplies are available – 32A single phase in the projection box, 63A 3 phase & 32A single phase on the stage right wall (Red phase), and 2x16A on the outside balcony.

All electrical items brought into the hall should have a current PAT certificate.

Comms System

A tecpro comms system is available, with 6 beltpacks/headsets. There are outlets in the projection box, sound desk (on balcony), 2x followspot positions on balcony, stage balcony, backstage, and stage “wings” (between the pillars & the doors to backstage).

Due to losses in the past, you will need to supply your own 3pin XLR cables for use with the Comms system.

You can use our 7 Motorola radios in the hall. They will take an earpiece on a standard 3.5mm connector.

Smoke/Strobe/Pyro/Other special effects

Use of a smoke machine must be booked on the social event booking form. Once this has been done, you must contact estates services to arrange for an electrician to disable the smoke detectors in the building at the beginning & end of each rehearsal/performance. There is a charge of £40 per call out for this service - i.e. for a typical show it would be £40 to switch alarms back on on Thursday and Friday nights. Saturday would be £80 as an electrician would also be required to switch the alarms off. During the week the electricians are at work when the alarms are switched off so no charge is made.

Use of other effects e.g. pyro, firearms (real or imitation), smoking, naked flames etc etc etc should be checked with the H&S dept & Facilities Manager at the planning stage.

Sound

There is a choice of 2 sound desks – a Spirit Live 16:4:2, or a Spirit LX7 (24 channel). The installed PA system is mono – it is not possible to cover the seating area easily in stereo. The speakers are divided into 4 zones – canopy; blocks 1&5, blocks 2, 3&4 & subwoofer. The volume of each block can be adjusted.

There are two stage monitor mixes available & 4 monitor wedges.

There is a 20 channel XLR multicore with 4 returns from the stage balcony to the sound location (technical balcony or back of block 3), and a 16 XLR/4XLR return/4jack multicore to extend from the technical balcony to the back of block 3.

There are 6 radio microphone receivers available for use, with 4 handheld & 4 lapel transmitters (max 6 in use at any time). The receivers are on the stage balcony and would use 6 channels on that multicore. Each microphone requires 2 AA batteries. The frequencies proposed for any other radio microphones should be checked with us in advance to prevent interference with other rooms on campus. The VHF exempt & shared use, & UHF exempt frequency ranges are completely available for use. There are 4 UHF shared and 8 UHF co-ordinated frequencies available (our microphones use 6 of the co-ordinated frequencies). Any more frequencies required would need to be licensed via JFMG.

An induction loop is available covering the back half of block 2, and the row in front of and behind the front handrail in block 3.

A Yamaha clavinova is available for use within the hall.

Due to losses in the past there are no mic stands, other microphones or XLR cables available for your use.

Projection

There is a Sanyo XF30 with semi-long throw lens aligned with the central projection screen. It is not available to be moved from this position. The screen can be used at anything between full height and half height. The screen must stay at the same height throughout the performance (although it may be brought in/out at an interval by an AV technician).

If you wish to make use of side projections (with screens hung on the banner bars), you will need to hire two projectors with a similar output & lens to what we already have, and suitable screens & cabling. The projectors need to be located on the technical walkway. This can rapidly get very expensive. To project from the gantry or rear of the hall, a 4.6:1 lens is recommended.

Backstage relay

There is an installed camera cable from the projection box to backstage. If you wish to use this, you will need to provide a camera, BNC cables for both ends & a monitor.

There are speakers throughout the dressing rooms and concourse with dedicated amps, which can be fed the same as the main feed, or a separate mix.

Networking

Wifi access is available throughout most of the hall.

Equipment damage

We do not make any charge for reasonable use of equipment that is permanently located within the hall, however all damage, breakages and loss will be charged for, including our administrative time.

Suggested Setup

For most shows we would suggest that lighting and sound be run from the back of block 3. 3 standard central hall tables fit leaving ample room for follow spots. Alternatively 5 tables can be fitted with no significant spare space. In addition to providing lighting and sound desks as previously detailed we can provide cabling to the back of block 3 consisting of:

DMX control for dimmable lighting
On / Off / Blank / Freeze control of the projector
15 pin D vga input for the projector
Power fed from the same phase as the audio amps
24 send / 4 return snake to the stage gantry, the end of which can be lowered to stage left
12 send / 4 return / 4 jack snake to the tech gantry for connection to radio mics / amps etc.
XLR feed for comms system

Should it be requested we can also provide:

Alternative functionality on the projector control (4 buttons and power)
Composite projector input
Second comms feed
Other feeds by negotiation