10 replies to this topic

[PyroKid]

Hey everyone

I have been given the task of putting together an effect to simulate a hole being blown into the ceiling of a church hall, featuring in the stage show of "Dads Army", which will be featuring in the Dylan Thomas Theatre, Swansea from the 8th - 14th May 2005

The effect will be achieved by securing 2 planks of wood to the lighting grid, in which 2 polystyrene ceiling tiles will be placed.

On top of the ceiling tile will sit a maroon and a number of polystyrene "building blocks", the idea being that when the maroon goes of, it will blow the ceiling tiles to bits, and release the polystyrene "building blocks" to simulate debris.

Upon the debris hitting the ground, a medium theatrical flash w/ smoke will go off in order to create a mushroom cloud effect to simulate the dust and particles being thrown up into the air.

If anyone is in the area at the above mentioned times, it would be nice if you could pop in to see the show, as it would also be nice to meet a number of you face to face.

Look forward to hearing from you soon

All the best!

[Richard H]

I trust you will be testing this extensively? You could probably use compressed air to blow out the ceiling tiles.

[seymour]

WOW! Do you have a lisence to do it with? And is it going to be indors?

[PyroKid]

Hi there

Yes the effect is going to take place indoors within a theatre setting making use of le maitre pyrotechnics, in which i believe that no licence is required in order to purchase them.

The pyros are being supplied by a company called Stage Electrics based in cardiff who are going to be sponsoring the event.

The effect has been cleared by both stage electrics and le maitre who have both given the go-ahead with the effect.

Preparation and testing of the effect has already taken place which has proven the effect to be safe, and the necessary safety measures have been put in place should anything happen.

All the best

[adamw]

Of course there is not always a need to use pyro - for example to simulate something coming through the roof you could just use a 'drop bag' - which is a cloth filled with soft debris that is released by a cord, spilling its contents below. Oh course there won't be much 'velocity' to the effect and no bang, but you can fit a lot of debris in to make the effect look bigger.

Also, if it's day time in the scene, it would be nice to have a spotlight shine down from the hole in the roof to simulate the sunlight coming through!

[Blackpowder]

Such effects can only be used in theatres if consent has been granted by the Fire Authority,

Otherwise you could be in breach of Fire Precautions Legilsation and find yourself in the Magistrates Court.

Out of interest, how did you prevent ignition of the styrene by the maroon effect?

What were the safety measure listed?

Edited by Blackpowder, 19 May 2005 - 12:46 PM.

[PyroKid]

The effect was of course cleared by the local fire authority.

The ignition of the polystyrene was prevented by giving the polysterene a coating of flame retardant, and there was suitable fire extinuishers (water and Co2) close at hand should the ignition occur.

In order to minimise the risk of electrical fire, it was ensured that no laterns went up in the area in which the effect was to occur and that the area was free of any flamable material.

The effect was tested extensively with only the personel involved with the effect (myself and another technicien) present in order to ensure the safety of such an effect.

Should the effect fail for any reason, resulting in the ceiling tile / blocks being rendered unstable, i was to make the area safe by closing access to the stage area whilst all material was removed from the lighting grid.

Edited by PyroKid, 19 May 2005 - 01:50 PM.

[Blackpowder]

Nice to see that the policies have been followed, there are many occasions were no permissions are sought and problems follow.

I asked about the styrene as we have had difficulties in flameproofing the material in the past as it has no absorbancy,

Interesting point that you had a control measure for failure of the device, sometimes overlooked.

[PyroKid]

Are you by any chance involved with Blackpowder Pyrotechnics Training / Consultancy services?

[Blackpowder]

It depends if you are going to say you sent a thousand e-mails and got no reply!

We are the training company, still recovering from a hacker attack that left our systems in shreds.

[PyroKid]

LoL, I have been trying to contact you in the past for information regarding your training courses, but that is another matter altogether.

Im sorry to hear about your encounter with the hacker.

The reason i was asking was because the other technicien who i was working with on the Dads Army production had attended one of your training courses in the past and had recommended your courses to me.

Maybe we can talk about this in more detail once you have your records back on track.