Cupboard

We store our equipment in a small cupboard at the back of New Cellars. This has a separate key which is available from the Porters, with committee permission. If you’re looking for something tech related, it’ll be in here.

Please do not leave technical equipment unattended in New Cellars for more than 24 hours at a time. It is your responsibility to ensure everything accessible is safely locked away. The rear door and backstage corridor are critical emergency egress routes. Equipment (technical or otherwise) must not be left there at any time.

Lighting

We have a modest but effective lighting system. Our standard setup is:

1x Zero88 Jester 12/24 Channel Desk (instruction manual)

2x LED Pars – LiteCraft Par 60 AT10 (instruction manual)

6x Fresnels – CCT Minuette (T25 500W bulbs)

3x Profiles – CCT Minuette Condenser (T25 500W bulbs)

1x Pebble Convex – CCT Minuette PC

1x House/Working Light – Newlec NL500 Auditorium Flood

1x House Door Light – Par 16 Birdie

Additionally, in the tech cupboard you can find a further:

2x Par 16 Birdies

1x Living Room standing lamp

2x Plug adaptors – to use ADC/Corpus style 15A plugs with our dimmers

2x Iris

8x Barndoor

8x Gel Holder with a range of gels that you can cut to size

Going up to the lighting rig is dangerous. Many colleges forbid it altogether. Please use simple precautions, such as attaching safety chains to all fixtures, and seek help and training if necessary. 

Never touch equipment if you are under the influence of alcohol.

In Lent 2016, we replaced our life-expired Alcora desk with a more modern Jester type and altered the configuration of the room so that we now set up the desk on the wall parallel with the main door, with the stage in front of the alcove. Our default setup has two Fresnels (channels 13 and 14) pointing in the original orientation, which we would still recommend for projection.

Unusually, the lights are directly attached to their dimmers, which means that both power and 5 pin DMX is required to each light, although this does mean that the lights can be plugged directly into standard 13A power. The lights are rigged to a square set of bars in the ceiling, and are typically left programmed so that first-time techies can tweak the positioning, focus and go. Please be aware that the CCT equipment dates back to the late 1990s and can get very hot in use.

The ceiling-height sockets have a fuse box in the tech cupboard. You may need to flip the switches before use to get power. Switching the power back off after use, where possible, is always appreciated.

To program a DMX dimmer, fully lower the B Master and Memory Master to 0%, fully raise the Grand Master, A Master and your chosen channel’s fader to 100%, then depress the Program button on the black dimmer for 3 seconds – it will thereafter remember this as a preset. If the light starts to flicker, the process hasn’t completed: ensure the relevant faders are set to 100% and try again.

Gels can be used on the Fresnels as a traditional way of adding colour. Two are usually left with a turquoise gel which creates an effective cold wash. Remember that bright colours have a tendency to burn out and may need to be monitored and replaced – this is particularly noticeable with the sheet of blood red stocked in the tech cupboard.

The LED pars are mirrored, and are currently in a three channel configuration: Channel 10 controls the red setting (for both), Channel 11 controls the green setting and Channel 12 controls the blue setting. As ever, if using LED pars as part of a wash, you may wish to consider keeping the blue fader half-way up to reduce coldness.

1446710132_Cable The DMX dimmers output power via kettle lead, which often necessitates rewiring new luminaires.

Sound

At the heart of our sound setup is a Eurodesk 12 Channel Stereo Mixing Desk. This is in a trolley so can be transported easily with a script light, distribution amplifier, a power brick, and cables required for a basic setup (usually looped round the top edge of the desk).

The inputs of the Eurodesk are patched into a Snake multicore (four XLR, four ¼”), with two additional auxiliary leads that can be plugged into laptops and iPods (see QLab software for OS X). The tape out function can easily be patched to a minijack so you can record a mixdown of output.

To plug into the sound desk:

1x Retro microphone

1x Shure Beta58a microphone (in sound desk drawer)

3x Shure PG48 microphones (in sound desk drawer)

1x DI box (in sound desk drawer)

1x Guitar Amplifier

We have two active speakers and two passive speakers (Idex 15” 300w CAB). We use the two passive speakers in New Cellars as they plug directly into the Speakon patch on the side of the sound trolley and require no further power. Remember to twist the ends of the Speakon cable to connect and disconnect.

Hardware

To get groovy graphics on the walls of New Cellars, you can use our rather lovely BenQ W1070+ projector. It has an HDMI connector and streams full 1080p HD (and also has 3D support, we’re told). It’s not mounted but is short-throw, so you can be rather daring in its placement behind the actors.

As a quick and easy way to add an extra light or electrical appliance, we have a remote control 13A mains plug. The remote is in the hardware box; the plug can be controlled using the buttons marked 1 ON and 1 OFF. This is sometimes used in conjunction with our floor lamp for Smokers.

We have mic stands and speaker stands at the rear of the Tech Cupboard. These come in various shapes and sizes, so do have a rummage to find one that suits your actors. Many stands are extendable, and have a twist mechanism to raise/lower the microphone. Please use this rather than securing with tape – like most sticky residues it’s impossible to fully remove.

A small collection of hardware utilities is available for use, along with numerous sundries:

1x Flat head screwdriver

1x Phillips head screwdriver

2x Curved files

1x Heck saw

1x Torch and UV darklight

White paint, glow in the dark spray

White spirit

Electrical insulating and gaffer tape

1446714067_Under-construction

When things aren’t working…

If you’ve come across a definite fault in New Cellars, make sure to fill out a fault form and affix it to the affected item – a stack of these can be found on the wall of the Tech Cupboard. If you see something that’s faulty, we recommend you don’t use it, as this could cause further damage.

Fire is not unlikely with hot electrical equipment. In the case of fire, sound the alarm if it has not gone off (the nearest Manual Call Point is outside the New Cellars, which will summon a porter) and stop your show or rehearsal. Delegate cast and crew to assemble audience on either Foundress Lawn or the Bowling Green and contact the committee to undertake a headcount. Tackle the blaze if (and only if) you are able to, using foam or preferably CO2 extinguisher. Remember to never use a water-based extinguisher on electrical fires.

If you’re unsure of anything at all, or if reading this guide makes absolutely no sense (what is DMX, anyway?) then please do not hesitate to reach out – just send an email to our Technical Director