Problem Solving

Problem Solving:

Whilst designing the stage prop castle I found it difficult to figure out how it could be made, stored and moved on and off stage. I discussed these issues with both the director and Sarah, who aided me with the construction of the sets. Shelley suggested that a cutout of a castle's silhouette could be placed over one of the frames we had in the theatre. This couldn't be done as they both needed gauze placed over them to create the shadows used in the seduction scenes. Sarah agreed with me that the castle would not be practical for what we needed it for. This idea was then scrapped because of this.


During the technical rehearsals for Rocky Horror I was asked by Shelley if it was possible to use microphones for the performance. At the time there was only 6 radio mics and receivers available to use so I set them up, with the help of Tom, and showed the performers how to wear them and where the headset should sit. I asked Mia and Dominic about renting two extra microphones for the week of the performance but we later discovered that they would be too expensive and they also wouldn't arrive in time unless they were collect that day. Whilst Mia was looking for prices for microphones we discovered that one of the belt packs or headsets was having issues. I asked Grant to see if he could find what the issue was, as I had very little experience using microphones in the past, and he informed me that the frequencies that we were using were limited due to telecommunication companies purchasing previously used frequencies from the government. This made only 863 MHz to 865 MHz available for use during the show. This meant that only 4 of the mics out of the needed 8 could be used unless a frequency expansion licence was purchased by the college.
This meant that a decision was made to not use any microphones as it was unfair to have to decide who could and could not use them. I found that this decision could have potentially helped the musical theatre students improve their projection, something that not all of them are great at.

Whilst undertaking some final checks with my LED boxes I noticed that a number of diodes were flashing red instead of pulsing through their preset RGB cycle. I knew that this was either an issue with the soldering that was done previously, or there was a problem within the LED strip itself. Upon close inspection I noticed that a staple had become inbedded into one of the strips. This was causing the current of electricity to dissipate before the cycle had ended. To solve this I carefully used a set of longnose pliers to remove the staple, whilst avoiding causing any more damage to the strip. Once the staple had been removed everything worked as well as it should have.
I also had an issue with what material I was going to use to diffuse the light being seen by the audience. Preferably, sheets of opal acrylic would be used as it is extremely durable and relatively cheap. However, I had forgotten to order these sheets so needed to find an alternative. I discovered that tracing paper and tissue paper worked incredibly well. Becca took me to the paper store where we found a load of white tissue paper. I used a staple gun to attach it to the boxes. They looked good when plugged in but we're very fragile. To prevent any tears they were placed in a locked room with restricted access.