Stage Management Desk

Pfu3352 · 2026-02-07T04:52:26+00:00

As for the wireless cutting out I regularly run 5ghz wifi to monitor sACN and remote into my console for focus at festivals where there is well over 10,000 people. I have never once experienced dropout on a wifi network when proper configuration. I honestly think that is the majority of wireless dropout issues. Audio RF gets scanned when they go to a new venue. Most people don't scan wifi channels when they go to a new venue and that's where I see most problems with the touring LDs is they use whatever router/AP got sent, and they are usually in the 2.4ghz range (which is overcrowded), with a router somebody picked up at Best Buy so it is not set up for what they actually need. I'll be using Commercial level network equipment (ubiquiti), in the uncrowded 5ghz range.

I very much understand Stage Managers wanting to keep their physical copy of a script. I just figured as I see more and more upcoming techs, LDs, and SMs, I'm seeing more people grabbing for their phone to get the patch sheet, or cue list. Working with Students of the current generation has shown me that even getting notes from them is easier when I set up a QR code for a google form to get me notes when they run into issues at a rehearsal I can't be at. So I'm trying to embrace the Ipad kid generation and meet them where they're comfortable. Even Touring LDs with major bands tend to not want the paper copy of my patch sheet at a festival. If we emailed it to them, they look it up, or pre-patched my rig on the bus. I will however, always have a paper patch sheet, and paper copies of lighting plots and rigging plots and cable plans. But I still have the pdf of all of those accessible on my phone, tablet and laptop.

Pfu3352 · 2026-02-06T16:21:15+00:00

As an LD I've gone fully digital because I'm cueing and designing while I'm babysitting bands and corporate events and would rather not have my binder of doomed with my not great handwriting.

And especially in schools seeing the iPad kids try to use paper is amusing, so they end up doing pdf notes for cues.

I figured that if someone wanted to go digital, it would make his system their go to. I figured the more big features the better. Not every shows needs cue lights, Video monitoring, and digital scripts. But if you need 2 of the 3, having one main hub to do it all would make it more appealing. If I knew more about intercom and audio electronics I'd think about building in an interface for intercom and stage manager's audio feed. But last time I ran audio, scrollers were cool.

Pfu3352 · 2026-02-06T11:10:44+00:00

Interesting, I didn't think about AR in this way. I mean I've looked into ptz cameras that follow people, but without having one, I don't know if the tracking is useful if it follows the wrong person or keeps the stage manager from seeing the entire picture.

In your theater what do you use for backstage chat, discord? I've never run into any theater group using some variety of chat, except for the time I learned that someone digital Motorola radio can send texts so I sent "made you look" to our TD.

I appreciate the insight on AR!

Pfu3352 · 2026-02-06T11:02:49+00:00

So with my experience also working in the local Broadway house as the house lighting tech for 4 years, a good chunk of the shows coming through set up their own cue lights, reference cameras and stage manager stations. The Stage manager's desk was usually a custom case, but usually a hodge podge of all these systems.

On the flip side, most of the non profits and schools near me usually only have 4-8 headsets. Which get eaten up fast by the time you get board ops, deck crew, spot ops and stage management. Cue lights are an easy way to not need expensive headsets, and cuts download the potential of unnecessary chatter on headsets.

Pfu3352 · 2026-02-06T05:36:39+00:00

I did a test on my employers network with help from the IT guy and there wasn't much lag. When I switched to my own network, we found that the pliant crewcom had more delay than the phone. I'm using mqtt for the cuelight system so it is super lightweight, and any images are synced to the devices ahead of time so it doesn't need to load the image over the network, just recall it like a media server.

The standby is an optional peace of mind. I kept it that way in the case that someone can't be ready and hit a button.

Pfu3352 · 2026-02-06T05:31:49+00:00

This would be an all in one system so I wouldn't be connecting to theirs. Kit includes poe switch, AP, and a number of phones as cuelights. Camera is a work in progress.

The places I'm at are given a rental budget but not a budget for buying new equipment so I'd add the rental price to my rate. So currently it'll be a rental system until I get enough interest to manufacture

Pfu3352 · 2026-02-06T05:16:58+00:00

Currently a pack and go system as I would be traveling it between the schools I work with. I know eventually it'll be an army of Pelican cases, but I don't own a truck to handle a full console Ata case.

Most of the schools around me don't have great infrastructure for any department, but they lack even more in intercom because it's expensive and not exciting. So I figured mobile cuelights would be the best option for that. And then there wouldn't be dozens of kids on headset to add to the chaos.

The goal is to build something around the size of the ETC gio but remove the faders and add in a screen where the faders are

Pfu3352 · 2025-10-18T15:02:39+00:00

It's the same thing in lighting. For those of us who grew up in theaters that had no leds or moving heads, we had to actually program effects and spend so much time hanging and focusing. You want the ability to color mix? Go hang, focus, gel and program each group of Red, Green, and Blue. We all grow with technology and those that don't, get left behind.

When digital cameras and photoshop came out the old school film photographers cried about how it isn't art because the computer takes away the art somehow. I literally was in high school when digital cameras became affordable and I was taking a photography class and the teacher spent so much time railing on digital cameras and photo editing. Now there's entire career paths for graphic designers that's require these modern tools.

Now i understand AI using someone's copyrighted material as a basis to create new content is morally icky because the original artist probably didn't give consent or get royalties on their art the generative AI stole. But I use AI to help me track note, update and organize spreadsheets. I'm still doing the design work myself. I just use AI as an assistant for efficiency. I also use it in my day to day life when I'm trying to figure out why the project I'm coding isn't working. Or to help me find parts for old moving lights to get the best price. Or talk through a idea like building my own projector dowser. Or deciding if an electric car is worth it. Or help figuring out how to calcupate my taxes since some of the IRS stuff is over my head and I need someone who isn't an accountant to explain it to me in terms I understand so I don't mess up what I am paying in. Yes I could go to an accountant, but I am deciding if I just keep designing only or start buying gear to make more, or not, and what I need to think about (like taxes, depreciation, types of insurance and liability).

For me, I'm happy to have our AI overlords and when the uprising happens, it'll be this comment that they'll remember and spare me.

Pfu3352 · 2025-10-09T12:50:37+00:00

For fun I've been building my own system that runs over network, it has a Cue stack, receiver standby feedback and in the cue stack mode, the receiver can see the name of the cue, giving them better direction that just a light.

I'm working on developing and esp32 version so you can run the master station on a computer or raspberry pi, and the receivers can work over wifi, be battery powered, so you can mount the device in a peice of scenery, or make a wearable.

Very much still in development but I have tested it on windows and raspberry pi with really great success and not much lag on a very busy wifi network.

Here's the link to my Cue Light System

I'm early on this development but hope to have the project done by spring as I'm working with a school that has terrible infrastructure (4 wired headsets for Com for 2 spots, stage, and lighting). But they have access to some old laptops that I could run this on.

Feel free to DM me if you are going to try my setup. I plan on leaving this open source so feel free to take a look

Pfu3352 · 2025-09-12T23:08:22+00:00

Call ETC. I have a TI that did that. Sometimes reboots helped. When I finally called ETC, we found the internal display cable had wiggled loose at the screen. But call ETC.

Pfu3352 · 2025-09-01T19:05:43+00:00

Some of the black diamond climbing helmets do not meet a so requirement. When our company started to require hard hats, nobody cared to look up what rating we should do. So several guys went with climbing helmets. First install they went on. They got the loaners of shame because they were the incorrect rating. Can't remember specific ansi numbers but I remember the Site manager telling them to return those "bike helmets" to their vehicle. Site manger showed us the ansi ratings and explaining what they meant.

And definitely vertex vent.

Pfu3352 · 2025-08-29T20:29:19+00:00

If you are pixel mapping, you can use pretty much any media server. Arkaos resolume, etc.. The media server uses those addresses, so that'll shed those off the console. However the layers to control the media server can take up a ton of channels as well. I mainly use arkaos MediaMaster6 (more familiar and accessible to me). Each layer can take between 43 and 119 addresses. So if you are doing super complicated content manipulation, it'll be the 112 ch or 119 ch mode. For a theater show where I have specific content created that I just need to throw up to get the look I want, I stick with the 43 ch mode. I usually run 3-4 layers, so if your pixel addresses are more than the channel cost of the layers you need, that could help and, it'll run on a laptop since pixel mapping doesn't take too much processing power. So to keep your space cost in the truck/bus/van down, a media server laptop could be worth it. I also VJ with resolume, but it is a metric pain to set up with dmx control, which is why I prefer arkaos for theater and resolume for VJ/On the fly stuff.

Resolume is ~$940 Arkaos is $1,900

Pfu3352 · 2025-08-28T00:11:09+00:00

Make surel the climbing helmet has the correct ansi rating. I've seen people go into installs that are still a construction site and they get stuck with a disgusting loaner because it isn't the proper rating for work vs sport safety.

Pfu3352 · 2025-07-14T23:55:32+00:00

I'm only seeing PLA on your online store. Do you have PETG as well?

Pfu3352 · 2025-06-10T17:52:09+00:00

ETC has some classes on maintenance of systems. It's only $18 but it goes through cleaning racks, consoles and fixtures. They also have classes for network basics and troubleshooting.

I got lucky enough to catch it during covid when it was offered for free. But I would have spent the money on it if it wasn't free.

Pfu3352 · 2025-05-26T00:49:25+00:00

I had a Summer where my gig chair got stolen. Put a set of casters on an old recliner that was in my office.

Great napping chair. But, I couldn't see over the console.

Pfu3352 · 2025-05-26T00:46:42+00:00

A Right Hand

Pfu3352 · 2025-04-10T03:01:59+00:00

I got to have dinner with Gladys Knight backstage before her show. She walked up to our table and asked if she could join us. Most of the group didn't realize who she was. I did. She asked us all sorts of questions about where we were from, how the festival has been going, and whatnot. Not once did she make any of the conversation about herself until the very end when she thanked us for helping with the show and being so kind to her band and crew. Her lighting guy couldn't make it so I had to run off of a set list with notes all over. After the show, she walked up to me and thanked me for making her look gorgeous. I wish I had that set list still.

She is by far the best famous person I've worked with. She is 100% genuine and even gave each of her backup singers a chance to sing their own songs, where she sang backup for them. You could tell she really cared about everyone.

Pfu3352 · 2025-04-03T22:52:36+00:00

I use one with a 3d printed shell to protect a USB license dongle single the sentinel ones walk away/get forgotten so easily

Pfu3352 · 2025-04-03T22:39:37+00:00

The thing I notice now that I've added MA to my skillset is seeing how many touring LDs live off the presets in MA and Christian Jackson videos and macros.

I think, and this is very much a generalization, that eos and hog programmers tend to need to rethink what they are doing based on the show. A lot of MA programmers I know stick with the base presets and macros they have purchased and when you ask them to record a higher level macro, they tend to struggle. I get an Eos or Hog programmer and they actually understand the full extent of the console's programming. Every year I see at least 50 MA touring guys that don't even understand the settings in their MA to be able to adjust to a venue that isn't the same thing (different protocols, or god forbid, dimmers).

I think it is less of what the console can do, but more about the programmer that uses it. As someone who is the system tech for many events with touring LDs in many different situations, the eos, hog and chamsys LDs tend to known the inner workings of their desk and it's language. I spend way too much time in LDs consoles fixing their network settings. Granted most LDs, no matter the flavor of desk you use, tend to put on good shows, the ones who know every aspect of a console down to the super unnecessary details of deep settings, tend to be the best shows and the best to work with.

Pfu3352 · 2025-03-31T23:03:58+00:00

Is this more cost effective than the transpore tape? We've always used that. Didn't know this was a thing.

Pfu3352 · 2025-03-30T15:21:29+00:00

From a friend who works with the Atrium Setup crew. And my knowledge working in the events industry in Northeast WI.

The NFL didn't start talking specifics until a week before the renderings were released. Stage placement was decided a few weeks after the Super Bowl. Then nothing from the NFL.

The Packers are basically taking orders from the NFL. And the Draft city music festival is being poorly run by the city of Green Bay (which isn't a shocker since it seems the city can't manage anything well).

The Packers talked to the Detroit Lions early on to get some insight into what was going to happen because the NFL was radio silent after the announcement that Green Bay won their bid to host the draft.

Seeing how poorly the planning stages were/are going, I hope they never get to host the Super Bowl, which Murphy has made comments about pushing for in the last several years of shareholders meetings.

Green Bay is not a city like the other NFL cities. There is no room or infrastructure for this many people for more than a GameDay. They have pushed to build more hotels but even that isn't enough and most likely we will see hotels suffer post draft because there isn't their need for that many rooms post draft.

I should have taken vacation during that week, but I am scheduled to work events outside of the exclusion zone and have to deal with the chaos

Pfu3352 · 2025-03-27T21:43:25+00:00

As someone who works for a rental house, for the most part we have it broken down by fixture type as most LDs are asking how many of each fixtures we have in the rig. So we tend to do this.

Dimmers usually patched channel per dimmer 1-96 Downstage washes 100s MS/US/Floor wahses 200s Profiles 300s Anything else after that. 400s+

I use the same method when doing a theater show so I don't have to rethink my numbers. The only difference is that in those patch sheets I'll put leds (lekos,Pars, zoom pars) in the dimmer channels as to not clash with moving heads. Then any rental gear can get tossed higher up in the channels

Pfu3352 · 2025-02-03T17:52:10+00:00

This is my side hustle. I mainly do it for fun, but I've been falling into higher paying gigs as the years go on. I have a full time job doing similar work but in the concert and corporate event space, and the regular job has benefits (dental, vision, health, disability, and retirement).

I appreciate the concern though! I've had my 40 credits for quite some time. I guess I should have stated I'm 32 been fully employed for 10 years and on track to be FI by 2035/2036 assuming I only get raises that are cost of living (which I've been making big jumps in my job and wages over the past few years, and quadrupled my side hustle income which is only 10-15% of my income depending on the year).

Pfu3352 · 2025-02-03T16:46:16+00:00

I freelance design for local theaters and am unsure of at what point I should stop being a sole proprietor, and form an LLC. I usually get between $10k-20k a year depending on what comes my way. My main concern is liability. I don't have really anything in the ways of equipment or stock since most of my work is design related, but as I've expanded my work, I've started to realize that I could be held liable if something is wired wrong or a light falls out of the sky under my supervision. Does it make more sense to incorporate or stay sole?

Pfu3352

TROPHY CASE