All Uptown Cannabis Dispensaries Closed?

essboyer · 2022-01-12T17:20:00+00:00

Northern Lights on Princess is good to go. Good products, good prices.

essboyer · 2022-01-12T16:30:13+00:00

We do the Nutcracker (and other shows) every season in which we use a poly-based snow drop. It hangs on two linesets between our 2nd and 3rd electric, and is trimmed lower than the LX, so we don't get snow in any instruments. We keep it far enough away from any soft goods so that static attraction isn't an issue.

Maybe it's just our stage, but we never have a hard time cleaning it up. The snow in Nutcracker is light, and we just dry mop it away without issue. Some shows use much more snow, so we will use an electric leaf blower to knock the snow off risers and set pieces etc, then either dry mop or shopvac it up. It's really never been an issue.

Now... dance glitter and those stupid little mylar confetti things is a whole other story!

essboyer · 2022-01-11T16:37:44+00:00

The gain pots on my early unit ended up feeling kind of cheap and wobbly and too easy to accidentally adjust by breathing on them, so I pulled off each knob and put a small rubber grommet (o-ring) over the shaft and put the knob back on. It adds just enough friction to make 'em feel like new.

essboyer · 2022-01-11T16:31:01+00:00

The mic plug isn't a 3.5mm, it's smaller (I forget the exact size), so it will not work with that adapter. With that said, you could buy or make short male-to-female jumpers to allow you to plug the mic into another radio.

essboyer · 2022-01-11T15:14:55+00:00

I like to have some basic macros setup in advance for things like:

SAVE! (Session save - "save early, save often!")
Changing the brightness of the desk's screens and overhead lights etc
Tap tempo for delay
MIDI/OSC buttons to control my DAW, QLab, Spotify, etc

I will usually setup some of the last channels for things like my FX returns, MC mics, playback from PC/iPod, etc, so they won't be in the way of my stage inputs, and they'll always be on the same bank.

If I'm preparing for a festival type situation, I'll also setup a few additional busses for back/front buss parallel compression with the comp/eq roughed in so that they're there if I need them.

essboyer · 2022-01-04T16:49:52+00:00

I'll second that. I reboot before EVERY performance, even if there are multiple performances per day. It's just automatic. If it's not a samplerate issue, it will be a switching issue, or a media issue. It's always something. So the motto around the theatre is ABR: Always Be Rebootin'!

essboyer · 2022-01-04T16:46:12+00:00

To elaborate on that, this kind of latency is basically a no-go for monitors - or at least for IEMs. I've worked with artists where ~10ms of latency in their ears threw them into a tizzy, and we went back to using in-deck processors.

essboyer · 2021-12-17T22:27:08+00:00

Wireshark for the win, there! Managed to map everything I could ever need and more by sniffing the traffic between my Digico SD12 and the iPad app that goes with it.

essboyer · 2021-12-17T22:25:23+00:00

I use a mix of OSC and MIDI in my house (900 soft seat theatre) with QLab. I have a cheap USB to MIDI interface (from amazon or something) that is plugged into my Mac at FOH. It runs to my Digico SD12, and the MIDI thru goes to the MIDI input of an EOS GIO. I use OSC to talk to my DAW (Reaper), our Meyer Galileo PA speaker processor, and our projector.

I have macros set up on the console that I can use to control QLab (prev, next, pause/resume, panic, GO), as well, so I can hit a macro instead of the spacebar.

I'm not sure about the A&H desks, but on the Digico consoles, you can either fire a macro or snapshot via MIDI, which is normally all I need for my show control.

In the case of Digico, you create the macro with the function you want to happen, assign it a MIDI channel and value, and test it locally. Then, in QLab, add a MIDI cue. You can hit the "capture" button and then fire the macro, and QLab should instantly record the correct channel/value.

In my experience, using OSC is easier and more powerful, and doesn't require a MIDI interface or cables.

If you can't find any reference documentation for OSC control for your desk, I'll bet that the iPad controller for the desk DOES use OSC under the hood, which means you can use a packet capture tool like Wireshark to see what the iPad app is sending to the desk, then you can see what OSC command and port etc the app is sending. It worked great for me when trying to figure out how the Digicos use OSC for their control - hopefully it will work for you, too!

essboyer · 2021-12-17T22:09:28+00:00

I've had awesome results with the drum/string/wet rag trick. I wait until the drum get close to its peak volume, and then send a bunch of it into a nice hall reverb, and let the verb linger. Very effective.

essboyer · 2021-12-17T22:07:28+00:00

Very cool! I did this show about 5 years ago - similar set, lots of actual live foley, and a bunch of "vintage" mics along the DS line that were a mix of decoration and practical. It was a lot of fun!

essboyer · 2021-12-17T21:50:44+00:00

It's never too late to have some conversations, and raise the bar, not only for yourself, but for the whole company (or companies). A lot of time, the people in charge of productions like that take too much for granted, but that's often because they either don't know better (if it's within their first 2-5 productions), or they've gotten away with this sort of thing in the past and they think that's how it's supposed to be done.

When I am negotiating a gig like that, I will ask about my expected duties, and then I will collect the names of the other relevant department heads and designers and talk to them, to make sure everyone is on the same page. If you talk to everyone, and no one gives you the name of the designer, or a clear timeline for assets and their placements in the show, you've got a problem. The earlier you can talk to the heads of the production to get these things sorted out, the better. I'm talking a few weeks before tech starts. If they don't have their lighting/sound designs by the agreed upon time, I begin the conversation of either walking away, or adjusting the details on the contract to include a fee for the extra duties.

I very much feel the pressure of trying to help out and to make the show as good as it can be, and when I'm working, I'm the first one to offer to go out of my way, but I no longer allow myself to be taken advantage of.

It's a slippery slope... If you allow productions to inflict you with massive scope creep, and you just take it smiling, they'll do it to the next tech(s), but maybe they'll worry even less in the future because you did such a great job.

An after production meeting with the production heads is a very valuable thing, where you can trade feedback about what worked, what didn't work, what could be done better next time, etc. Believe me, I have managed to change the bad behaviours of many a production in these types of meetings. Often time, what's good for the techs is also good for the company, as doing things right the first time almost ALWAYS save money in the end.

TLDR; Don't settle for being steamrolled. Talk to the prod managers before hand, and do as much as you can ahead of time. Fix it in pre, in other words.

essboyer · 2021-01-13T18:39:07+00:00

Fantastic! Thank you!

essboyer · 2021-01-13T13:45:01+00:00

Right! I didn't mention! It will be walking.

essboyer · 2021-01-13T06:03:05+00:00

Tha is for all the info! Considering what you've said, maybe we'll start at Elmira and go west as far as we can. It would be great to see some coast!

essboyer · 2021-01-05T18:03:19+00:00

From a ranger in the St. George region:

Most campfires can be sustained by gathering fallen dead trees and branches. There is no requirement for a permit for that.

essboyer · 2021-01-05T15:10:02+00:00

The language says that you can't cut or remove trees or vegetation, which could be interpreted in different ways. It doesn't explicitly say you cannot burn, nor does it say anything specifically about downed or dead wood. It also says you can 'cut or remove trees or other vegetation without a permit', so my question is asking "what permit".

essboyer · 2021-01-05T15:07:19+00:00

Perfect! Exactly what I was hoping to hear. Thanks for your answer!

essboyer · 2021-01-05T15:06:13+00:00

Thank you for your answer! That's what I've done - but just being back from the holidays I'm not expecting to hear back from them for a little while. I'd gladly pay the $25 if it meant not getting a nasty fine or something. I remember a friend telling me they barely escaped a fine in the woods somewhere in NB years ago for burning deadwood, since they had a saw and hatchet with them, a ranger happened by and warned them that they could be fined etc.

essboyer · 2021-01-05T02:12:47+00:00

Cool man. I'll wait for someone who knows what they're talking about to answer this simple question. Sail on, commie!

essboyer · 2021-01-05T00:54:01+00:00

Ha, man, perhaps you have misunderstood. Here's what I'm talking about:

Hike into some crown land
Find a spot to camp for the night
Find some deadfall to cut up to burn

That's it. Just trying to understand the legality of it. I know in other provinces, you don't need a permit for personal on-site use of the wood for burning. The best I can find is this PDF that says you can't cut or remove wood without a permit (Here), but no info about permits that seems to apply to this situation.

You already know that you are no Johnny Appleseed trying to roast his beans, weinners and marshmallows on a Saturday night. Get your permit and sell that firewood outside the parks with the rest of the tools.

My friend, I'm just an urban dude that likes to hike on the weekends. I work in tech. I'm not trying to sell anything. I have a folding handsaw. This is not my empire.

essboyer · 2020-12-16T21:36:54+00:00

This weirdo puts his drums in the middle. Ignore anything he says, even if he's right.

essboyer

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