Looking for Some New Old Stuff

May Issue - LD at Large

Written by Nook Schoenfeld

Every month I see new products on the market. It seems the latest LED and media server technology is constantly outdating last year’s cool stuff. Automated lighting manufacturers are dueling to keep up with each other in terms of lumens while trying to come up with new features. This stuff is impressive, but it makes me wonder…“Why don’t people concentrate on making new cooler versions of existing gear?”

That’s what really turns me on. When Selecon reinvented the Leko, I was impressed that someone could find that many new features to add to an existing luminaire. Why did it take 50 years to develop a gel frame that doesn’t allow the gel to fall out? I feel the same way about moving mirror fixtures. Why did they have to go away? Why can’t someone just invent the perfect moving mirror light?

I got really excited this week. I walked into Upstaging Inc.’s lighting shop outside of Chicago and saw truckloads of something new rolling into their shop. It wasn’t cases of the latest lighting fixtures, nor was it new LED panels. It was truss — miles of long, hard, shiny sections of truss. And that made me smile more than any new moving light possibly could because someone had reinvented something old and done it properly.

People have been hanging lights on truss since I started in this biz. But who made the standards for truss size? That was the question John Huddleston, the general manager of Upstaging, pondered when he designed this new breed. I had him show me the “Hud” truss and explain why he decided to build a new trussing system in the first place. One of the first things he mentioned was the question, “Who decided that 20-inch square box truss should be a standard size for our whole industry? Everyone uses miles of this stuff, but why?”

John went on to explain, “These days, people need to think about logistics and the packaging of their lighting systems. So I thought, how can we design a simpler, lighter, cost effective truss system, one that can double as auto truss or normal truss and save us all money? With the cost of transportation rising, large heavy-duty truss is a big factor. I see tons of shows using automated truss and this is great because it saves enormous time on load-ins. But when you look up in the air, all you see are single rows of moving lights mounted in each truss section. Yet these truss sections are normally 30 inches wide and weigh a ton when they are empty. Somebody had to rethink the whole design.”

There are several types of truss that were designed to house automated lights so the user didn’t have to re-rig and wire the fixtures at every gig. The most common type was trademarked Swing Wing by Tomcat and first made available in 2002. Others have come out with similar products. The truss sections are typically 30-inches-by-30-inches and come in eight-foot or 10-foot lengths. Automated lights as well as conventional fixtures are hung inside the truss on rails with any type of clamp. The sides of these trusses swing apart and upward and bolt together during load in so they don’t block the beam of the moving lights. During load out, the sides of the truss swing down to protect the fixtures in transport to the next destination.
Another type of pre-rigged truss is called auto truss. It’s similar in size to the Swing Wing truss, but the fixtures are mounted in the truss on bars like any pre rig truss. Once the truss is lifted a couple feet off the ground, a team of techs will lower the lamp bars into place under the truss. Some people have developed truss like this that uses hand winches or electric motors to lower the bars. Sometimes it seems like it takes longer to assemble and drop the bars than it would to manually hang each fixture everyday. But it does save truck space.

I think these automated trusses are okay but each one has a few major drawbacks. Some are really hard to bolt together on an uneven arena floor and some could barely roll when they are pinned together. The Swing Wing takes away extra trim height in smaller rooms because the rails extend 30 inches in the air above the fixtures. All of it is too heavy to carry up stairs or stack three high. Plus, it only fits three sections across when it’s loaded in a standard semi truck. But the biggest problem is adding huge, heavy corner blocks and hinge pieces to these sections. It often takes three people to hold up the corner block while another person bolts it together. Another drag was that larger fixtures are too big to ride in these truss sections.

Upstaging has successfully tackled these issues with its Hud truss. First off, this truss is only 24 inches wide by 14 inches tall. It comes in standard four-foot, eight-foot and 10-foot lengths. The truss rides on a set of sturdy legs that are removed when the truss is lifted. These legs are pinned to the truss and are adjustable in height. Vari*Lite VL3Ks fit inside the truss with no problem. Once the truss is lifted, the legs are removed and can be manually pinned into the top of the truss if that’s what you want. They can double as safety railings for techs when they need to climb the truss. It also gives you a place to stash the wheels at every gig. If trim height or weight is an issue, you can simply leave them off and stow them in a back room.

This truss is easily stacked. It weighs roughly half of what other empty auto truss weighs. One other guy and I manually stacked two empty sections easily. A forklift would be preferable for stacking once lights are mounted in the truss. The truss can be forked up from under the wheel dollies or by placing the forks between the moving lights and lifting the bottom of the truss. Once it’s stacked, the trusses pin together in a safe, rigid formation. Wow! How many times have you seen stage hands push the top stacked truss and watched it fall over? Heavy-duty casters enable the user to easily roll an entire bolted lighting rig from one end of an arena to another. It’s great for building a light rig at one end of the convention center while the chain hoists are being rigged over the stage area.

The truss sections are connected with easy-fit spigots. No bolts or wrenches are necessary. Even the corner blocks have detachable spigots to easily change the sex. But the best thing is the compound hinges. These hinges are designed to move 180°, but what’s really cool is that they don’t have to come off for travel. The hinges stay attached to one end of the truss and when they fold together they don’t stick out.

I honestly don’t think I ever want to see any other type of truss again.

So now I’m wondering what other old technology needs to be addressed?

How about a self-winding wire rope ladder that automatically winds up? Or, since nobody wants to design a new moving mirror fixture, why can’t manufacturers develop fixtures that pan at a high rate of speed? Something comparable to Zap Technologies “Big Lite” would be nice.

The production world waits for old technology to be new again. Tick tock.

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What are your thoughts?

Comment by GUEST on 2008-05-21 15:23:18
Nook, I feel for you brother. As a moving light tech, I miss the moving mirror days, espesially the older 1200w scanners that were both reliable, and if they actualy broke you could just climb inside and take your time fixing them on the way to the next gig. And they for the most part did not have the flaw of always trying to run away from you as soon as you need to get a screw out.

I get in the arguement with the sales guys on a regular basis when they spec a new long term installation. No, no no we want the look of moving heads. No you want scanners. Then about a year later, we get the well we want something faster, and more reliable. Hmmmmm like Moving mirrors? Told ya so.

Keep the faith, use the best tool for the job. Even if its not the cool tool.
Cheers
Richard

Comment by GUEST on 2008-05-27 14:18:27
Nook,
How many shows a year do you do with Upstaging? I can't help but feel like you are plugging a piece of gear made by the guys who sign your checks.

Comment by GUEST on 2008-05-28 07:23:14
Nook - the truss sounds great but in your intro you speak of the advancement of gel frames that can now actually hold a gel - I'm sure you're familiar with the old two piece gel frames from fifity years ago that snap together and VERY stoutly hold onto the gels - It's not that it took fifty years to invent this, It just took fifty years to realize that the easier for the gel to go in - easier to come out or to re-invent our reinventions.

Comment by GUEST on 2008-06-11 16:28:15
Well that sure is an “interesting” article…. Firstly, the 20-1/2” box truss was designed as a general purpose rigging truss, its dimensions are not arbitrary, it is designed to fit a European truck. It is precisely the fact that so much exists around the world that it continues to sell, as after all it is a proven work horse and can be cross rented anywhere.

When it comes to pre-rigged truss, the original PAR truss design with a 30” w x 26” h profile was developed to house 2 bars of 6 cans. The original moving light trusses were developed to fit the same profile so that rental companies could continue to use their original pre-rig (ecologically sound thinking, and after all who wants to throw away a warehouse full of truss).

Some lighting companies have developed their own propriety systems over the years. Morpheus developed “swing wing” way back in the day, and it was indeed known as swing-wing long before someone else trademarked that name. In fact the Obie Company had an entire inventory of their own version manufactured (whilst paying Morpheus a license) as long ago as 1998.

Light and Sound Design developed their own drop down version to be compatible with their version of pre-rig as well as touring with a truss designed along the same principles as the HUD truss in the mid 90’s.

Vari*lite had developed their own drop down back in 1992 but proved too expensive as the fixtures were not yet robust enough without an expensive suspension system incorporated into the truss.

As fixtures change (and generally get larger) more fixture types are required to be accommodated in a moving light truss and every rental company has their own particular favorites, and each wants a solution to their own set of particular needs. Some truss manufacturers are prepared to assist in developing “special” versions of trusses to cater to these needs, but it is not every lighting company that has the luxury of designing a system that is tailored precisely to their needs.

I’m sure the HUD truss is a great product, however it is not without it’s problems. For instance, a 14” profile truss will surely require motor points far more regularly than a 30” truss? Also it should be noted that when rigged with a motor, the motor would take up trim above the truss, while in the swing-wing it the motor can be housed in side the raised ladders. I would argue that there is little or no trim advantage in this situation.

The argument against “cumbersome corners” adds up, although it has been very successfully addressed by the OMNI connector (Total Structures) that requires no corners what so ever.

Again, I am glad that Upstaging has a product that suits them and you, but we have an awful lot of people in the industry focused on truss and structures doing great work with a range of products that suit most requirements far more than adequately, but you are going to have to look beyond Upstaging’s warehouse doors and specific business to appreciate what is available and why.