Want to make the most of your technical budget but struggling to know how? Emily Wheatman speaks to three industry professionals to find out what they'd recommend.
The technical costs of production are often underestimated, with many directors and producers left scrabbling to make the best of what is often a small budget. I sat down with three industry professionals from different technical backgrounds to get their top tips on how to make the most of your technical budget.
Jodie Underwood is a freelance lighting designer and recent RADA graduate, specialising in non-standard theatre and queer work. Hansjörg Schmidt and Nick Moran work in theatre education: Schmidt as Guildhall School's Interim Director of Production Arts and the Programme Leader for BA Production Arts, and Moran as Programme Leader for Production Technologies and Stage Management at The Central School of Speech and Drama.
How would you make the most of a small budget when it comes to buying equipment?
Jodie Underwood: If you're looking for versatility on a limited budget, a few LED fixtures will go a long way. LED PARs can be bought very cheaply online and can be integrated into a small rig, offering lots of colour to make your events feel exciting. Buy the best you can afford, as there's a huge difference in light quality between the low-cost options and the affordable gear you can buy from hire companies.
Hansjörg Schmidt: Investing in staff is as important as investing in the materials. If you have someone in the department who has a good understanding of theatre-making, they may be able to make bold decisions about the use of technology that makes dramaturgical sense, rather than being seen as a cost-cutting exercise. One of the best productions of Macbeth I've ever seen was lit with torches, with the sound effects created using Foley sound techniques amplified by a single microphone. Control is important: choose easily programmable control desks. ETC offers a laptop-based lighting control package which is both affordable and easy to use. You can pair this with something called a Puck if you don't want to use the laptop keyboard for programming.
Nick Moran: It's important to have professional help in using lighting rigs effectively and safely, so get in touch with a friendly local supplier or theatre technical department, who might be able to give you the support you need. If professional help isn't available to you, try contacting the ABTT or the ALPD, who might be able to help plug you into local networks of professionals.
What is the MVP (most valuable player) of the lighting and sound equipment on the market?
Moran: There is no single ‘silver bullet’ that will work for everyone. The best thing you can do is to involve as many of your colleagues as possible in assessing how they might use the kit. Remember that there is lots of engineering and science involved in designing and using modern lighting and sound equipment, as well as the creative performance itself.
Schmidt: For lighting, ETC (Electronic Theatre Consoles) products are used in most theatres in the UK, and they are one of the few companies that make products exclusively for theatre, rather than live music or other events, so they are more specialised.
Underwood: As a lighting designer, my MVP woulld be something like a Mac Aura XB, or a similar small zooming moving wash. It can do your front-of-house specials, it can be a full stage top wash, it can do dotty little pickups, it can fit almost anywhere in your rig and, crucially, it's relatively cheap.
How important is maintenance when it comes to theatre lighting and sound equipment?
Schmidt: Hugely important. It is worth thinking about a service agreement when you purchase equipment, and investing in the training of staff to use the equipment is vital.
Underwood: It's essential to maintain and clean your equipment. You'll obviously need to do your annual PAT test, which is a good opportunity to check the quality of gear. Clean the tape gunk on your cables and remove dust from your fixtures.
Do you have any tips or tricks to make the most of the technical elements of school productions?
Moran: Make time for your students to experiment. If at all possible, bring the equipment into the rehearsal room so performance ideas can develop alongside production design ideas.
Schmidt: Be inventive and bold and think outside the box. See restrictions as an opportunity, rather than a problem. Include discussions on sound, lighting and scenography early in the project. Use resources already in the school: a small video projector or even an old overhead projector make great light sources that your students can work with.
Underwood: Practise, learn, experiment. Explore new styles and work out what you like and what works well in your venue. Don't be afraid to try something outside your comfort zone!