Floor Plans

[the kid]

For my brand shiny new project I have to find scale floor plans (1:25/1:50) for a theatre.

 

From what I know this includes top, side and front views.

 

I have looked on google and all I can find are "sketch" pictures of the theatre's etc.

 

Any ideas people?

[london sound]

For my brand shiny new project I have to find scale floor plans (1:25/1:50) for a theatre.

 

From what I know this includes top, side and front views.

 

I have looked on google and all I can find are "sketch" pictures of the theatre's etc.

 

Any ideas people?

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For a particular theatre? or just one in general?

 

 

Ian

[Tom]

CAD or paper?

 

I'm just having a clear out and am chucking quite a few old sets of paper ground plans and some sections. What size theatres did you have in mind?

 

What you want by the way are called ground plans - (the view from above) and elevations or sections (the view from the side and or the front - the latter being less common).

 

You can buy CAD plans from White Light but they are expensive. Alternatively many theatres / venues have CAD plans available to download from their websites. I'll have a look for some I know later if that's what you want.

 

Have you tried asking at your local theatre for a set of plans - they may be friendly and give them to you or they may be happy to sell you a set.

 

Edit: Just noticed you were near Oxford so 30" on Google brought up the Oxford Playhouse Theatre's website which includes a Technical area with lots of downloads.

[the kid]

Regards to paper or CAD it can be either I have Turbo CAD learning edition.

 

What size any at all. It is literly any theatre, the project is desigen a make a model box for the play "Metamorphosis" for a theatre.

 

Ah it cant view .dwg

 

Its .fcw /.txc /.tdc /.fp3 that I can view

[gareth]

I've got a whole ruck of venue groundplans from all over the UK in TurboCAD native format. What kind of venue do you want - a big stage? A small stage? Something in between? Pros arch or studio? Give me some idea of the kind of stage size you're looking for (and your e-mail addess) and I'll send you a goundplan of a venue of the right kind of size.

[londonjim]

Looking at a floor plan gives you a birds' eye view of the 'rig'.

 

A floor plan should give you numbers of circuits and tell you where truss/IWBs are.

 

You usually buy stencils to trace the appropiate scale lanterns on; I think Whitelight make them, but they are about £25.

 

A sketch is not really a floor plan, a seketch of the front, which I presume you mean, is what the set designer should have. If its a project (especially a lighting design one), you do not actually need sketch as the grid/floor plans should dhow you.

 

WARNING:

Label clearly any lx gear to go on the ground, I put on to the floor plan for 2 mac 250s to go on a front of a stage, and it was about 5 feet in front of an IWb - I got to the venue which had been 'rigged' and it was up on that bar!

I usually use a smaller scale or colour for floor lanterns. There is usually some dipstick who will rig things to go on the floor on a bit of truss or an IWB - just to let you know.

 

If you mean a sketch of the grid, don't go there. For a project (I assume its for a college/uni project) you will be marked down if you don't use a 'proper' scale.

 

To be honest, on the provision that you know the grid (being able to tell from the floor plan) you shouldn't need a sketch.

 

Does this help at all?

[the kid]

I kind of understand what you mean.

 

As far as I know Its for designs of both set and light.

[londonjim]

In which case you need:

 

* Stage dimentions

* Height info

* LX stock list

* Grid/floor plan

 

And anything you see useful. When you design set (as a non-set designer), I think you sketch/draw how the stage will look, but you don't draw the LX rig unless there are floor stuff.

[robloxley]

elevations or sections (the view from the side and or the front)

Surely you mean from the front or the side respectively?

[Tom]

the project is desigen a make a model box for the play "Metamorphosis" for a theatre.

 

 

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The above would suggest that the project is not a lighting one but a set design one. As such. most of what Londonjim says may (or may not) be true but is irrelevant.

 

If you want to do it the CAD way, take up Gareth's offer of TurboCAD plans, however (IMHO) unless you are very familiar with the software already or want learning how to use it to be part of the "project" I would (personally) do it on paper. If you do go the CAD route, you'll need to make sure you have access to a large format printer / plotter. Most reasonable size theatre plans at 1:25 will only fit on A2 at a minimum.

 

A good trick when it comes to making the model is to stick a ground plan onto a bit of stiff card (or modeling board) and use that as a starting point to build on.

 

This question, or a similar, one has come up before and I'm slightly intrigued. What exactly is the brief you get for this project.

[Tom]

elevations or sections (the view from the side and or the front)

Surely you mean from the front or the side respectively?

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The person who taught me about these things always referred to side and front elevations and as such I've always called them that.

 

I've always found section to sound a bit American.

 

A section is actually a view along any line between two points so could be from either side, the front or even at some strange angle diagonally across the stage.

 

An elevation is technically an external view.

 

OK Rob, I give up, you're basically correct. In "our" world an elevation would normally refer to a "front view" as seen from the auditorium while a section would refer to a side view, usually along the centre line of the stage.

[gareth]

Looking at a floor plan gives you a birds' eye view of the 'rig'.

 

A floor plan should give you numbers of circuits and tell you where truss/IWBs are.

 

A sketch is not really a floor plan, a seketch of the front, which I presume you mean, is what the set designer should have. If its a project (especially a lighting design one), you do not actually need sketch as the grid/floor plans should dhow you.

 

If you mean a sketch of the grid, don't go there. For a project (I assume its for a college/uni project) you will be marked down if you don't use a 'proper' scale.

 

To be honest, on the provision that you know the grid (being able to tell from the floor plan) you shouldn't need a sketch.

 

What the hell are you on about?

 

First off, a floor plan is what the kitchen designers at B&Q will draw for you. A drawing of the structure and layout of a performance venue is referred to as a groundplan. A side elevation of same (usually through the centreline) is referred to as a section. A drawing which gives you details of the layout of permanently-installed lighting equipment could be called one of many things - lighting layout, circuit plan, whatever. But not a floor plan. (Unless all the IWBs and dimmer outlets are on the floor .... <_< )

 

Secondly, the drawing that gives you a bird's-eye view of the lighting rig is, funnily enough, the rig plan.

 

"A sketch is not a floor plan"? "A sketch of the front is what the designer should have"? "If it's a project you don't need a sketch"? "Assuming that you know the grid you shouldn't need a sketch"? I don't know about anyone else but I have no idea what you're talking about. A sketch is just that - a sketch, a rough hand-drawn not-to-scale representational drawing of something, as opposed to an accurate drafted drawing.

[gareth]

The person who taught me about these things always referred to side and front elevations and as such I've always called them that.

 

I've always found section to sound a bit American. 

 

A section is actually a view along any line between two points so could be from either side, the front or even at some strange angle diagonally across the stage.

 

An elevation is technically an external view.

 

OK Rob, I give up, you're basically correct.  In "our" world an elevation would normally refer to a "front view" as seen from the auditorium while a section would refer to a side view, usually along the centre line of the stage.

It's another example of 'proper' terminology becoming adapted/bastardised/watered-down to suit a particular industry, I suppose. Tom's 'proper' definitions sound about right to me (I so far as I can remember what I was taught in O-level technical drawing, anyway!), but he's also right in that, for theatrical purposes, a plan is a top-down view, a section is a side-on view usually through centre, and an elevation is a front view usually through the pros line.

 

Anyway, in a futile attempt to drag this thread back on-topic .... TheKid now has a motley assortment of Turbocad drawings to play with, ranging from Plymouth Theatre Royal to the Old Red Lion. If he can design a set that will touring equally happy into both of those, then he deserves some kind of medal! <_<

[the kid]

Touring its not, but if I do manage it could I get a medal.

 

[Tom]

You would not be the first to suggest doing a show in such radically different venues - it's just that normally it's the producer who suggests it and they can't see why it might be a problem.

 

 

Can you answer my question?

This question, or a similar, one has come up before and I'm slightly intrigued.  What exactly is the brief you get for this project.

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