Project Description
At City Tech, I’ve studied lighting and management, leading the lighting crew for 3 semesters. Working both in Voorhees and out in the field, I’ve found that I’m accustomed to reading and applying light plots to the task at hand, but have little experience drafting them. While loading in the Haunted Hotel over the past 2 years, I’ve taken note of issues in the paperwork and changes that have been made. For my culmination project I’d like to draft the Haunted Hotel lighting environment from the ground up in Vectorworks 2019, providing a smoother experience for future load ins. I’d be generating paperwork from both the Master Electrician and Assistant Lighting Designer’s perspectives, which would then be used in the future for the Haunted Hotel’s lighting crew. This includes the Lighting Plot, Elevations, Instrument Schedules, System Diagrams, and Shop Order of the production.
Drafting the Haunted Hotel would teach me how to draft larger projects. Most of the experience I have in Vectorworks is smaller scale, requiring only a few sessions to complete. A production of this scale requires different skills, especially in organization and time management. After assembling the lighting system twice I have the advantage of knowing what isn’t conveyed in the paperwork, allowing me to learn the techniques involved in expressing complex systems in a clear, concise format. I will also learn how to draft from an assistant’s perspective, not designing the plot itself but expressing it to an outside party.
Methods
I will be drafting the plot in Vectorworks 2019. When originally drafted, the Haunted Hotel’s plot was drawn in 2D. Utilizing newer software, I’ll be drafting in 3D. I’ve utilized online tutorials, both official and unofficial in the past to teach myself the process, and feel confident that they will be able to answer questions that may come up during this project. I’ll also be integrating the plot into Lightwright 6, a lighting-oriented database management software. The two can be linked together, allowing me to generate paperwork regarding the plot (Instrument Schedules, Dimmer Hookups, etc). Both of these products are available on the computers in the Light Lab.
Project Deliverables
- Poster
- Powerpoint presentation
- OpenLab Portfolio
- Project Calendar
- Newly Drafted Plot in Vectorworks, digital and printed
- Hanging Cards
- Cable layouts
- Scenic Mounted Fixture Elevations
- New Lighting Paperwork, digital and printed
- Lightwright generated doccuments
- Power/ Data System diagrams
- Updated Shop Order
- Load in schedule
Schedule/ Deadlines
- Comb through all paperwork and organize notes Jan 27th, 2020
- Finish rough copy of plot and elevations March 1st, 2020
- Finish final copy of plot and elevations with Lightwright integration March 22nd, 2020
- Finish drafting Cable Layouts, Hanging Cards, and System Diagrams April 1st, 2020
- Finish Shop Order and Load in Schedule April 30th, 2020
- Finished Poster, Powerpoint Presentation, and Openlab Portfolio May 18th, 2020
Required Resources
- Vectorworks 2019 (available on V119 computers)
- Lightwright 6 (available on V119 computers)
- Computer capable of running 3D drafting software (available in V119)
- Laser Printer (available in V119)
- Plotter (available in V119)
Budget
| Haunted Hotel Drafting Budget | |||
| Item | Price | Notes | Actual Cost |
| Vectorworks 2019 | $2,895 | Installed on V119 Computers | $0 |
| Lightwright 6 | $620 | Installed on V119 Computers | $0 |
| Computer that can run 3D VW | ~$700 | Available in V119 | $0 |
| Laser Printer | ~$200 | Available in V119 | $0 |
| Plotter | ~$2,000 | Available in V119 | $0 |
| total cost | $0 | ||
Proposed Table of Contents/Portfolio Outline
- Introduction
- Methods
- Project Calendar
- Collection of notes taken during load in
- Newly Drafted Plot in Vectorworks, digital and printed
- Hanging Cards
- Cable layouts
- Scenic Mounted Fixture Elevations
- New Lighting Paperwork, digital and printed
- Lightwright generated doccuments
- Power/ Data System diagrams
- Updated Shop Order
- Load in schedule
- Conclusion
- Annotated Bibliography
- Thank-yous/ Credits
