CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

The Rigging Book Of The Century

Staging content from Live Design: With the switch from manual to motorized rigging systems in both permanent and touring productions, the entertainment industry has seen vast changes for rigging technology in the past decade, including an increasing focus on standardized safety practices. Entertainment Rigging for the 21st Century explains what is happening, why, and how, with details on technology and methodology that is accessible for both riggers and non-riggers.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Cool, do we have one in PTM yet? I was hoping that the article would have more information on how the approaches to automated vs manual rigging devices are different. Oh well, I guess ill have to read the book. I recognized Scott Fishers name as one of the guys that came an talked last year, I enjoyed that talk, at least the second half that I got to see.

Monica Skrzypczak said...

I wish the article would've explained some of the new things the book talks about, it left me wanting more without necessarily making me want to read the book. Sure, it has some cool new things no doubt, but how much is it worth it?
I still think we should check it out. The whole point of CMU is to get us prepared for all the updated things going on in the world, so I think we should get a few copies for Purnell to use.

simone.zwaren said...

Technology is constantly changing and keeping up with it all is really one hell of a task. Whenever I talk to professionals and they talk about how they stay updated and in the loop they all say the same thing; the only way to keep with the times is to keep working in the field. I think that this book is a great idea and I would love to take a look at it especially when all the books I own are at least from a decade ago. People coming into the industry now I think would benefit the most, while those who are constantly working in the field could maybe help right their own book like this one. What intrigues me about this book is the number of authors and “industry leaders” who contributed to the writing of the book because the more one can learn from those people, the better off a newbie like me could be!

jcmertz said...

Nice, I am looking forward to sinking my teeth into this book, though I agree with Chris and Monica that I wish the article had gone more in depth in its discussion of the books contents. Rigging is a field that really interests me so I am excited about the prospect of a new, modern rigging book.

Philip Rheinheimer said...

With how quickly technology changes I totally understand why an updated comprehensive rigging manual is necessary. If anything they should release a new book every year with how quickly things change. I would have hoped for slightly more information about what the book actually contains but I guess I'll just have to read it and find out. What I did gather from the article is that it's probably going to be more about automation and automated rigging since conventional rigging probably hasn't changed all the much in the last 10 years. What I like is that they made the effort to make it accessible to both trained riggers and non-riggers. Since I am interested in rigging, especially entertainment rigging, I might pick the book up. The coupon they provide is a nice touch too.

Mike Vultaggio said...

As most people have commented I am very interested in getting my hands on this book while the information is still relevant to the world we work in. Rigging is something that I hope to be working very closely with as a sound engineer in the 21st century and based pretty much solely on the cover and small description I think that this book could really help me better understand the rigging systems that I may encounter in venues that I will end up working in. Overall I hoped that this article would outline the book a little better.