bio box
Sat, 23 Sept 2000, 08:10 pmPip5 posts in thread
bio box
Sat, 23 Sept 2000, 08:10 pmI have been pondoring this question for a while now and have yet to come across a person who can actually tell me the real answer. Where did the term 'bio' as in bio box come from. We all know what it is but what does it mean?
PipSat, 23 Sept 2000, 08:10 pm
I have been pondoring this question for a while now and have yet to come across a person who can actually tell me the real answer. Where did the term 'bio' as in bio box come from. We all know what it is but what does it mean?
RebeccaSun, 24 Sept 2000, 11:44 am
RE: bio box
Ah, here's what I found:
"Bio-Box The room, usually at the rear of the auditorium, or some other good vantage point, from which the lighting and sound is controlled. Also Control Room. (From Greek 'Bios' = Way of Life)"
from: http://www.dramatic.com.au/glossary/glossarya_d.htm
don't know if they're right, but it sounds like they know what they're talking about.
"Bio-Box The room, usually at the rear of the auditorium, or some other good vantage point, from which the lighting and sound is controlled. Also Control Room. (From Greek 'Bios' = Way of Life)"
from: http://www.dramatic.com.au/glossary/glossarya_d.htm
don't know if they're right, but it sounds like they know what they're talking about.
JoeMcSun, 24 Sept 2000, 12:37 pm
biograph box mystery
Gud On Ya' PIP
A TECH subject at last.
Well, my understanding is that 'BIOGRAPH' was the earliest form of Cinematograph (trade name of the U.S.Machine Company) (as the french Luminair Brothers had registered theirs with a 'K') so I am told? - This was exhibited in London in 1897.
However, as most venues, where the biograph was shown, were theatres they had to modify or gaffer up a room in the gallery or gods at the rear of the FOH, which nearly always turned out to look like a box - hence the name 'Bio-Box'. I would say around about the 1960's at the advent of Rock 'n Roll and because of it, more resources were put into lighting and audio to make it better and easier (this was to reduce the labour costs of shows - as most were one night stands in weid and wonderfull places - as is today, so they can have fast bump-in's & out's "Wip IT in - Wip IT out and if we have time Wipe IT" the 'Roadies creed'). Theatres and venues who also did 'fliks' had Bio-Box's, therefore when we moved into electronic control of lighting (that was smaller and portable) and moved away from having 'sunset row' and 'water' dimmers and/or bleeding great 'reostat windings', the Bio Box was utalised to house the lighting control - unfortunetly the audio techs descoverd this and took over (if they are not taking up space and seats in the centre of the house - they always give 40,000 reasons for doing so, but me thinks it is so they can be seen by the punters, bleeding Prima Dona's - bless their hearts?)
It did take a while for large Theatres to acept this change and move the operator upto the box, they also found they had better control of the 'mise en scene' colour palate and they started to hear the lighting, but thats another story - it probably came about faster in the 70 to 80's in community theatre, when the Strand Company started to produce their "Junior 8" dimmers at a reasonable cost as oposed to their 'state of the art' SCR dimmers which the proffessionals used (@ about 10 times the cost). Prior to this the community theatres had rather strange arrangements of switching into series and any other way they could afford (some have not changed???) - still the best is with trough and border lights ( or as the yanks call it "strip lighting" - when I hear this, I get strange images of strobes and Alexander the Great '48 prancing about!!! - ah yes! I remeber it well) where they are turned off stage or up in to the flys and then turn off and/or on, which in my book gives the proper outward fading away effect, unlike the inward effect we have today, but thats always only my opinion.
I hope this helped and possibly answered your burning question -PIP!
We need more questions like this!
Chookas
Joe McCabe
Old Mill - Stagecraft Guild
A TECH subject at last.
Well, my understanding is that 'BIOGRAPH' was the earliest form of Cinematograph (trade name of the U.S.Machine Company) (as the french Luminair Brothers had registered theirs with a 'K') so I am told? - This was exhibited in London in 1897.
However, as most venues, where the biograph was shown, were theatres they had to modify or gaffer up a room in the gallery or gods at the rear of the FOH, which nearly always turned out to look like a box - hence the name 'Bio-Box'. I would say around about the 1960's at the advent of Rock 'n Roll and because of it, more resources were put into lighting and audio to make it better and easier (this was to reduce the labour costs of shows - as most were one night stands in weid and wonderfull places - as is today, so they can have fast bump-in's & out's "Wip IT in - Wip IT out and if we have time Wipe IT" the 'Roadies creed'). Theatres and venues who also did 'fliks' had Bio-Box's, therefore when we moved into electronic control of lighting (that was smaller and portable) and moved away from having 'sunset row' and 'water' dimmers and/or bleeding great 'reostat windings', the Bio Box was utalised to house the lighting control - unfortunetly the audio techs descoverd this and took over (if they are not taking up space and seats in the centre of the house - they always give 40,000 reasons for doing so, but me thinks it is so they can be seen by the punters, bleeding Prima Dona's - bless their hearts?)
It did take a while for large Theatres to acept this change and move the operator upto the box, they also found they had better control of the 'mise en scene' colour palate and they started to hear the lighting, but thats another story - it probably came about faster in the 70 to 80's in community theatre, when the Strand Company started to produce their "Junior 8" dimmers at a reasonable cost as oposed to their 'state of the art' SCR dimmers which the proffessionals used (@ about 10 times the cost). Prior to this the community theatres had rather strange arrangements of switching into series and any other way they could afford (some have not changed???) - still the best is with trough and border lights ( or as the yanks call it "strip lighting" - when I hear this, I get strange images of strobes and Alexander the Great '48 prancing about!!! - ah yes! I remeber it well) where they are turned off stage or up in to the flys and then turn off and/or on, which in my book gives the proper outward fading away effect, unlike the inward effect we have today, but thats always only my opinion.
I hope this helped and possibly answered your burning question -PIP!
We need more questions like this!
Chookas
Joe McCabe
Old Mill - Stagecraft Guild
FionaTue, 26 Sept 2000, 12:27 am
The Mystery Solved
Funny that the term comes from the medium that was tipped to kill of live theatre when it first invented.
JoeMcTue, 26 Sept 2000, 05:37 am
RE: The Mystery Solved
Funny that..... but we are still here. Much the same with Mr Bairds strange little box that was perfected by Mr Marconi.
However I think it has enhanced Theatre, with all it's spinoffs, rather than destroy.
Lets face it what would budding directors and actors do without 'The video' of the show they are about to do - they might have to use more than two brain cells or even their own imaginations and/or use that four letter word and 'work' for IT? While this is not a totaly bad thing, by the same token it ain't the best at times either. Especialy when they try to stage IT to conform with the Movie - they don't seem to grasp the concept that TV and the Flicks transport the audiance from place to place inside the camera and we don't have this technoligy yet - maybe if we build theatres where the punters sit in the centre of a revolve and we move multiple stages around them or vise versa, the bums on seats could be fixed in the centre and the stages revolve like a hub into view - I think this needs a lot more work, because we would have to supply bicycles to the actors (this would have to be the "second most dangerious thing in theatre" - the first being an actor with a power tool!) - I 'fink I better 'fink IT out again?
We have used a lot of jargon that has come out of the 'Flicks' - such as 'GOBO' - 'LX' - 'Pan', there must be a lot more but at the moment I think of any - maybe others can add to this.
Joe
However I think it has enhanced Theatre, with all it's spinoffs, rather than destroy.
Lets face it what would budding directors and actors do without 'The video' of the show they are about to do - they might have to use more than two brain cells or even their own imaginations and/or use that four letter word and 'work' for IT? While this is not a totaly bad thing, by the same token it ain't the best at times either. Especialy when they try to stage IT to conform with the Movie - they don't seem to grasp the concept that TV and the Flicks transport the audiance from place to place inside the camera and we don't have this technoligy yet - maybe if we build theatres where the punters sit in the centre of a revolve and we move multiple stages around them or vise versa, the bums on seats could be fixed in the centre and the stages revolve like a hub into view - I think this needs a lot more work, because we would have to supply bicycles to the actors (this would have to be the "second most dangerious thing in theatre" - the first being an actor with a power tool!) - I 'fink I better 'fink IT out again?
We have used a lot of jargon that has come out of the 'Flicks' - such as 'GOBO' - 'LX' - 'Pan', there must be a lot more but at the moment I think of any - maybe others can add to this.
Joe