We were hired to do the sound by Marc's company since we have a line array and that is pretty much the only way to provide sound for a room that needs this much coverage. As anyone who knows me knows, I'm not a big fan of flying anything over anyone's heads even though I know it is all perfectly safe. . .
The arena provides a "rigger" to climb up into the rafters to rig up the chain that is attached to the motors that will pull up the truss that will hold the line array that will project the sound that is spoken into the microphone that is attached to the cable that is plugged into the snake that is connected to the mixer that is routed to the amplifier. . .
The rigger drops a rope to a person down below who attaches the chain to it so that the chain can be pulled up and be firmly and professionally attached to whatever safe apparatus he has up there that keeps the whole thing from crashing down onto the unsuspecting heads below. . .
It's been done a million times before and, as far as I know, it is completely harmless and totally secure. . .
I always watch very closely when things are being prepped to fly. As if I could do anything about it. I like to attach safety cables to things just to bring me a little peace of mind. It makes me feel like I'm in control somehow. Anyway, not only is the chain safety rated for a certain amount of pounds that is way more than we are flying, but this purple span set is also safety rated for a far greater amount of weight that we are using.
The guys are very good about making sure everything is attached correctly throughout the entire process. . .
10 very large people could probably hang off of this truss held in place by these chains and it still wouldn't fall from the rafters. . . I really have no reason to worry. But I still do.
Once the truss was hanging in place, the speakers had to be attached. . .
We traded our stupid-heavy "ground-stack" speakers last season for this lovely light-weight JBL line array which have been much, much easier to pack around. . .
They hook together with (safety rated) clips but I still put safety cables on them anyway. . .
They are also secured with ratchet straps so I suppose it would be nearly impossible for them to fall and crush someone. But, I still can't help but worry. Just a little.
The main sponsor for this event was Zoo Boise who had the center of the floor decorated with little stuffed elephants in the shape of one big elephant. . .
They were eventually sold to raise money for animal conservation efforts. . .
I had to leave in the afternoon to take Gloria to horse lessons but pretty much all of our stuff was in place before I left. . .
The line array still needed to be tested, however, so before I left all I got was this short little clip of the the truss being lifted about a foot. . . :
The guys ended up staying all afternoon in order to deal with all of the extras that inevitably get thrown our way, including the camera crew that needed to tie into the system for the documentary they were making, but when I got back to the arena everything was perfectly in place and ready to go. . .
It's always a good experience when we work with Marc and his crew and they do a great job with the video end of things. This is the mayor up on the big screen:
The director of the zoo spoke about animal conservation efforts and all that still needs to be done all over the world to protect wildlife.
The speaker of the evening was Jane Goodall. She is an amazing woman who has accomplished a great deal in her 75 years. Very inspiring. I've been researching her today online and there is a lot of good information on the work she has done.
I have to admit that it crossed my mind more than once how awful it would be if the chains holding up the truss somehow failed. . . WHY do I worry?????? It's perfectly safe. It's perfectly safe. It's perfectly safe. . .
I was a little distracted by my wandering thoughts but I believe these birds are symbols of peace. The Jane Goodall Institute has a program called Roots and Shoots that promotes global peacemaking efforts.
The arena was pretty full. I heard there were about 3000 people in attendance.
The highlight of the evening for me, however, was getting to see Hailey!! Her grandma, Kurt's mom, brought her and her friend, Mallory, to listen to Jane Goodall speak.
It was very nice to have a chance to visit with them for awhile during the afternoon and evening. . .
Part of Jane's tour includes staying until everyone who wants an autograph gets an autograph. While we were taking everything down, this gracious woman sat for close to 3 hours getting her picture taken with fans and signing books and ticket stubs. . .
In fact, we had everything taken down and packed in the truck and she still had close to 40 people in line!!!
The line array still needed to be tested, however, so before I left all I got was this short little clip of the the truss being lifted about a foot. . . :
It was much nicer being out in the sunshine. . .
The guys ended up staying all afternoon in order to deal with all of the extras that inevitably get thrown our way, including the camera crew that needed to tie into the system for the documentary they were making, but when I got back to the arena everything was perfectly in place and ready to go. . .
It's always a good experience when we work with Marc and his crew and they do a great job with the video end of things. This is the mayor up on the big screen:
The director of the zoo spoke about animal conservation efforts and all that still needs to be done all over the world to protect wildlife.
The speaker of the evening was Jane Goodall. She is an amazing woman who has accomplished a great deal in her 75 years. Very inspiring. I've been researching her today online and there is a lot of good information on the work she has done.
I have to admit that it crossed my mind more than once how awful it would be if the chains holding up the truss somehow failed. . . WHY do I worry?????? It's perfectly safe. It's perfectly safe. It's perfectly safe. . .
I was a little distracted by my wandering thoughts but I believe these birds are symbols of peace. The Jane Goodall Institute has a program called Roots and Shoots that promotes global peacemaking efforts.
The arena was pretty full. I heard there were about 3000 people in attendance.
I did eventually stop worrying about the what-ifs and listened to the many interesting things that Ms. Goodall had to say. . .
The highlight of the evening for me, however, was getting to see Hailey!! Her grandma, Kurt's mom, brought her and her friend, Mallory, to listen to Jane Goodall speak.
It was very nice to have a chance to visit with them for awhile during the afternoon and evening. . .
Part of Jane's tour includes staying until everyone who wants an autograph gets an autograph. While we were taking everything down, this gracious woman sat for close to 3 hours getting her picture taken with fans and signing books and ticket stubs. . .
In fact, we had everything taken down and packed in the truck and she still had close to 40 people in line!!!
Before we left for the night, I joined the line to get an autograph and have a picture taken which should eventually end up here on the blog! It was an event to remember.
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