Members rxnet Posted July 23, 2006 Members Share Posted July 23, 2006 any fancy (but not expensive...free preferred) software to lay out a stage plot. I know you can use boxes and circles and P and AC...just didn't know if something was already created that would make it a little more professional looking?? thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ctardi Posted July 23, 2006 Members Share Posted July 23, 2006 I find some paper towel and a sharpie works wonders... Could do them up in photoshop quite nicely, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted July 23, 2006 Members Share Posted July 23, 2006 What about AutoCad? It's not that hard to learn and you can get it off of Kazaa with cracks and stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members milesdf Posted July 23, 2006 Members Share Posted July 23, 2006 autocad is nice, piracy isn't so nice. powerpoint lets you draw boxes and lables and then manipulate them freely though, thats what i would use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Adobe Photoshop seems to work fine for many folks... although maybe the stageplots are just pictures (JPGs) of the work generated in some other manner. I dunno. Maybe it's created in Paint? Here's a typical sample: http://www.audiopile.net/Technical_Library/Sample_Stage_plot.JPG I wish folks would put the input list on the same page as the stageplot... instead of two seperate pieces of paper to keep track of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Originally posted by lucho_84 What about AutoCad? It's not that hard to learn and you can get it off of Kazaa with cracks and stuff. Opening files generated in AutoCAD can be daunting if you don't have AutoCAD, or if you don't have a version of AutoCAD that will open the version of AutoCAD the files were generated in, or if you don't have a Drawing Exchange File that's friendly to the version of AutoCAD the files were generated in. If you're going to be sending your stageplot out to folks via e-mail, it's better if the file is such that the receiver stands a good chance of actually opening the file. Most folks can open JPGs. and PDF files. Not nearly as many can open AutoCAD files. That's my opinion anyway... speaking from experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashivraj Posted July 23, 2006 Members Share Posted July 23, 2006 Maybe it's just personal preference, but I prefer Paint over PowerPoint and even Photoshop. I usually do the stage plot and labelling on paint, then import the picture into Word to add the input list (created as a table, occasionally in Excel). I then export the whole thing as a PDF - IMO, PDFs look more professional, and are a lot harder for the receiver to edit (unintentionally or otherwise). Mark, that's a nice stage plot, but it would help to have a key/legend explaining what the symbols are. For instance, I'm guessing M and V are monitor wedges/mixes and vocal mics respectively, but what's S? I often find it more helpful when some tech stuff is included on the stage plot itself. For example, locations of AC (power) drops - does the guitarist need one for a pedalboard on the front line? Or, the number of DIs required at the keys riser, not a major difference, but it helps visualize (and also guide the newbie helpers who are setting up the stage). AS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Originally posted by ashivraj Mark, that's a nice stage plot, but it would help to have a key/legend explaining what the symbols are. For instance, I'm guessing M and V are monitor wedges/mixes and vocal mics respectively, but what's S? I often find it more helpful when some tech stuff is included on the stage plot itself. For example, locations of AC (power) drops - does the guitarist need one for a pedalboard on the front line? Or, the number of DIs required at the keys riser, not a major difference, but it helps visualize (and also guide the newbie helpers who are setting up the stage).AS IMO, my offered example is a typical stageplot, not especially "nice", but not completely lame either. "S" in the case of this stageplot are mic stands and mics for two different sax players. I'm with you in-that I hate having to refer to some possibly included Rosetta Stone to figure out a stageplot and input list. The above posted example of a stageplot, and the accompanying jumbled input list lead me to believe I was setting up for a 4 piece band. It wasn't till soundchecks, the day of the show, that it became clear that the band was actually 6 piece. I put a quad box at each backline amplifier pile, or keyboard pile, or other apparent AC requirement.... along with one up at the guitarist's preformance position, as most all guitarists now have a pedal board pile that needs AC. I usually supply a minimum of 4 quad boxes, regardless if they're called-out or not. Stageplots are tough. It's easy to have too much information on them, and it's easy to over-look (omit) something that's obvious to the talent, but not obvious to the provider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flanc Posted July 23, 2006 Members Share Posted July 23, 2006 I just use MS Word and print to a PDF file for distribution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Curlyqueues Posted January 3, 2015 Members Share Posted January 3, 2015 Hi! I know this thread goes back aways, but i just wanted to let you know that StagePlot Guru for iPad is free for limited use, and the pro version is only $4.99- it has GREAT reviews. http://www.stageplotguru.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 4, 2015 Members Share Posted January 4, 2015 Wow, 3 posts and they ALL pimp the same thing. How might you be related to this product? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monthlymixcd Posted January 7, 2015 Members Share Posted January 7, 2015 I use Visio for stageplots and DesignCAD 3D Max for connection schematics. Visio came with an Office install and the DesignCAD software was bought on clearance for $20 at OfficeMax or somewhere. Both do what they do very well and are really easy to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted January 28, 2015 Members Share Posted January 28, 2015 Hi! I know this thread goes back aways' date=' but i just wanted to let you know that StagePlot Guru for iPad is free for limited use, and the pro version is only $4.99- it has GREAT reviews. http://www.stageplotguru.com/[/quote']I actually need something like this - but this product does 3D representations that don't "pack" well (plus the "free" version lacks mics). I seem to end up having to squash large bands onto tiny stages. My latest band has 9 people . Anybody have a generic "library" that works with some freeware CAD program or ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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