STEAM-fx Collective

Project Examples:

Below are various examples of hacked electronic stage effects developed by the STEAM-fx Collective, many of which have been under production booth control.

A STEAM-fx member typically teams up with a local venue's production team, mainly collaborating with the director and/or choreographer (to understand and negotiate the production's vision), set designer and construction lead (to integrate an electronic effect into the production as seamlessly and unobtrusively as possible, with a mind toward each department's desire to reuse materials), and with the lighting designer and properties lead (to meld an effect into the production's stage dynamics).

Kanata Theatres "The Heart of Robin Hood" Special F/X

Some pre-run experimentation, prototyping, and construction. The THoRH production teams were a set of committed and supportive groups, a pleasure with which to work. It was a rather mammoth production across the board. And it takes a village to build these elaborate sets. It's amazing to watch it all come together.

1.  According to the script, "there is blood on the statue!".

2. We wanted a carriage as a dynamic set element, travelling the bumps roads of Sherwood forest. Though we made faux turning carriage wheels for the carriage's front (as pictured below, and controlled from the lighting booth), the cast also controlled an electric drive to move around on stage (sorry, I didn't take a video of that).

3. A full frontal view of one of the scenes nearing completion.

Time-Travel Clock from our Almonte member (George)

This was an 11th hour request for a high school play. Nailed it!

John's take on time-travel.

This Arduino-driven version is destined for the Art Wall

Ha ha: Take #2 on "John's take"

The servos that I had on-hand were, surprisingly, too weak to handle a slightly misaligned clock gear; and those servos were more than a little frustrating to convert from 180 degree service to 360 degree continuous service. Though the STEAMakers lab now has a few more hefty servos, at the time to my re-attempt all I had on-hand was a 12 volt DC motor and, as luck would have it, an unused 2 channel H-bridge motor driver. Yeh!