“Calling All Christians” Special Visual & Sound Effects

1. “Calling All Christians” Special Visual & Sound Effects Presented by Group 7 Mostafa Alllam Andy Burns Adam Burton Jennifer Christensen Jessica Wakeman

2. List of Effects • Effect #1: Rising & Rotating Bible Stand • Effect #2: The Popping Balloon • Effect #3: Weather Effect (Thunder & Lightening) • Effect #4: The Overhead Compartments • Effect #5: Shooting Water From Bible Stand

3. Effect #1: Rising & Rotating Bible Stand • Challenges faced: The bible stand was the most intricate effect to manipulate. • The original construction was too large and heavy to maneuver the rising and turning objectives. • The stand of the lever was too heavy to raise. • The base of the stand was too large to rotate. • Size (huge /bulky) • Spinning (decrease the size/weight so it fit on a lazy Susan • rising the stand from lever to tubes

4. Effect #1: • Examination of challenges: The materials used during the construction of the bible stand were too heavy. To optimize the efficiency of the stand’s functions, we needed to use lighter materials and we needed to reduce the friction of the rotating base.

5. Effect #1: Solutions: • To address the rotating issue: • We decreased the size of the stand’s base to an extent that would keep the stand standing while not interfering with the rotational process. • We connected a lazy Susan-like mechanism that would reduce the friction between the base and the stand during the rotation. • Replaced original motor with a motor of higher voltage.

6. Effect #1: Solutions: • To address the rising issue: • Since the bible stand itself was extremely heavy, a motorized lever alone would be unable to lift it. Therefore, the group devised a mechanism that would reduce the weight’s impact in preventing the rise of the Bible stand. • The mechanism was a tube within a tube with a thin lining opening through the outer tube. The inner tube, on which the bible stand was placed, would be connected to a string, which passes through a pulley and is connected to a motor on the base of the Bible stand. • The motor would pull the string passing through the pully to lift the inner tube and thus the bible without the weight of the stand playing as an impeding factor.

7. Effect #1: • Bible stand functioned effectively during tech and play rehearsals. • During the play, the Bible stand’s wiring to the control box was not set up ideally and thus the stand’s rising function did not function up to expectation. • Towards the end of the play, we correcting the wiring to raise the Bible.

8. Effect #2: The Popping Balloon • Challenges faced: Making the balloon pop instantly. • Examination: The extended length of the hot wire delayed the reaction as the electricity flowed throughout the whole while before triggering the balloon to pop. • Solution: Shorten the hotwire. • Results: The balloon popped instantly once we pushed the button on the control box after implementing the solution to the problem.

9. Effect #3: Weather Effect (Thunder & Lightening) • Challenges faced: • Miscalculated requirements of effect: • Subsequent to constructing the first conceptual design, the BB bullets in the balloon did not project the expected sound of thunder. • To control shake the balloons up and down, we needed to continuously turn the switches connecting the car locks to the balloons on and off, which was inconvenient.

10. Effect #3: Weather Effect Solutions: Thunder • To simulate the exact sound of thunder, we downloaded a soundtrack simulating the sound of thunder on an iPod, which we would activate using a switch. • Two speakers would mediate between the sound of the thunder and the switch. • The speakers would function as an amplifier of the thunder soundtrack that the iPod was playing.

11. Effect #3: Weather Effect Solutions: Lightening • We manipulated the lighting of the theater to simulate the exact effect of lightening from the control station. Thunder Sound Effect

12. Effect #4: The Overhead Compartments • Challenges faced: The implementation of the conceptual design was direct and the group did not face major challenges. Yet, some minor challenges were: • We needed to remove the eye screw because it would jam the falling door. • We faced positioning problems since falling objects needed to fall from different angles. • We needed to adjust the overhead compartments to the grid’s needs.

13. Effect #4: The Overhead Compartments (Continued I) • Solutions: • We simply unscrewed the eye screw to avoid jamming. • We examined the grid’s dimensions and accommodated its needs by attaching wooden sticks to the tops of the overhead compartments, which would rest upon the grid’s bars.

14. Effect #4

15. Effect #4: The Overhead Compartments (Continued II) • Changes/Modifications: To conclude the construction of the overhead compartments, we attached strings to the wooden sticks, holding the ceiling of the overhead compartments to the grid. The 3 objects were then attached to the dangling strings.

16. Effect #5: Shooting Water From Bible Stand • Challenges faced: • Setting up the vinyl tube that carries the water without interfering with the mechanism of the Bible stand. • Pressurizing the pump to the exact amount of pressure required to shoot water into the blender.

17. Effect #5 • Solutions: • We wrapped the hose around the outer tube in a way that would raise the tube will ensuring that it does not hinder the stand’s rising. Correct “way” discovered after experimentation through trial and error. • We had one of the actors lift the blender and attempt to catch the water shooting out of the hose in order to accurately have the water flow into the blender.

18. Getting the effect to work: Priceless

19. Conclusions & EvaluationsLessons Learned • Creativity: Embracing the diversity of the group’s imagination to consider different conceptual ideas and choose the most practical. • Feasibility: Choosing a feasible design that will achieve the purpose of the effect (i.e. thunder balloon vs. speakers) • Teamwork: The division of labor to assign different group members different tasks allowed us to complete various tasks efficiently and in a timely fashion • Safety: Making sure that all of the effect’s apparatus are safe and secure (glass tequila bottle vs. plastic tequila bottle) • Visibility and Clearness of the Effects: Ensuring that the audience could see your props (black bra vs. green bra) and can hear your sound effects (speakers for thunder). • Practice makes perfect: Tech rehearsals were an integral factor to the success of our designs.