Technical resources

Lighting resources

We have 3 fully-equipped performance studios, all are equipped with a large fixed rig of LED lanterns to achieve a wide variety of effects, including moving LED wash and profile lights for broad colour washes, specials and effects.
We also have a series of touring kits consisting of rechargable LED wash lights which can be controlled wirelessly. 

A wide range of control desks are available, including laptops running ETC's EOS system, an ETC Ion and a state-of-the-art ETC Apex desk alongside a Zero 88 FLX desk.

Students learn how to use the lighting systems on a range of modules, but go into more detail on the Entertainment Technologies module.

Sound resources

All rehearsal studios and teaching rooms have sound playback systems, with additional systems in all spaces used for performance work.

The main sound recording studio in the Alexander Building can be booked out by any CDF student after a short induction. Modules such as Entertainment Technologies go into more detail in how to make best use of the studios, looking at techniques for creation of montage soundscapes using found sounds and existing sound effects, and for foley, as well as voice recording. 

In addition there is a Content Creation Studio and a Podcast studio, both equipped with high-quality audio recording along with permanent cameras. 

The Macs in the studios have Logic Pro software for digital recording, editing and multi-track recording, and a networked storage drive for recording work. As the Macs are all networked you can work on any of the Multimedia Studio Macs to edit your work.

The Technical Office in the Alexander Building houses portable digital recorders and microphones for use on location or in rehearsal, and for interview recording for research.

We use industry-standard Qlab software on Macs for playback of sound and video during performance. Performance spaces are equipped with Macs, and we have additional Macbooks for work in other spaces.

Multimedia

The Multimedia Studio in the Alexander Building is available for Communications, Drama & Film students to work on powerful Mac Studios running applications such as DaVinci Resolve Studio, Final Cut and Logic Pro. The six Macs in the Multimedia Studio are part of a network which includes the sound studio and control room.

Students use the software to enhance presentations with well-edited media, create video material to project during performances, edit short films and audio recordings or to create a multimedia portfolio. We also have Capture software, for Lighting Visualisation. The Macs are used by students across all year groups, depending on the needs of modules. Formal training can be organised for small groups. We use Qlab software for playback of sound and multimedia content during performances and presentations.

See the CDF Technical team for more information and to discuss your needs and obtain login and access information. 

Props

The Properties Store is located at the top of the Alexander Building, next to the Technical Office. Access is only available via the technical team, so please see them to make an appointment. The contents are catalogued and viewable using the department's Chronos portal.

Contents of the store

The store is organised into 4 sections:

Section 1:

• Beach (water guns, buckets, spades)
• Board games
• Books
• Exercise Balls
• Flowers
• Gardening (watering cans, sprayers, gnome, forks, trowel)
• Military (ammo tin, waterbottles)
• Soft matting 
• Stationery (in/out trays, box files)
• Stationery (paper, notepads, aged documents, ink pots, quills, newspapers, clipboards)
• Toys (dolls, cuddly toys, board games)
• Tyre

Section 2:

• Ashtrays
• Bathroom (brushes, loofer)
• Bells (mains & battery operated)
• Brass Jugs
• Building safety
• Bullroarers
• Camera equipment (still / video)
• Candleabras
• Candles (matches, lanterns)
• Electrical / Light 
• Electric fire
• Fake food
• Golf clubs
• Jars
• Kitchen (towels, washing bowl, brushes)
• Lanterns (some battery operated)
• Laptops (old & new)
• Metronome 
• Mobile phones 
• Ornaments
• Party
• Pets
• Radios
• Telephones (various)
• Tools
• Typewriters
• Umbrellas
• Vacuum cleaners
• Wallpaper

Section 3:

• Bedroom (duvet, pillows, cushions, sheets, rug)
• Boxes (small)
• Chains
• Fabrics (misc.)
• Fencing swords
• Flags
• Fruit boxes
• Masks (Commedia, Neutral, misc) 
• Netting (fishing, camouflage)
• Ropes
• Sticks
• Suitcases (briefcases, trunks)
• Weapons (plastic / wood)
• Weapons (Guns, daggers) 
• Wicker baskets 

Section 4:

• Bird cage / table
• Bottles (various dimensions / styles)
• Champagne glasses (plastic)
• Clocks
• Crockery (various trays, plates, saucers, tea urn)
• Crockery (cups, mugs, jugs)
• Cutlery (misc.)
• Furniture (misc.)
• Glass (various dimensions / styles)
• Glass jars
• Mannequins
• Mirrors (various dimensions / styles)
• Mixing bowls
• Picture Frames (various dimensions / styles) 
• Plastic tubs
• Saucepans
• Steering wheel 

Costumes

The costume store in the White House at Thornlea contains a huge variety of costumes and accessories. 

The stock is catalogued on the Chronos portal, and CDF students can book an appointment to select and reserve items for course-related use.

Workshop

The workshop in the Alexander Building is a light, airy Maker Space for the construction of models, props, small items of scenery, and puppet and mask-making.

It's equipped with plenty of bench space, a selection of paints and glues and is located on the ground floor of the building next to the car park for easy loading.

Students on the Puppetry, Staging the Text, Applied Drama and Practical Essay modules make extensive use of the space.

Facility bookings

All of the Communications, Drama & Film Department spaces can be booked by students for additional practice and study when they're not already booked for teaching.

A weekly booking system exists to allow students to book spaces whenever necessary. As the buildings are open until 9pm, this allows a considerable amount of self-directed work to take place out of normal hours.

Rehearsal Bookings‌

During vacation periods, the rehearsal studios at Thornlea can be booked for external rehearsals and workshops.

Email J.G.Primrose@exeter.ac.uk with your needs and proposed dates for information about rates and availability.

All spaces are equipped with sound systems, wifi and data projectors. Two studios have sprung floors.

Water Coolers with chilled and filtered water are available in both main buildings - please bring a water bottle as we do not use plastic cups. 

More details on rehearsal spaces can be found below:

• Alexander Building
• The White House

Conference Bookings

Outside University term-time, and some weekends and evenings, the CDF studios and seminar rooms can be booked for external and internal one-off events.

The various spaces at Thornlea provide a high-quality conference environment for small events up to 50 delegates.

Equipment

All spaces used for conferences will (by default) have the following equipment:

• Data projector (5000 lumens)
• Laptop PC (Windows). We are running Microsoft Office 365 on the Windows PCs. 
  You can also wirelessly stream to the projection system from your own device (laptop, tablet, phone) using our AirServer system. Our technical team will demonstrate this at the start of your event.  
  Please bring your Powerpoint presentation on a USB memory stick - we'll load it onto the appropriate PC/Mac in advance of your presentation.
  We can also supply remote clickers for wireless powerpoint control (with laser pointer built-in).
• Sound system (connection via laptop headphone port or Bluetooth)
• DVD/Bluray player (Multi-region) connected to projector and sound system
• Wi-fi or cabled internet access
• Guest login accounts are available for delegates to use to access the University Wi-fi service.

More complex audio-visual setups, including fully-designed stage lighting, can be arranged at extra cost.

Please note: There is no parking available for conference delegates at Thornlea. There are two accessible parking spaces which may be used by holders of disabled car badges.

If you have additional specific requirements or any questions about practicalities or facilities, please email Jon Primrose, Technical Manager at J.G.Primrose@exeter.ac.uk.

Technical training

The dedicated CDF technical team are based in the Alexander Building and are able to help with any query related to performances, media, recordings or film production. We have a wide range of professional and technical experience, and manage all of the technical resources in the CDF buildings.

Workshops

We also run a series of workshop activities through the academic year aimed at demystifying and improving technical skills, from using lighting systems, sound recording and editing, video editing etc. The workshops are advertised on the What's On events page.

More information

Email us at cdftech@exeter.ac.uk for more information or just pop into the technical office.