No See Um Netting

[dsli_jon]

...actually - I kinda like that: 'SkeetaSkrim' - I think that's my new pet-name for this stuff!

OK, back to Earth...

So I wanted to check-in with you Kats and see how yer likin' (or not) the 'SkeetaSkrim'...(Thanks, soforene, for your great and very-engaging review! Any others- pros? cons? stories? (...I've got one that will curl your hair...let's just say that scrims, scissor-lifts and microbursts don't mix ...I'm still in 'rehab'... someday I'll be able to share...)

David Ways, Owner / Maestro of all-things-Skeeta, still owes me pricing that I said I'd post when he got back to me - since he has not, please, update the list, from below, if you'd like pricing for anything I did not list...

(Sizes are H x W)

2' x 3' (ie: for shop programming / small demos / laser-signs, etc)
4' x 5' ( " )
10' x 10'
12' x 16'
15' x 20'
20' x 20',
20' x 30'
????

I also asked him to give us pricing for various options; ie: single-stich (for pockets), vs double-stich (for stronger, outdoor / larger scrims), all-4-side pockets, with cut-off corners (in-place of gromments, which won't work with this material - too delicate...) and corner-reinforcing patches (again, for the larger, outdoor scrims)...

And rest-assured, you will NOT see 'mark-up' from me / us - these will be his direct-prices - we neither have time nor desire to be a 'distributor' for them - we're on the road too much to be attentive to that - best you all go to Skeeta, direct, for your goodies...

Lastly, below is a little drawing I whipped-up today to share with you our new 'trade-secret' design we are using for corner-
reinforcements / rigging for Outdoor-use scrims (not really needed for INdoor...) - originally, we never intended to use this stuff for anything but indoor, but one-time, when we had to use a 4W WL back-up in place of a 10W WL (that had 'PSU-issues' last-friggin-
minute ) the results were so fantastic, that we now use them regularly for both applications....

SkeetaSkrim even allows for offering more competitive pricing on outdoor shows, cause with this stuff, a 4W show looks like a 10W show (using a more-closed, heavier fiberglass-mesh-type scrim) ...smaller system = less hassle (no boost transformer, etc) = less work = can accommodate mid-lower-priced gigs = more work = more cash-flow = new 10W DPSS WL sooner-than-age-65!

BUT, as the drawing shows, for Outdoor use, you MUST rig-it properly - our design distributes the strain / tension evenly over the length, top and bottom - MOST IMPORTANT is the rope THRU the ENTIRE-length of the pvc in the bottom-pocket - extremely critical for preventing that unexpected gust of wind - 30 sec before your show-start - from tearing your scrim in-two before your disbelieving-eyes... (some free 'street-wisdom' )

I only ask, please, to keep this 'in the family' - I know most here are individuals, not big ShoCo's, etc, but I'd rather not see our design (not that it's some big-revolutionary-idea, but it is unique for this material...) on someone elses' website with their © below it, like 'CLM', there, does with eveyone elses' show pictures ...sorry, but that stuff just chaps my @$$... OK, ok, shutting-up, now...

Anyhoo, hope this is of help to everyone doing shos with this stuff, and lemme know about desired-other sizes - and stories and PIX!!!
peace...
j

[platinum]

Now I have to use two Genie 2632s to fly a video projection screen at the next outdoor gig I do! (typically, I try to use trees or other stationary objects..)

[dsli_jon]

Hey J -

Now I have to use two Genie 2632s to fly a video projection screen at the next outdoor gig I do! (typically, I try to use trees or other stationary objects..)

Cool, but PLEASE - MAKE SURE YOU TALK TO ME BEFORE YOU DO - and this goes for anybody wanting to use this technique to 'fly' ANY scrim / screen - I'll have to revise this tomorrow, and post about WHY... now, I need to s l e e e p...

peace..
J

[platinum]

Hey J -



Cool, but PLEASE - MAKE SURE YOU TALK TO ME BEFORE YOU DO - and this goes for anybody wanting to use this technique to 'fly' ANY scrim / screen - I'll have to revise this tomorrow, and post about WHY... now, I need to s l e e e p...

peace..
J

I'm going to go ahead and guess that your revision will involve something about wind dynamics.

-Jonathan

[Stuka]

Very cool idea - thanks for posting, Jon!!

[Pitts]

Hi J

Took your advice some time back..

David made me up a series of screens from 2x2 mtr to 4x4 mtr..
Done in the grey..

They work great, the pix here on PL from last weeks show were on the No Seeum screens.. all good.

Going to need a couple of bigger ones soon.

Thanks for the advice and pix you sent a while back.

Cheers

Ray
NZ

[dsli_jon]

Hey J -

I'm going to go ahead and guess that your revision will involve something about wind dynamics.

Well, yes, but not just some 'technical' discussion - really a ing* to all who might try and use this method we use for 'flying' a larger 'SkeetaSkrim' outdoors...

We've been using these since ~July '06 (when we first discovered the majik of Skeeta scrim for outdoors, too...) and since then, have done ~20 OUTdoor shows, with this stuff, exactly as shown in the one pic. Even in cases where moderate-to-stiff winds have come up, (~30mph during the approach of an unforecasted thunderstorm...) while they do 'billow' quite a bit, it's not nearly as much a 'sail' as-say, muslin or parachute screens - the wind DOES pass-thru. When wind comes up at all, we watch the lifts like hawks, and if strong-wind approaches, and there is ANY cause for concern, we immediately drop the lifts...Even so, we've never seen ANY inkling that these lifts MIGHT be able to get pulled-down...

I mean, the 26'-ers (the min height you can use to get the scrim-base ~10' off the ground) are ~4,400 - 4,700 lbs each, depending on make, and the 'rough-terrain' ones, (which we spec whenever on anything-but asphalt, cause they have outriggers) are ~6,500. - 7,100 lbs - if the Client can only get 32's, well those are even heavier (~7,500 lbs, and up...) - so you might THINK you could be 'fine' without outriggers in most / all circumstances (unless you KNOW it is a notoriously-windy area / forecasted strong-wind night, etc - then you automatically use outriggers / steel cable guy-wire + tensioners / concrete highway-barriers...)

Well, this year, I learned to 'never say never'...we had two lifts get pulled over, 15 min before a show!!! Thankfully - NO ONE even came close to getting hurt (cause we always set-up a 50'-min perimeter 'safe-zone'...) and insurance covered the lift-damage, etc - we even got paid for the gig. But I still have the 'chill in my spine' from hearing those things slam to the ground...

Now, this was a very, very 'extreme-circumstance' incident. I mean, if it was not a 'mini-tornado', it was a very-strong microburst - it not only pulled the lifts-over, it blew a pair of our JBL EON-10s + stands (fairly heavy) ~15-20 feet, shredded 'vendor' food/craft tents & canopies at another part of the park, (where an un-related part of the overall event was) sending one person to the hospital, and snapped-off small ground-level trees, the thickness of an average forearm, mid-height!!... There was like, ZERO warning, too - not even enough time to run up to the lifts to drop them...Plus, usually, we rig - but don't fly-up to show-height - the scrim till JUST-before show-start - this night was so calm / cloudless, we set-it ~1/2 hr before and just left it up, etc, etc....so much for that assumption - 15 min before show-time - later, taco!!!

BUT - nonetheless, the 'lesson-learned' for us - and advice / warning to you all, is, unless you are ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that there CANNOT / WILL-NOT be ANY POTENTIAL FOR UNPLANNED STRONG WINDS, USE guy-wires (heavy-steel cable, etc, NOT 'piano-wire' etc, etc) / and/or outriggers, and MAKE SURE you leave PLENTY of 'safe-zone' - and NOT JUST for laser-radiation access (which is one thing we were sure glad we made-sure-of on that gig!!!) - JUST IN FREAKIN-CASE!!! NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE WIND!!!!

Just a word to the wise...
peace..
j

[aijii]

Guys,

Need to order some of this. I read earlier Gray is the best colour to get - whats this called on the actual skeeta site ?

also, anyone tried the black netting with lasers ?

our customer doesn't want to see the netting - its going inside a club, with a $$$ fitout, don't want to ruin it with mosquito netting that sticks out like a sore thumb...

Cheers,

aijii

[weartronics]

Hey Dave,

I would also like to give a thumbs-up for the performance of this material, as well as the excellent service from David at Skeeta. I cut the timing so fine for my (tiny) NYE show, that I only ordered the screen on the Friday, he did the custom stiching over the weekend and shipped it out on the Monday. Then DHL delivered it during the afternoon of NYE .

I have only used the "slate grey" material, attempting a compromise between high visibility white, and low reflectivity black. I think you will find that this material disappears completely in a dark room. The only time you can see the material is when there is a light directly behind it. I attached a couple of photos so you can see what this material looks like in the southern hemisphere.





Best regards,

weartronics

[aijii]

Hey nick,

its adrian here dave posts as dave...

cheers, i've sent an email to skeeta asking for some pricing on samples of the gray and black.

this club is not completely dark.. and the screen _must_ be discrete.

so its obviously a trade off between laser brightness and screen visibility.... lets see how it goes.