Script for Platforming

This is my script for the video about platforming.  This is really the first part of a two part video because the next video will deal with how I made a thrust (platform extension of the stage) and put it up by myself. Look for the videos on YouTube coming soon.

Making and Putting up a Platform--The Easy Way

One of the most basic and useful set pieces you can make is a platform.  A platform is a fixed walking surface that is made from standard, readily available materials.  As a versatile piece, platforms can be used in a variety of ways and using them makes sets more interesting to look at because action could be happening at different levels.  In addition to the visual appeal that this piece adds, using platforms increases the acting space and is an absolute necessity in some shows.  In this video, I'll review the basics of making platforms and show some examples of how they're used in our production of In the Heights.  

To start, platforms are typically made in a few standard sizes and doing this, makes them versatile to use.  A platform, when made correctly and with quality materials should last you a long time and being able to put up a second level or raised walkway quickly definitely helps you in the construction process.

With that being said, most platforms that I make are usually 4 feet by 8 feet, 4 feet by 4 feet and 4 feet by 10 feet.  Using these basic sizes makes it easy for me to make a variety of platform configurations at the blink of an eye.  Or... maybe a few blinks of the eye.  Whenever you have a good stock of platforms, it is easy to make a 4 foot by 16 foot platform by combining together two 4 by 8 sections.

So now that you know some sizes that they come in, we're going to move on to their anatomy and assembly.  Each platform is made of three parts: a lid, a frame and the legs.  The frame is the part that gives the platform its structure and is the part that the leg and lid attach to, the legs give the platform its height whatever you choose that to be, and the lid is the walking surface.  If we want to make a 4'x8' platform that is three feet high, we need the following materials:

Materials:

2-8' pieces of 2x4 lumber
5-3'9" pieces of 2x4 lumber
6-3' pieces of 2x4 lumber
1-4'x8' piece of 3/4 plywood
20-3" drywall screws
12-1 5/8 drywall screws
12-3 1/2" carriage bolts (3/8" or 5/16" diameter bolt should be fine)
12-nuts
12-washers

Additionally, you should have the following tools to work with as well:

Tools Needed:

Circular saw or Compound Mitre Saw to cut down the 2x4s
Drill
Phillips Head Bit
Drill bit
Ratcheting Wrench
Socket for the nuts

What I like to do is lay out my materials in the way that they'll be assembled, so I would place the pieces of wood for the frame, which are two 8 foot pieces and the 5  3'9" pieces, which I'll call almost 4 foot pieces, like this.

Notice the spacing of the almost 4 foot pieces.  I lay them out so that they are two feet apart on the 8 foot piece, so one is at the end, the next one is 2 feet in, the next at 4', the one after at 6' and the last at the other end. The remaining 8 foot piece gets attached in a similar way to the other 8' piece on the opposite side of the almost 4' pieces and at this point, and, once all your wood is laid out, you'll attach everything with your 3" screws.

When attaching everything together, please remember that all of your connections should be square, meaning that your 8 foot piece should be exactly perpendicular to the almost 4 foot pieces.  Squarely attached, and properly screwed in, your frame should be solid and ready for the next step.  

At this point, your frame should measure 4 feet by 8 feet, the same dimensions as your plywood lid.  The 3/4" piece of plywood, should then be positioned on the frame and then attached using your smaller sized drywall screws. Make sure you spread the screws out when you connect your lid to the frame to ensure there is no movement of the plywood as the actors walk across your platform.  Once that's all set, the only thing left to do is attach the legs to the platform.

I would highly suggest bolting your legs to the frame.  For one, it is easy to disassemble the legs from the frame for storage, and then put them back together with the same structural integrity in the future.  If you use screws for attaching the legs, you run the risk of the wood splitting and making the frame unsafe.  Also, the connection that nuts and bolts provide is very strong.  If for any reason the whole platform were to twist, screws have a higher potential of failing than nuts and bolts, so for safety's sake, nuts and bolts are the way to go and as far as bolts go, I prefer carriage bolts.   I like using carriage bolts for two reasons, one, they require one less washer than hex bolts do because of the head design and two, you don't need to use a second wrench when tightening them up.  So find a drill bit that is the same size as your 3 1/2" long bolt and drill two holes going through the leg and the frame for each leg.  Depending on the thickness of bolt you use, that will determine what size hole you'll need to make for the bolts.

Once your holes are all drilled for the 3' high platform legs, its time to attach them, so get out your wrench and tighten them down.  When everything is attached, flip it over and your platform is complete.

Now that you have one platform, feel free to make a few more and bolt them together to make beautiful, long walkways that your actors can walk on.  If you need to make very high platforms, ones that are higher than 4 feet in the air, I would recommend using 4"x4" lumber instead of the  2"x4" that we we used here.  They will have a bigger footprint and provide a much sturdier walkway.  

In the show in the heights, I have a variety of platforms, 2' high ones as well as 8' high platforms and in the next video, I am going to show you how I made a thrust for our stage.  This is a another platform job but its a little different.  If you're interested, be sure to tune in.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please leave them below or contact me via email.  Until next time...