Comments on: Stage Lighting People and Problems – Interactive

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:35:15 +0000

What makes the industry so special? I agree with Christian, anyone can push the go button, push a few faders and rig lights, its the fact that the theatre industry is such a close knit community of professionals, everyone has a common goal, to get the best product out on time, no ulterior motives or anything, all mixed in with a sense of humour and spirit. Everyone who gets anywhere has a genuine love and passion for their work with little pretence. The industry is made special by the amount of “special” (not in that way)people working in it.
The reason it’s such a good industry to work in is it’s challenging, stressful and ultimately rewarding, even though the audience haven’t a clue what work you have put in, hearing applause after an opening night after a taxing production week will still put a smile on the most veteran practitioners face. Even through the late nights, hard work, stressful deadlines and lack of budget and quite often lack of appreciation for our efforts, that can epitomise our work, there is nothing more rewarding then seeing the final product looking great. Not sure where else you’d go for that!!

By: the Real John

the Real John — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:07:35 +0000

John,

That is a very sad and shortsighted assumption to make about the industry as a whole and I take offense at that.

I have met a few bad apples, but by far and large if you don’t let your own ego get in the way, you can learn amazing things from those “egomaniacs.” It might just be time you reel in your own id for a moment.

Most of the truly great lighting designers in this industry want you to learn their craft so that when they retire, the excellence doesn’t leave with them. They may have a big ego, but most of the time they have an even bigger heart and if you take the time to get to know them, you’d see that.

And by the way, making generalized statements like that makes you look like nothing but a troll.

By: john

john — Fri, 13 May 2011 00:13:38 +0000

The people in the lighting industry are usually pretty self centered, underdeveloped, egomaniacs. They are both narcissistic and megalomaniac capitalists. On top of this, they are usually judgmental hypocrites to boot. There are very few people in the lighting industry who don’t think they are cooler than everyone else. They all are cynical, sarcastic, and pride themselves on humor at others expense. So in general, they are uneducated bad people.

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:38:56 +0000

Hi Chistiaan

Thanks your insightful thoughts. I think anyone who loves show business knows exactly what you are talking about.

By: Christiaan Visser

Christiaan Visser — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:24:59 +0000

My point of view about your questions;

What do you think is special about our industry and the people who work on shows?
The way we work, it’s not an ordinary job which can be done by anyone, you just have it or not. Everyone can push a button or slide a fader, but only a small group of people can create a stage design, program it an control it in a way which completly makes sense with the show on stage. It’s not something you can learn, you have to got it in you. That’s what makes our industry special.

What challenges do you think make “show business” unique?
The stress(which isn’t there! ). I love my crew when somethings goes wrong, because we can fix things in a calm way and in such way that the crowd doesn’t realize that something went wrong. For example, if the power goes down on 20 mac’s, 10 minutes before the show starts, you see your crew walking like they have a day time to fix it. But in the mean time they think forward and fix it so fast, and no one ever noticed that something went wrong. In other words; The challenges to do your work good, fast, save and in a calm way together with you crew, is absolutly great in the ‘show business’.

Why do you find stage lighting and working backstage so fascinating and attractive?
For me it’s a own kind of way to express my thoughts and feelings. I’m not saying that i’m a great lighting designer or operator, but I always try to make my lightshow go as one with the music. If I see other LD’s doing their gigs, it’s like they have no creative mind. Always the same loops, chases, looks and drumsolo end with a strobe. When I talk with them, you get answers as; ‘The company pays bad, so I don’t do my best’, ‘It’s just another show, nothing special’, ‘It can’t be done better’. I realize that everyone has it’s own taste of how a lightshow should look like, but some people just don’t know what they are doing. I’ve done many (small & big) shows in the past, but what ever show there is, I allways do my best, because they hire you to do so. I think that for me the idea ‘get the job done in a good and efficent way’ is something that attracts me the most to this job.

- Every day other problems, other people, other shows and other artists – it’s just great to be a part of it!

Greetings,

Christiaan Visser
Holland

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:53:32 +0000

Hi again Craig – thanks for taking the time to gives us your thoughts. Must be interesting training an op from the very beginning with absolutely no history.

All the abilities you listed are required for a good lighting operator and most people in lighting posses some level of “artist’s eye” – even production electricians. It’s the blend of artist and geek in all of us.

Responding to bad situations calmly is a character trait that all good backstage workers need. The worse things get, the calmer they are. In the corporate event world, I find that this can work against you. A client mistakes calmness in the face of adversity as a lack of concern or activity in their hour of need.

I have tried to “ham it up” a bit to reassure them that I share their worries, but it’s just not me. We have to remember that this is their one show of the year. They don’t know that you’ve dealt with the same problem hundreds of times already.

Good to hear from you again. Hope to get some MagicQ tutorials together – I know that you were interested in the desk. Best Wishes.

By: Craig Finch

Craig Finch — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:07:29 +0000

Having just trained a new lighting operator who had NO prior experience, I have a new perspective on what it takes to be successful in lighting. I’ll focus on the role of the programmer/operator. This person needs the following three basic abilities (at a minimum). He/she has to have an “eye for design,” to recognize what looks right and what doesn’t. I think this skill starts with an underlying artistic talent that can’t be taught–some people have the gift and some don’t. The programmer/operator also has to have the technical and logical skills to understand the operation of the control console (desk) and the flow of power and control throughout the rig. A good programmer sets up the console in an organized and logical way, and troubleshoots problems efficiently as they arise. The third critical skill is the ability to think and solve problems quickly. This skill is needed during a show when executing cues at just the right time, and adapting to other peoples’ changes and mistakes so that the audience never realizes that something wrong. A fourth ability, which not all techies have, is the ability to work easily with all kinds of people in tense situations. I think this might be my greatest strength as a lighting guy, and it may be the aspect that is most appreciated by directors and producers. It takes a level of self-control to respond in a calm, reassuring way when a director is freaking out and demanding that I fix three things at once, possibly in a demeaning way. I don’t let myself become somebody’s punching bag, but sometimes I have to choose to respond like an adult and rise above someone else’s behavior.

Craig

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:09:21 +0000

@ Simon and Jimmy – Yup, can definitely relate to your points. The combination of creativity and cold logic takes a certain kind of person.

@ Mike – Yes, I think we can all agree that the world is poorer for people with clipboards and Blackberries. There is still a lot of fun to be had in stage lighting, it just might not come in the form of truss walking at 8m with no harness on or stabbing in 125A 3 phase tails live with no training. It just requires adjusting how you get your kicks.

@ Taylor – Every part of the business is all about people not wanting to spend money but the band scene is awash with hobbyist PA “businesses” that make the whole sector cheap. Can’t say I would fancy my chances as a promoter, though.

Thanks for all the comments so far, guys.

By: Taylor Hyslop

Taylor Hyslop — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:17:26 +0000

I work mostly with mid-level rock bands, and the biggest problem I encounter is encouraging folks to spend any money.

By: mike

mike — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:40:22 +0000

Hi Rob
I am only into lighting in a small way
But I can relate to all of above comments. Time scales that cannot fail. Stress and Faulting under extream pressure etc
I have just taken early retirement from BT having Completed 40 Years as a Transmission and Electronics engineer
For many years I worked providing Outside Board Land Lines for major Radio and TV Shows
I always found the work stressful.But very good fun on a good day You just never new when all hell would break loose
Sometimes we were treated like stars drinks food etc.with the stars after a show
One job that always comes to mind was a night we were doing A live BBC show from a village hall way out in the sticks on the Herefordshire Welsh borders
All was going well when suddenly the hole lot went Dead
sound and lights
All enginners on site rushed to the fuse boards by torch light all seemed OK ish. May be a power cut? Rushed outside all houses nearby had lights on
Maybe we have over loaded the single phase incoming and blown the main board fuse. Oh Hell
A little old lady came in and asked had we put any more money in the Meter in the broom cubard WHAT?
You could not see that one coming
Could let stories all day
Once saw a cup of coffee get knocked over and disappeared into the mixing desk around the sliders like a drain
Not my problem not our kit 5 mins to air time
My main concern is now the fun has all gone Just targets stats and quick fix no time to find faults etc this is become the norm in all engineering
Engineering experience counts for nothing in the UK now
IT seems now Yupies and Statows are all that is required to run an engineering business They run round like headless chickens sending hundreds of junk E mails that no one understand a word of .BUT are Mandatory and disciplinary procedures put in place for non compliance What a state to get in
As someone said it was not a job I think more like a hobby
We were our own bosses. Electrics, electronics, test gear and as much cable and wire as you could ever wish for
Can you lighting lads relate to this
Mike