Lighting Production

Lighting production is the implementation of a lighting design. From hanging the instruments, to running the cues, to managing electrical needs for the stage, lighting production crews are skilled programmers with an eye for detail. This guide offers descriptions and illustrations of the instruments in lighting, the process of programming cues, and the responsibilities of successful lighting programmers and electricians.

Terminology

• Channel: A number used to designate a dimmer or group of dimmers on the console, used by the lighting designer to organize lighting systems and recall them during cue building.
• Dimmer: A device that controls lighting intensity by limiting voltage.
• Fixtures: Also known as lighting instruments; any lights used specifically for stage lighting including fresnels, ERS (Source4s), Parcans, plus various LEDs and moving lights.
• Gel: Heat-resistant plastic filters used to color conventional lights, brands include Rosco, Lee and GAM.
• Gobos: Metal or glass stencils that can be inserted into lights to create patterns. Gobo refers to where it is inserted into the light - GOes Before Optics (between the lamp and the lens).
• Head of Lighting: The crew person responsible for implementing the lighting design, overseeing light hang, and maintaining all lighting equipment for a show.
• House Plot: A standard lighting hang that a theatre will use for productions that do not have a specific lighting design. They usually have a few general washes and are suitable for a variety of shows.
• Lamp: The “bulb” in the instrument. These can be halogen incandescent, arc, or xenon bulbs depending on the fixture.
• Lighting Cues: Lighting levels as recorded on the console; the stage manager calls for these in numerical sequence during the show.
• Lighting Designer: The creative team member who makes the lighting plot and paperwork, calls the focus, and sets cues with the programmer. They answer to the show Director.
• Load-in/Load-out: The process of installing or dismantling a production on stage. Load-out is also called strike, not to be confused with a union strike.
• Patch: Assigning a circuit or dimmer to a channel number on the lighting console.
• Programmer: The crew person who operates the lighting console. They input cues from the lighting designer, conduct preshow checks, and run the cues during the show.

Equipment Needed:

• Tool kit: adjustable c-wrench, headlamp, multitool, gaff tape, work gloves
• PPE: steel toed boots, hard hat, hi-vis vest, harness for working at height
• Certification tickets for forklift, fall-arrest, and scissorlift work if needed