Knowing Your Place in the Production Environment
I was on a plane home from a trade show when I was struck with a thought: I am constantly reminded of knowing my place on the very different shows on which I work. My job as a lighting designer has crossed over into so many other areas that I need to change my job description for each particular client. After 23 years in the lighting biz, you have to see and roll with the changes in everything, from technology to politics.
We have talked for years about lighting people becoming entrenched in the video field, while video has become more of a lighting element. It is like talking politics or religion — there is no defining answer, we just have to adapt and accept some things on faith. Those who do not adapt seem to fade away. I went from touring with rock shows to now doing trade shows and corporate gigs. I see many old faces from those days following the same path. They adapted from the fast-paced, “work hard, play hard” attitude of the concert touring industry, to the kinder, gentler world of corporate production.
Change Is the Only Constant
So I sit here eating my airline pretzels and downloading digital photos from my camera onto my computer at 30,000 feet. When did doing this be-come a requirement for me to be an LD? Meanwhile, I’m thinking about this particular trade show booth I have been lighting for more than nine years. It has changed dramatically in content and concept. If I want to work this booth for another nine years, then I better be able to keep adapting to the inevitable changes being made.
The first time I assembled this client’s booth was on a hot day in Anaheim, Calif., in 1997. Having just finished three months on the road with the band Pantera, I was ready for a change. I was excited about my new career path as a corporate lighting guy. I thought I knew it all. Wow, I wish I knew now what I thought I knew then.
The first thing I did wrong was in the way I prepped the lighting system. I had too much rigging steel, power cable and stuff I did not need. I also had no idea what drayage charges were and how the politics of getting equipment in and out of a convention center worked. After what seemed like a lifetime to get the lighting rig in the air, I was done — or so I thought.
My client showed up just as I was cleaning up for the day. He tapped me on the shoulder and said the lighting rig was facing the wrong way. In my new corporate guy kind of way, I told him that I was very sorry, but that we were finished for the day. Oops! My client, in his experienced corpo-rate way, said, “How much does this job mean to you?”
After wiping the sweat off my brow, I said, “Everything.” And that was indeed the correct answer. I still had no clue what to do next. Luckily, I had made friends with the head rigger during the load-in, so I played all my cards and made a phone call that probably saved my job. I asked him if he was still in the building and whether he could come and help me. He did, and the rest is history.
Knowing My Place
I have been through many job phases with this client — from the new guy who hung the booth incorrectly, to lighting designer, to production de-signer in charge of lighting and set design and, more important, the guy my client could call for advice and conversation.
I have been fortunate to last in this industry because I have always known my place with people and, hopefully, how to treat them properly. Today, I am well aware that my client is more interested in the latest technology that the large-scale video companies have to offer: the 103-inch plasma screens, LED video walls and all the cool new video products that can be hung in many ways to project their corporate branding with crystal clear imagery.
With my client’s desire to incorporate more video into their trade show booth, my overall budget has been compromised. This means it’s time for me to adapt and understand my place in the overall project. That’s not a problem for me today; I get it. I go into any and all designs the same way. After getting the concept renderings from a client, I try to visualize how to make their project look amazing with the technology we have today.
Then I get the most important information from a client. How much is in the budget for my portion of the project? Today, most of my lighting pro-jects fall into a certain budget range. I’ve found a niche, in that I am able to work my full designs into these budgets. I am able to do this because of the personal relationships I have developed over the past 23 years. I’ve adapted to change, but I never forget where I came from.
You see, most of the people I worked with in the ‘80s are now running departments for large entertainment-based companies. I can make a few phone calls and find local equipment and personnel for any project. A big part of any budget is travel and lodging, and I have old friends who sort that out. If I can find good local labor, accommodations and equipment, I save my clients money. So besides lighting design, I have added all these other jobs in order to keep up with my gig.
Staying Relevant
After the client and I establish a concept and a budget, I go to the most important tool, my laptop. Today, with computer-aided drafting programs, virtual programmers and live video playback, we can basically have a show dialed in before we show up at the job site. Being able to load-in the lighting and video in the allotted time frame is what you promised the client. Because of this, I cannot stress how important it is that the preplan-ning and preproduction paperwork be done correctly.
As I did my booth walk-through with my client (who is now my friend), I reminded him that there is still more we can do with the technology we have. He then shared his idea for next year’s booth. That opened the door for me to share something new that I wanted to show him: pixel-mapping film loops displayed through my moving lights.
He seemed to understand with minimal interest. I guess he trusts that if I think it’s a good idea and it fits into the budget, of course, we should try it. This helps keep my lighting and scenic design portion of the project relevant as well.
Education Is Key
As I look at the finished pictures I just downloaded, I am pleased with the look of the entire project. Even though my lighting role is now somewhat diminished, it is nonetheless important. (I couldn’t disagree more! Let them try to do a corporate presentation in the dark! – ed.) It was my job to work around and enhance all the video elements in the booth, and we did that successfully.
As a designer, I will continue to treat all people with the respect they deserve. At the same time, I will continue to educate myself about as much new technology as I can possibly retain. This allows me to adapt to whatever my clients throw at me, and at the same time, know my place in this ever-changing industry in which we work.
Mike Mahoney is a freelance lighting designer with over 23 years of experience. Visit his Web site at www.MahoneyDesign.biz.
