Automated lighting programming can be a fun and lucrative career choice. There are many different job positions and genres of production that one can apply programming skills. However, there are also many lighting programmers vying for these positions, thus it can be helpful to have specialized skills. Once you have a good basis of knowledge and experience as a lighting programmer, you may wish to branch out and become a specialist in a related technology or field. This can lead to increased demand, higher pay, as well as more challenges and learning opportunities.
Build a Strong Base
First and foremost, you must be a skilled lighting programmer. This means more than just knowing the keystrokes of a particular console. You need to understand the needs of production, lighting fundamentals, have good time management and organizational skills, work well with others, and much more. You should be on many people’s contact lists and have LDs and companies coming to you for your talent.
Once you are a proficient lighting programmer with several different gigs under your belt, you might want to look into specializing further. Additional expertise will make you more marketable and desirable to a greater number of productions. You should look at industry trends to determine existing and emerging technologies that pair well with lighting programming. Currently, there are three key areas that I believe are invaluable to programmers that wish to grow their career and skill set: Media Servers, Networking and 3D Tracking.
Media Servers
If you have seen any production over the last decade, you could not have missed the influx of video combined as part of the overall production. In many cases, the playback of video comes from DMX controlled media servers. The programming of these machines is rather straightforward when performed on a lighting console. However, to fully understand the intricacies of working with a video system is much more complex.
Many lighting programmers saw the emergence of video and dove in to fully understand the uniqueness. Vickie Claiborne even wrote a book about it (Media Servers for Lighting Programmers). Laura Frank moved completely away from lighting programming and immersed herself into the video world. She became the definitive expert in screen control and layout in addition to forming a company that completely specializes in large-scale productions with multi-screen playback, moving video walls, different viewing technologies, and more.
The continual rise of video, pixel mapping, and other media related technologies provides an opening for anyone that can dedicate to these unique elements in addition to standard lighting programming. If you study content creation, video production, and media server abilities then you will certainly become a much higher desired lighting programmer. But you need to move beyond the simple aspects of controlling a server from a console. You need to fully understand extreme media server details and processes. This will require reading, taking classes, practice and other growth. A good first step is to select a media server and begin reading the user manual and applying the knowledge you learn (even if it is just in a practice environment). Then with time, your experience and comprehension will grow. Eventually you can claim to be a specialist and find new opportunities on many productions.
Networking
As lighting systems become more complex and interact further with other production elements, so too are the networking components. Specializing in production networking is an area that is currently lacking expertise. If a lighting programmer were to focus in networking for the entertainment industry, then his/her worth would increase tenfold.
Nearly every lighting console is capable of networking with other lighting devices through proprietary protocols, or to a larger system through standards such as Art-Net or sACN. As with media servers, all lighting programmers should have a basic understanding as to how to configure their console to work with the required networking systems. However, moving beyond the port on the back of the desk is usually regulated to a technician.
Many productions are utilizing networking to interconnect data between different departments. For instance, networking can be used to send positional data about trusses or set pieces. It can also direct signals such as timecode, OSC, or proprietary triggering systems. Currently our industry has very few specialists that understand how to setup and maintain a network. Standard computer IT techs do not identify with our industry needs and thus they are usually not helpful for productions. If a lighting programmer were to gain networking knowledge and skills then this person would be immensely helpful to large productions around the world.
Similar to learning media servers, a good place to start learning about this area of specialization is with the industry’s leading network technology companies. Console user manuals are usually rather vague when describing network setups beyond the GUI, so you will need to research networking on a broader level and then determine what best fits with various productions. Study how it is currently setup and achieved and learn from the current experts. Then hone your networking skills and sell yourself as both a lighting programmer and a networking specialist.
3D Tracking
One area that is seeing lots of growth along side lighting programming is 3D tracking. There are several systems that work with a lighting console to track performers, set pieces, and truss moves to ensure that lights are always pointing where desired. The complexity of this technology is mind blowing as there is so much number crunching going on at all times.
For example, many productions are using systems that allow lights to stay on a performer, even as the truss the lights are attached to are moving up or down and changing angles. This is only possible with a highly accurate 3D drawings, precise fixture libraries, a properly hung rig, shared positional data, and complex mathematical calculations. In most cases, much of the preproduction time is spent finessing the various components to make everything work as the designer expected.
If you were to dive deep into becoming an expert at one of these systems and fully understand how to make all the elements come together, then your phone would never stop ringing! Right now, there are many smart lighting programmers, software developers, and technicians who are figuring out how to best engage these systems at the same time they are using them. An expert in this area will need to comprehend relational dimensions, 3D drawings, physics, lighting programming, networking, and much more. This is a key area that desperately needs skilled experts and the time is now for some lighting programmers to grab the bull by the horns.
To Be Special
Automated lighting programming is a great career choice and there are many options for anyone who is a skilled programmer. Without expanding further, one can have a wonderful life programming lights. However, there are opportunities for further specialization that will make a few people highly desired. If you choose to invest in your future and focus in media, networks, or tracking then you have an amazing possibility to grow and develop beyond the average lighting programmer.
Remember though, that study and work is required. You cannot simply do one gig with a 3D tracking system and call yourself an expert. To truly be special, you must invest your time in learning and perfecting your targeted skill set. You probably will not get paid to develop this expertise, so dedication and self-drive is required. However once you have the abilities, then you will find that the perseverance was well worth the time and effort to become a specialist.
