Many of today’s greatest spiritual teachers such as Ram Dass and Eckhart Tolle teach the principle of staying focused on the present moment. They explain that the past cannot be changed and the future is uncertain. The only thing that any of us truly has is this very moment. However, being human, we all tend to slip away from the present and ponder the past or the project into future. When this occurs, we cannot be fully available to respond to present occurrences. One of the reasons I enjoy operating a lighting console for a production is that generally it forces me to be fully aware of the present moment. When playing cues for a concert, waiting for the GO from the stage manager or watching people on stage, I must be totally focused on what is currently occurring and I must be ready to respond to any situation.
Changing the Present Moment
Recently I was operating the console for a corporate event. It was a typical business meeting where executives were explaining the great features of their latest products. I could have just zoned out during one particular speech by Rick, answering e-mails or thinking about where else I could have been. Instead I was watching him work the stage. He was rather shy, and, unlike the other speakers, he chose to stand on the very edge of the stage, his head bobbing in and out of the shutter cut of the stage wash. Instinctively, I selected a fixture and slowly rolled it offstage so that he would be easier to see. Moments later, he crossed to the other side of the stage and was nice enough to find the shutter cuts on stage left with the same ease as he did on stage right. Once again I made the adjustments to improve his illumination.
Feeling good about my accomplishments, I suddenly realized that I had a cue coming up that would require the fixtures to move to another position, then restore back to the modified wash. I had to think quickly to retain this corrected lighting look without compromising the rest of the show. Luckily, I have done things like this before. As I took the cue, I eased out of my live adjustments. Then as the subsequent cue played, I eased back into the same live adjustments as before. All this time, the audience and Rick were unaware of how busy I was maintaining sufficient illumination even though he was standing on the edges of the stage.
The Secrets of My Success
The sequence of events described above was only possible through many important circumstances. First, I had prepared for this very moment from the very beginning of my time on this production. When setting up my console, I took the time to ensure all my fixtures moved in the same direction when panning or tilting. This saved me time during programming, but also assured that when I needed to quickly grab a light and move it a bit stage right, I could do so with ease. Because of my console setup, I knew without a doubt that turning the pan encoder counter-clockwise would move the fixture stage right and clockwise stage left.
Next, I knew exactly which fixture to select to adjust. In this case it was simple because I had memorized which fixtures made up the stage wash. I also knew how they were focused so I could accurately guess which fixture needed adjusting. However, I also had my plot with fixture numbers at my console so at a glance I could ascertain which fixture might be the culprit. If I needed it, I could also have looked at the output window of my console to determine which fixtures where currently in the stage wash focus.
Once I had made the live adjustments, I had to decide what to do with them. I could have simply updated my stage wash palette, but that would affect the rest of the show when the presenters were not hiding on the edges of the stage. I could have hard coded my cues with the new values, but the change might not be required the next time Rick went on stage. I decided to leave the values live within my programmer. After I made the adjustment, Rick had to talk for a long time. I did not want to worry about accidentally bumping my desk or doing something else that could cause trouble with a live selection. So I utilized an old trick, which was to deselect all fixtures so that the values remained live, but the fixtures would no longer be selected for active editing. In the case of the console I was using, this was as simple as selecting fixture zero and pressing enter.
As I stated, there were some special cues coming up when the fixtures in question needed to move for a product reveal and then restore to the stage wash. Since I was not going to update any cues or palettes, I had to devise a way to smoothly transition out of the live edit back into cueing and then back to the edit. My console had a function that allowed me to go into blind mode with my editor in a specified time. So I used this function as I took the product reveal cue. Then when it was time to restore the stage, I simply used the same feature to transition out of blind back into the live edit.
An important note here is that I was able to accomplish all this magic because I knew and understood the capabilities of my lighting console. I did not have to think about how to achieve the desired results. Instead, I just made use of the tools available in the software. This ability came from years of running shows and honing my skills so that the functions came naturally, so my past experiences were able to help me in the present moment.
Ah, back to the present moment! This is the real key to this example. At that show, I was totally in the now and completely alert as I watched Rick work the stage. Even though I had heard his speech before, I still watched to ensure that everything was correct from a lighting perspective. Because I was totally in the present moment, I was able to instantly respond to the situation and make the necessary corrections. Had I not been focused on the present moment, I probably would have either left Rick in the dark or I would have reacted to the situation in a manner that would not have been as elegant as described.
Now is the Time
When running a show, I am always thrilled because not only is it lots of fun, but I also am generally locked into the Now. Running cues, calling spots, following the action on stage and solving problems all at once are important skills for an automated lighting programmer and operator. By staying focused on the present moment during shows, we can all learn to focus on other present moments within our lives. Many gurus believe that this is the way to greater enlightenment, and doing so most certainly enhances every great lighting moment. So be here Now.
