If you have ever watched any of the reality TV shows about emergency rooms, you have probably noticed how well the staff works together to help the patient. I find it a striking resemblance to the way that an automated lighting programmer must relate to others on his/her team. A programmer must work well with each team member to ensure a healthy lighting contribution to the production. By studying this relation in comparison to an emergency trauma team, one can easily see the responsibilities that a programmer has with the production team.
The Patient
First and foremost, the patient and his needs must be considered at all times. In the case of a lighting programmer, the patient is the production itself. If the lighting overtakes the production, then other areas will be negatively affected. If the overall health of the patient is not considered, then tragedy may strike. By thinking about what is best for the production, decisions can be made based on the overall outcome. This may mean that lights need to be moved, a song re-cued, or programming time be reduced. In any case, flexibility is essential.
The Doctor
At the lead of the trauma team is the primary physician or team leader. In our lighting world, this would be the Lighting Designer. As the lead, he/she is responsible for the outcome of the patient as well as interfacing with the patient’s family (other production staff and talent). The designer will make suggestions to the programmer about what procedures are required as the operation progresses. The programmer must quickly interpret these guidelines and use his console as a surgical set of tools to create the desired lighting. The more a programmer can correctly anticipate the wishes of the designer, the better.
The Specialist
A specialist is required to take the general terms of the doctor (LD) and execute them for the patient’s needs. This, of course is the role of the programmer. With a good understanding of the console and basic programming principles, the programmer should be able to execute the wishes of the designer in a timely manner. Furthermore, the specialist needs to ensure the safety of the patient by maintaining the show file and any associated data. It is imperative that the programmer is well organized and able to respond to changes quickly and effectively.
The Nursing Team
A trauma team cannot function without a good selection of professional nurses. These team members handle all the equipment and ensure the technology is functioning. Furthermore, they set up and maintain the trauma room and its related equipment. As you can guess, the lighting equivalent of the nursing staff is the lighting crew. The technicians must build the rig, ensure its operation and make any needed repairs as quickly as possible. They will often act on their own, taking action to ensure the designer and programmer can continue working on the patient without interruption. In addition, they receive a continuous list of needs that must be attended to as time allows.
The Anesthesiologist
With some productions you might think that the local drug dealer typically fills the role of an anesthesiologist for much of the lighting team, but thankfully, in most cases, this is simply not true. The equivalent anesthesiologist on the lighting trauma team is the lighting looks themselves. In my analogy, the patient is the production, thus the lighting cues are what calm the production and allow the designer and specialist to maintain the health of the patient.
Bringing It All Together
The family (production manager, director, or designer) will dial 911 looking for a trauma team for a specific patient (production). The team will assemble and enter the emergency room (venue) ready to ensure the life of the patient (production). First, the doctor (designer) will plot out a course of action (lighting plot) based on his/her initial diagnosis of the patient (production meetings).
Next the nursing staff (lighting crew) will ready the emergency room (venue) by assembling the operating tools (lights) and equipment (lighting rig) as detailed in the treatment plan (light plot). Once this is readied, the specialist (programmer) will begin prepping the patient (building groups, palettes/presets, layouts) for surgery (cueing). The primary physician (designer) will then arrive after conferring with the patient’s family (production team). The physician will direct the specialist as to the overall needs of the patient. The specialist will utilize tools and procedures to carry out these directives (program the console).
As the specialist commences his or her work, the physician will often attend to other patients (work on other gigs) and further consult with the current patient and family (more production meetings). Finally the anesthesia (lighting looks) will be administered and the patient will begin to relax (rehearsals). Other physicians and specialists (scenic, video, audio, and backline departments) will also begin working on the patient. This often leads to interference with the plans of the primary physician and specialist (lighting department). In many cases they need to attend to the patient multiple times (reprogram) to adjust for the other departments’ changes and needs.
Once all the attending physicians (designers) have had a go at the patient with their respective team mates (other department crews), then the patient can be released to his/her friends (audience). If all went well, the friends will enjoy the work performed on the patient and enjoy their time with the patient (the show). However, further problems with the patient could lead to additional trauma (re-lighting) or even death (cancellation).
The Big Key
The most successful trauma teams are those in which each of the team members works seamlessly together to save the life of the patient. The best lighting teams share this same trait. When a designer can easily give ideas to a programmer and the programmer can create them with ease, only then can a team really hammer out lots of looks and cues. But it also requires a hard working lighting crew that is dedicated to ensuring the lighting rig is always running at its best.
I find it a pleasure to work on many different productions because of the differences in the teams. It does seem that most people in our business understand that we are all at a show with the same goal: make it the best show ever. By working together as if the very life of a production depends on each of us doing our part, then we can find joy in every moment and every production. The next time you are programming a show, ensure that you are truly participating as a team member; otherwise trauma may ensue!
