Be careful what you ask for. A lighting crew chief is the one who has to take whatever “rainbows and unicorns” vision a designer has plotted on paper and actually hang the corresponding, functioning rig. The first person that a lighting designer has to choose, once the rig has been confirmed, is the Lighting Crew Chief. This will be the person who is in charge of organizing, assembling and managing all of the logistics involved with the lighting rig. Here is a short list of the major qualities that a designer looks for when selecting a touring lighting crew chief.
Attitude
The first thing is to get someone with a good attitude. The designer and the crew chief spend countless hours together coordinating the lighting. The designer will always pick someone that they get along with. The designer wants someone that they can hang out with before, during and after the show. The crew chief needs to be relaxed, competent and confident.
An over-stressed crew chief makes for a stressed out crew. Stressful work environments are not enjoyable for anyone. My current crew chief, Ronnie Beal, is a perfect example of a relaxed, competent leader. He manages his team of six with respect, confidence and seniority. He never yells, because he never gets frustrated. He has been in the industry long enough that nothing surprises him any more, no matter how ludicrous the situation. His crew will stand behind him because they know that any problem that arises will be solved in an efficient manner.
Dependability
A successful crew chief needs to do what they say they will do consistently. designers are allowed to change their mind on a moment’s notice. It is a luxury that certain artists are allowed. A crew chief does not have that luxury. A crew chief has to agree to some of the most absurd requests. and fulfill them in a timely manner. Deal with it.
Intuition
A five-star crew chief needs to foresee and be prepared for problems and complications before they happen. They will ask the right questions before load in becomes a major headache.
Seth Conlin, crew chief for Queen + Adam Lambert, says, “I’ll always check with the LD before doors to make sure we are all good. During the show, if I’m not calling spots, I’ll often roam around, watching the rig from different angles, to try and catch any problems and make notes on them for repair the next day. I also stay close in case the dimmer guys need to get my attention.”
Management Skills
A top-notch crew chief manages their own time as well as others. Large rigs require several crewmembers working together on a common goal. Keeping them on task can be a difficult job amongst all of the distraction of the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. Managing a crew requires equal amounts patience and persistence. If there are stagehands sitting around while four lighting technicians are lifting cases then the crew chief has not done his or her job. The leader needs to understand that the touring crew has to do this same rig over and over, with only a few hours sleep. The stagehands are there to alleviate that burden. A shy crew chief will sometimes rely on their own crew to do all of the hard work because they are comfortable asking them to do it. A competent crew chief will make quick friends with the locals and put them straight to work. An expert crew chief needs to be “part sheepdog, part IT professional,” according to Paul “Arlo” Guthrie, LD for Miranda Lambert.
Leadership
All great teams need a great leader, someone who stands above and commands respect. As pastor, author and motivational speaker John C. Maxwell has said, “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” This is completely true in the touring business. A leader must be one of the crew so that everyone gets along. But they must also be above them so that their role as a leader is clear-cut. This trait usually comes from experience on the road.
Motivation
A great crew chief needs to be willing to go above and beyond. When a regular crew chief is sitting back watching a movie during rehearsals, a great crew chief is fixing casters, fixing moving lights, repairing labels and prepping for load out.
“The crew chief sets the tone for their crew, and in turn can influence how other departments get on with their tasks,” says lighting designer Butch Allen. “It goes without saying that the lighting system needs to perform perfectly every night. Like I say: I picture my head exploding if I really knew all the bits that make up my crew chiefs’ day.”
Tolerance
The crew chief must deal with the politics of a tour, too. The designer wants everything in the world, because that is what they promised their client. The crew chief has to be able to motivate the crew to make it so. When impossible demands are being made of hard-working people, tempers can flare. The crew chief has to be able to rise above and keep the situation calm.
As crew chief, your job is to be everything to everybody, as both a leader and a helper. Crew chief Tim Solar helped with a “Daily Checklist” (see below) that every aspiring crew chief should follow. Following this list will make all of your hard work pay off.
A Crew Chief’s Daily Checklist
Tim Solar, crew chief for such bands as Linkin Park and The Killers, helped me compile a daily checklist of the best practices for a crew chief:
Paperwork & Prep:
- Simplify the plot. Many LDs make a drawing to impress the client and get the gig. These drawings can be overly complicated and not necessarily the best to work from. Know CAD — free CAD like SketchUp is fine. Put all the info on one, dimensionally accurate, easy to read, easy-to-open page.
- Make sure the rig is accessible by climbing or lowering a truss, and sort this out before the first load in.
- Check the tour schedule to find out venue info. Maybe that the massive dimmer cart you had planned just won’t fit in half the venues. (This is a situation you want to figure out sooner rather than later.)
- Show up to prep prepared and with a work plan/schedule.
- Be prepared to change that plan/schedule completely.
Prep and Cable Management (Keep it Simple):
- Be sure of cable lengths. If an upstage truss trims at 35 feet and is 20 feet onstage of dimmers, a 75-foot home run will reach every time. I often see people bump this up 100 or 125 feet “just to be safe.”
- Keep things like adaptors for specific lights taped in with the looms. Eliminate loose bits! Looking for one lost adaptor can take a long time.
- Don’t Over-Spare. Don’t bring enough spare cable, fixtures and hardware to build the entire rig twice.
On Tour:
- Be the go to guy. You want the LD and stage manager to talk to you first, not to run your guys for you.
- Give stagehands back when you’re done with them!
- Cooperate with all the other departments. Help get their gear off the stage at load-out. You’re really just helping yourself.
- Keep things where you need/use them. (I’d rather be looking at it than looking for it!)
- Check the rig on the ground before it flies as much as possible. It’s about a six-to-one time ratio to fix a problem in the air as opposed to doing it on the ground.
- Learn the house electrician’s name.
- Keep track of spares and consumables. Save the rush shipments for a real emergency.
- Remember to feed your crew. “Something healthy — a nice salad, perhaps, rather than that bag of Fritos from the vending machine.”
- Get some rest.
