I’ve just started working with a new client. The previous lighting director has transitioned to production manager and lighting designer. I will be sitting in his chair for the remainder of the tour, and hopefully for a long while. This has placed me in the daunting position of learning a new show file in the midst of a long and prestigious run of shows. There will be no rehearsal with the band, no time to dissect every little nuance, and no time to make mistakes without a crowd watching. This is baptism by fire. But this is not my first time in this situation. I have developed a strategy for overcoming this undertaking. The process starts with looking at the numbers and ends with listening to the music. Here is a brief summary of the process.
Looking at Numbers
The first step is to get the show file and dissect the thought process. Figuring out how the show flows is primary. I go through the views and see if the previous programmers preferred to keep their palettes organized by song or by purpose. Some programmers like to keep their effects arranged by song, while some keep their effects arranged by attribute. This is an indicator of how they will break down a song as well. Programmers who organize their palettes by song tend to focus on individual nuances of each song. Programmers who organize by attribute tend to focus on how the show will clone to new rigs and save time. Both systems work, but one is intended for speed while the other is intended for nuance. The second step is to check how many palettes will need to be updated daily. After 15 years of building shows, even the best programmers will end up with useless palettes that were used in specific situations. Many of these palettes become obsolete after just a few shows. Updating these obsolete palettes can cost valuable time. All too often, I have found that someone deleted a seemingly obsolete position preset that forced raw values into the tracking sheet. These raw values usually become apparent at the most inopportune times. That’s why I take time to open a tracking sheet and hunt for raw values. I dissect macros, plug-ins, inputs, universes, and so on. This requires many hours of staring at numbers on sheets.
Finding the Flow
My current show file is a mixed bag of timecoded songs and manual songs. The timecoded songs still require attention to spot calls. I took the time to add my spot calls into the info window for the cues. This helps me become more familiar with what I should be seeing onstage. However, I have only seen the show one time before today. I’m not comfortable with looking up from the console quite yet. I haven’t sat in this seat long enough to anticipate standbys, spot calls, drum hits, and strobe flashes. I must look back down at the timecode bar to help me anticipate. This feels mechanical. This situation forces me to stare at the screen instead of watching the show. I’m relying on the console to tell me what to do instead of me telling the console what I want it to do. In the beginning, looking at numbers is a necessary strategy to get through the show without derailing. When we get to the manual songs, I have time to look up from the console and view the show with my own eyes. Watching the show gives me the perspective of the audience. It allows me to be an observer.
Listening to Music
After I have organized the numbers in the console and in my mind, I can get back to the art. Only after I am confident that the console will do what I want, when I want, can I start to listen to the music and get into a groove. I no longer need to look down and make sure that my finger is on the correct button. This is when the console becomes an instrument and not a computer. After a few weeks on a tour, I will have found myself in the flow. I have heard truck drivers refer to a similar condition as Highway Hypnosis. It’s when they have been driving for several hours and can’t recall the last hundred miles. Some of my best shows have felt that way. Most of the time, the confetti cue is what wakes me from my hypnosis. I had been enjoying watching and listening to the show for so long that I forgot that I was the one driving the show. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls this the “flow state.” A flow state is described as that sense of fluidity between your body and mind, where you are totally absorbed by and deeply focused on something, beyond the point of distraction. Flow state can only be achieved under the right circumstances. For me, this means that all the numbers are where they need to be and I can focus on creativity, not programming.
Observing the Process
While learning the show, I often resort to YouTube. I am simultaneously annoyed and thankful to the people who sit there and video the entire show from their smartphone. During the show, I find their actions obtrusive and irritating, but when I watch the show to learn what they are seeing, I’m thankful that they took the time. It is so easy to see missed cues or late hits when seeing it from 12 different audience angles. When I am sitting in the comfort of my hotel room, it is easier to review footage than it is to take notes mid-show. It is much easier to observe the show from a distance than it is to observe, rewind, and review the show from the FOH hot seat. I can soak in the mistakes, observe them and train my fingers to make better choices for upcoming shows. If I have someone available, I will ask someone to take notes for me during the show, if not, I still try to make mental notes mid-song. Those are useful, but not nearly as useful as video evidence.
Production and Performance
There is a big difference between the production and the performance of a show. Programming requires attention to detail, while performing requires feeling the vibe. I have seen amazing programmers who have no sense of timing. Likewise, I have witnessed people who can operate a flawless show without knowing how to patch. Both require extended intervals of intense focus but performing requires a certain amount of reckless abandon. Testing every situation in rehearsals allows me to know exactly what will happen, and more importantly, what could happen. Sometimes I have even broken the code of a show just to see how I can best be prepared for a real life train wreck situation. Having a few macros available to swap lights in case of a broken fixture can prevent me from losing the flow and avoiding a meltdown. The more effort we invest in production, the better our performances can become. We must respect the numbers, so that we can respect the music.
Reach out to Chris Lose at close@plsn.com
