I just spent a couple days lighting some scenes for an upcoming action movie. I forgot how boring it is to work on these things. Everyone works at a frantic running pace for 15 minutes to set up a scene, then sit on your ass for 2 – 3 hours while they film it.
Now this week I am in a convention center. I'm lighting a booth for the Oncology trade show, filled with millions of doctors around. At this time I'm writing to the blog because I have 3 straight days of ass time. Gives me time to write.
You see these kind of shows take about a week to set up. Of course it takes about 2 days to rig points, fly truss and hang the light rig. Then the lighting filth (often heard slang for light techs) get a couple days off while the exhibit group builds some massive displays of video walls, plasma screens and whatever equipment they are hawking at the gig.
Once the set is constructed, it's time to focus the conventionals with a flyman in a condor or scissor lift. It is quite common to take a full 8 hour day just to focus 40 lekos and a handful of fresnels. The majority of this time I am sitting on my ass….,bored to tears. It takes forever for two reasons. I often end up with some focus electrician in a lift who is well versed in electricity, but unaware of how an ETC fixture focuses. Of course union rules do not allow me to go up in the lift or I could fly through the focus procedure. Instead I have to explain to the guy what a sharp edge is. Then how to swop a barrel. Then how to cut in the shutters. Once he has mastered the leko, we move on to pars and fresnels. God forbid the guy has to put in a new bulb, that's usually a good 10 minute job for an electrician who knows nothing about theater.
Once I am done making everything beautiful, the show starts it's 3 day run. Again I must sit on my ass because I am now babysitting the light rig. Just in case something happens. On the first day, the guy with the vacuum found it necessary to move some little electronics that ran my versatubes. In doing so he knocked the AC plug out and my client was quite concerned when they stopped working. So it took 10 seconds to plug back in, then 8 hours of ass time while I made sure nobody unplugged it again.
This morning I had to drive 50 miles back to the gig to put 1 new bulb in a fixture. Then I will sit for another 8 hours while the show runs. Why? Because I get paid a full day rate whether I work all day, or sit on my ass the majority of it.
