I’ve come to realize something recently that I should have known for years. Some of the best guys to have on your lighting crew, actually know little about lighting.
You may think this is strange, but in the last few weeks I realize I’ve been missing a valuable piece of load-in sense I should’ve relied on years ago. Having someone that sees the big picture and oh by the way can assemble a structure and hang a few lights along the way.
I designed this big gospel show that was being shot for television. As part of my design I had these enormous 45’ high sections of curved truss that I stood up on end. They looked great. Had truss toners in them and half a dozen arc movers attached to them as they stood up. But they were a mother to assemble. The trusses were made out of 3 sections of a 60’ outer diameter circle. Kind of making a 45 degree arch when stood up on end.. I had the crew put a big 50’ base on one end, then use a hinge and a motor to Iwo Jima the structure up into the air. Obviously the chain motor would hold it in place once it got raised.
On the actual tour, they had a lighting gal construct it every day. But it was dangerous I heard (I never saw the show I designed until I went to shoot it in film). This big arch could easily twist on its way up and hurt somebody and I heard it almost did that on a couple of loadins. So what did the lighting crew do differently for this load in? They hired a rigger as a lighting guy.
This was brilliant. A rigger knows truss and they know motors. But most important, they know safety. So the lighting company hired my old buddy Tuffy to build these four towers and make sure he could do it quick and safely. I was happy to see him there.
This week I am loading in a big convention of medical equipment. We need 5 lighting techs to load in 4 semis of gear. I have 400’ long trusses and butt loads of motors. The convention center has unionized labor to handle rigging the motors. But who is going to make sure that the 90 motors are attached in the exact spot. Who is going to wrap spansets correctly in order for me to get the maximum trim height? Who is going to connect hundreds of guy wires from the trusses to the fabric and make it hang evenly? A lighting guy? Hell no, we’re hiring a rigger. My buddy Sean Harvey knows lighting, but more importantly he knows weight loads on beams and how and where to disburse the weight so we don’t overload any beam in the convention center. Sure it’s a gig that lighting guys normally do, but why not hire someone who can do this kind of stuff in their sleep?
It’s a no brainer to me. I just wonder why I didn’t think of this years ago. Why should I worry about doing something like this when I can hire someone much more qualified than your typical lighting guy. Plus I have yet to find a rigger who’s afraid to hang a few lights. It seems like every rigger I meet is a team player. I say, if you can afford one, put one on your lighting crew whenever you have a massive project..
