Every year, I design a few festival-type tours. Normally I design the lighting rig, then the lighting director for each band programs cues on the console of their choice. It's normally about camaraderie between each band, and all of the lighting directors get to know each other and have a swell time.
It's been 20 years since I had anything to do with country music. This is not by choice; it simply never played out that I got a chance to light any artists in this music genre. So when a friend asked me to design the first annual Country Throwdown tour, I immediately replied that not only would I like to design it, I'd go out and run it.
Someone wrote to me last month asking about the term "ACL." He asked why a lot of new moving lights were being touted as moving ACLs. Outside of the lighting industry, they would think we were referring to a ligament in the knee.
One of the first places I found on the Internet to meet people was the lighting forums. I found a place called the Light Network years ago, and through this site I exchanged a lot of lighting questions and answers. While we chatted about light fixtures, media servers, various CAD programs, etc., we were making friends. This was the start of social networking through the World Wide Web.
Lighting is a team sport. Designing the lighting for any event is a process that depends on a number of variables and answers to a lot of questions. The questions must be answered by venue employees, electricians, rental inventory managers and many more. Clients depend on us for a spectacular show. But designers depend on everyone else's support.
Over the years, I've come to realize that talent isn't always enough to get you by in life. You might be a gifted designer, but if you can't talk a good game, sometimes a gig may pass you by. To keep working steadily in this wacky business of ours, you have to have an edge, something that makes you stand out, something that makes people remember you long after they've witnessed your talents on a production or shared a meal with you. You've got to have your schmooze down.
There's a sign posted on the wall of the shop at Upstaging Lighting that says, "If you arrive right on time for load in, you're late." These words are gospel; I have never been late to a call time in all my years. And I have zero tolerance for anyone who isn't there to meet me on time.
I think the majority of us in the lighting business are not too sorry to see 2009 end. We all seemed to work a bit less last year. I ran into my buddy, John Featherstone, at a convention center last month and we spoke about the workload last year. "The thing that was key for me was that our company is so diversified in the types of projects we obtain," he said.
In the last 20 years we have seen more lighting consoles come on the market than I can remember. They all strive to achieve the same thing; talk to lighting fixtures, dimmers and media servers. They all get the job done eventually, but I've come to conclude that certain consoles execute some tasks well and others, not so much.
When I run a show, I like to do everything I can to insure a flawless performance. Whether it's a rock show, a comedy shoot or a full-on theatrical performance, there are cues that have to be hit on time, every time, or I get upset.
The efficiency of the load in and out of any show is directly related to the cable management of everyone involved,” says production manager/rigger Dano Rowley. The man is right. One of my pet peeves is a sloppy stage with cables strewn all over the place.
Anyone who has ever looked after lighting a musical artist will eventually find themselves having to work in strange surroundings, with a light rig and set they did not design. Whether it’s a TV show, an awards presentation or a radio station-hosted arena bash, there is an unwritten etiquette that would be wise to follow.