MODERN EDUCATIONAL TECHNICAL THEATRE INITIATIVE

METTI Lighting A Comprehensive Curriculum in

Modern Theatrical Lighting

Student Version

Third Edition

By

Matthew Haber

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Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 3

Safety ........................................................................................................................................ 4

Levels of Training ..................................................................................................................... 5

Skills Assessment...................................................................................................................... 7

Lighting Technician 1 ............................................................................................................... 8

Lighting Technician 2 ............................................................................................................. 22

Lighting Technician 3 ............................................................................................................. 30

Lighting Designer 1 ................................................................................................................ 40

Lighting Designer 2 ................................................................................................................ 48

Light Board Theory................................................................................................................. 52

Light Board Operator 1 ........................................................................................................... 56

Light Board Programmer 1 ..................................................................................................... 59

Technician Supervisor ............................................................................................................ 65

Color Mixing ........................................................................................................................... 69

Useful Information .................................................................................................................. 72

References ............................................................................................................................... 73

About METTI ......................................................................................................................... 74

Legal ....................................................................................................................................... 75

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Introduction The goal of this curriculum is to lay out a framework for learning about modern theatrical

lighting techniques through a mixture of hands-on and content driven methods. This

curriculum is in keeping with the standards of lighting education and evaluation set forth by

many different industry organizations and is divided into several levels of certification and

associated training. These levels, which are outlined in a later section, build upon one another

and each come with new privileges and responsibilities which together combine to create a

streamlined lighting design and execution process. Each of these sections culminates with an

assessment which is designed to insure that one does not progress through their training in

such a way as to risk damaging equipment or endangering the safety of other members of the

crew. More information concerning assessment will be provided in a later section. This

curriculum is designed to be a supplement and reference book for someone who has

substantial field experience and is trained as a lighting instructor, as without someone to

answer questions and guide new lighting technicians, poor habits and improper practices will

go uncorrected. Thank you for reading this introduction and on behalf of lighting designers

and technicians everywhere, I welcome you to the diverse, creative, and downright fun field

of theatrical lighting.

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Safety In addition to discussing the issues involved with the practice of lighting, this curriculum will

cover relevant safety information for lighting technicians. The technical aspects of modern

lighting are not inherently unsafe to those involved. However, due to the environment in

which they are frequently conducted, there are safety risks posed both to the technician and

to those in the vicinity. Many sections and associated certifications will introduce and

evaluate comprehension and retention of new safety guidelines which are intended to

mitigate some of the risk involved. These guidelines should not be taken lightly as their

proper execution is crucial to a safe theatrical working environment. The sections of this

curriculum which covers supervision include additional advanced safety information and

supervisors are required to receive some external medical training as outlined in that section.

This section will cover some basic safety guidelines which should be followed under all

circumstances and are a starting point for all other sections of this curriculum.

1) Whenever one is working in a theatrical environment, you should be partnered with

another technician who has attained a level of certification that permits them to conduct

the work being done. If two lighting technicians of differing levels of training are

working together, the work being conducted must be within the purview of the training of

the less trained technician.

2) Whenever one is working in a theatrical environment, there must be a supervisor present

who is certified to supervise the type of work being conducted. If at all possible this

supervisor should not be actively engaged in the work but rather stay back and supervise

it as well as render advice and instruction.

3) All technicians who are working should be wearing safety gear sufficient for the kind of

work being conducted even if they are not actively engaged in it. For example, if in a

theatre, one team is working on rigging and another is working on adjusting lights, all

members of both teams should be wearing safety gear sufficient for rigging.

4) All technicians should acquaint themselves with the location of the first aid kit at a work

site before beginning to work. The first aid kit should normally be with the supervisor.

When shortcuts are taken and technicians are hurried, mistakes get made. Unlike mistakes in

most situations, when someone makes a mistake in a theatrical environment, there is the

potential for serious injury to oneself and others. For this reason it is imperative that all

guidelines be followed to the letter and beyond. When in doubt, err on the side of safety. As a

lighting technician you are first and foremost responsible for your own safety. Just remember

this: If a facility can’t afford to do it safely, they can’t afford to do it at all. Don’t be afraid to

stand up and say something if you think there is something unsafe going on.

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Levels of Training There are multiple levels of training and certification which are covered in this curriculum.

Each level in this book has any prerequisites indicated at the beginning of the reading.

Course Descriptions

Lighting Technician 1 (LT1)

This course is designed to cover the basics of lighting from a technical point of view. It

includes knowledge concerning basic safety procedures, operation and maintenance of

various lighting instruments and other equipment, working with gels, and reading design

sheets.

Lighting Technician 2 (LT2)

This course builds upon LT1 and adds instruction in dimmer pack use, cabling, working with

gobos, and more advanced safety procedures.

Lighting Technician 3 (LT3)

This course builds upon LT1 and LT2 and adds instruction in working with Remote Focusing

Units (RFUs), simple rigging as it applies to a lighting technician, and using more advanced

lighting and effects units.

Lighting Designer 1 (LD1)

This course takes the technical knowledge learned in LT1-3 and begins to introduce lighting

design theory including its place in theatre, the elements of design, and using color and

pattern to set the scene. It is strongly recommended that even those who intend to pursue

only the technical aspect of lighting consider this course as it will provide invaluable

Lighting Technician 1 Lighting Technician 2 Lighting Technician 3

Lighting Designer 1 Lighting Designer 2 Light Board Theory

Light Board Operator 1 Light Board Programmer 1

Technician Supervisor

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knowledge in how to work with lighting designers and a better understanding of the thought

process behind the light designs.

Lighting Designer 2 (LD2)

This course builds on LD1 and adds instruction in creation of lighting plots and cue sheets,

working with movement and transition, and designing for advanced lighting and effects units.

This course also includes a hands-on project in lighting design.

Light Board Theory (LBT)

This course provides an introduction to the DMX protocol beyond the skills learned in LT2

and introduces the ideas and vocabulary behind modern light board operation in a non-model

specific manner.

Light Board Operator 1 (LBO1)

This course builds on the theory learned in LBT and adds training in deciphering and

following cue sheets, the light board operator’s role in a performance, and inter-crew

communications. Your instructor will supplement this course with instruction in the

particular board you will be using for your training.

Light Board Programmer 1 (LBP1)

This course adds to the light board operation skills learned in LBO1 and begins teaching non-

model specific light board programming technique and theory. Your instructor will

supplement this course with instruction in the particular board you will be using.

Technician Supervisor (TS)

This course teaches the skills necessary to safely and efficiently supervise a lighting

operation in a theatrical or touring environment. This includes skills such as crew

communications, technician paperwork, and equipment management.

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Skills Assessment In order to make sure that students are prepared to work independently in the roles for which

they were trained as well as effectively advance through the levels of training and

certification, it is necessary to provide a means for evaluation. Toward this goal, each chapter

culminates with an assessment of knowledge retention from the chapter. The instructor

responsible for your training is strongly encouraged to combine the conventional written

assessment with a hands-on practical assessment although this is not required for receipt of a

certification for the level in most cases. Assessments are split into two or more sections. In

order to “pass” the level of training students are required to answer a minimum of 85% of the

questions correctly except in the section of the assessment which assesses retention of skills

and knowledge relating to safety. For this section students are required to answer 95% of the

questions correctly. Students are permitted to take and retake the assessment until they can

pass it. The exact assessments that will be administered by your instructor are included at the

end of each chapter but the assessments themselves are closed-book. Some levels include a

practical assessment project in place of or in addition to the standard assessment and in order

to pass this project which is required to receive the corresponding certification students must

earn a minimum 80% score as determined by their instructor.

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Lighting Technician 1

Prerequisites

None

Level Contents

Basic safety rules

Types of lighting instruments

Working with basic lighting hardware

Hanging a light

Working with gels

Reading design sheets

Content

Basic Safety Rules

There is nothing inherently unsafe about the technical aspects of theatrical lighting however,

due to the environment in which they are frequently conducted, there are safety risks posed

both to the technician and to those in the vicinity. This chapter will introduce some of the

basic safety rules above and beyond those introduced in the safety section that you already

read that apply to lighting technicians.

Technicians should wear synthetic or leather gloves, protective poly-carbonate or

tempered glass eyewear, laced and closed toed shoes and durable clothes when

working or when in the vicinity of actively working technicians as dictated by the

type of work.

When working on ladders above 5 feet, the ladder should be steadied at the base by

another technician.

Never leave tools on a ladder, scaffolding, or catwalk and never drop or throw tools

to another technician. It is safer to climb a ladder, drop a line, and haul an object up

rather than carrying heavy objects up a ladder.

Whenever you are working above 5 feet, you should secure any tools that you are

using to yourself using a leash. A leash consists of a piece of flame retardant

theatrical string or bungee no more than 4 feet in length secured to the tool with a

carabineer on one end and secured to the technician with either a wrist loop or

carabineer on the other.

Technicians should never tamper with plugs that are connected to a live socket on a

dimmer pack or wall outlet.

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Any object hanging from, or attached to, a support structure must be secured with a

safety cable capable of handling an object of its weight.

If a safety cable has caught the load of a falling object, then it should be disposed of

and replaced with a new one.

Any object secured to a support structure must have all of its loose parts secured with

safety cables as well.

Technicians should never attempt to fix a damaged electrical connection unless they

have received proper training.

Extension cords should be used sparingly and only when heavy-duty and three

pronged. Technicians should consult their supervisor before using an extension cord

for anything but temporary power for tools.

Types of Lighting Instruments

It is important to understand the ways that the various types of modern lighting instruments

work in order to properly operate and maintain them.

Ellipsoidal

Ellipsoidal lights, also known as Lekos or Profiles, are the most commonly used fixture in

theatrical lighting. They afford a high level of control to the technician in terms of focus,

beam size, beam shape, and image projection. Focus is normally controlled by a knob located

on the underside of the unit. It is loosened and slid back and forth to adjust the focal length of

the light. Beam size is controlled either with an iris which blocks light to control beam size or

with a zoomable ellipsoidal which has an additional lens assembly. Beam size is more

commonly controlled through using different beam angle lenses and through physically

moving the unit in respect to the subject. Beam shape is controlled through a set of four

shutters on the unit. Each shutter moves in two dimensions for beam shaping. Shutters

control the part of the beam inverted and opposite to the location of the shutter handle due to

the way light travels through the unit. Gobos are used for image-projection and are discussed

at length in LT2.

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With the lenses far apart, the beam is narrow

With the lenses close together, the beam is

wider.

PAR Can

This diagram shows the way light

travels through an ellipsoidal.

This diagram shows the effects of

lens movement on beam size in an

ellipsoidal.

This is the popular ETC Source 4

ellipsoidal with its major parts

labeled.

Yoke

Bulb

Shutters

Gobo slot

Focus knob

Gel holder slot

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These lights are commonly used in music and event lighting due to their relatively low cost.

They offer almost no control of the light aside from aim and color. PARs are listed with a

number ranging from 16 to 64 at the end of the name. This denotes the width of the reflector

in eighths of an inch.

This diagram shows how light

travels through a PAR can.

This diagram shows the general

layout of a PAR can.

This is a common type of PAR 64.

This is a newer and increasingly

popular type of PAR can. It uses a

standard ellipsoidal bulb and has

interchangeable lenses for

increased flexibility.

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Fresnel

These lights are used for washes and offer a soft edge with somewhat adjustable focus. Their

beam shape can be roughly controlled with barn doors which will be discussed more later in

this chapter. The beam edge is usually controlled by a knob on the bottom of the unit which

is loosened to allow the bulb and reflector to slide freely before being tightened in the desired

position.

Fresnel "spotted down"

Fresnel "flooded"

This is a small PAR 16, often

called a birdie, which is used for

close illumination.

This diagram shows how light

travels through a fresnel.

This diagram shows how bulb and

reflector position affect the beam

in a fresnel.

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Striplight

These lights are used for making color washes on a backdrop and are often used with primary

colored gels to facilitate color mixing. The individual lights themselves are PAR cans in

many cases.

Follow Spot

A follow spot is essentially an extremely bright zoomable ellipsoidal with additional features.

Follow spots are usually carefully weighted to allow smooth movement. They also have a

boomerang which is a spring loaded gel holder at the front which allows rapid color changes

and blackouts of the unit.

This is a common fresnel model

made by Altman.

This is newer type of lighting unit

called the ETC Parnel. It

combines the size and powerful

beam of a par can with the

adjustable beam and soft light of

a fresnel.

This is a model of striplight made

by ETC.

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This is the industry standard

Mega-Clamp made by The

Light Source.

Working with Basic Lighting Hardware

The following items are frequently used by lighting technicians in their work so it is

important to know what they are and how they are used.

The yoke of a light it the metal C-shaped arch that is attached to the light on both sides. It is

used to secure the light to a C-clamp and allows the light to be tilted up and down using a

knob on the side.

An important piece of hardware is the safety cable. This is a metal cable

with a loop on one end and a clip on the other. This is looped through the

yoke of the light, over the bar onto which you are hanging the light, and

clipped into a loop. Safety cables can also be more permanently attached to

a fixture.

The most basic piece of rigging hardware is the C-clamp.

C-clamps attach to the yoke of a light and clamp onto the

bar or truss the light is being hung from and are available in

different types depending on the weight of the fixture and

the diameter of the pipe onto which the clamp it being

attached. There are three bolts on a standard theatrical

heavy duty C-clamp. The shaft bolt is the one on the bottom

used to attach the bolt to a light’s yoke. The pan bolt is the

little square one on the side. It can be loosened and

tightened to allow the light to be rotated 360° without

affecting the clamp’s grip on the pipe or its connection to

the light. The clamp bolt it the long one that it tightened

down to attach secure the bolt to the pipe. It is important

that the clamp bolt not be tightened more than 2 turns past

finger tight or else there is the risk of denting (also called

dimpling) the pipe which could drastically weaken the pipe causing structural failure.

This is a popular follow spot

made by Altman.

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Another common piece of rigging equipment it the sidearm it is used to horizontally attach

lights to vertical supports. A sidearm is essentially a C-clamp with a short pipe attached

instead of a light. The light attaches to an adjustable slider on the pipe.

Almost all lighting units have a gel frame of some sort with the only

real exception being intelligent fixtures with internal color mixing or

changing capabilities. Gel frames can be metal (this is the norm) or

fiberboard to reduce the risk of burns from touching hot gel frames

Ellipsoidal units also have a slot for gobos (also called templates).

Gobos, which can be glass or metal, are placed in a gobo holder and

then inserted into the slot on the top of the unit.

This will be discussed in more depth in LT2.

Other accessories can be inserted into the gel frame slots of most

ellipsoidals in place of or in addition to gel frames. Snoots, which are

shaped like top hats, are used to reduce light spill

from a fixture. They are most commonly used on

ellipsoidals which are being used for especially long

throws although they can be used in PAR cans as

well. They are also commonly used in architectural

lighting applications. Donuts are flat pieces of metal

with a hole cut from the center. They strictly regulate

light spillage to insure that gobo projections appear as

crisp and in-focus as possible. Donuts are only used in ellipsoidal fixtures.

Barn doors attach to the front of fresnel or other wash fixtures and provide

a way to limit the light exiting the unit. They usually have four doors (one

for each side) which hinge open and closed and frequently also have

sliding panels to adjust the size and shape of the doors. Barn doors are not

nearly as precise as the shutters on ellipsoidal units but they are a

frequently used tool to shape and control the output of wash fixtures.

Hanging a Light

As a lighting technician, one of your main duties will be to hang lighting fixtures. You will

usually be hanging them from house electrics (battens or catwalks over the audience), stage

This is the popular Mega-

Baby Sidearm.

P a g e | 16

electrics (fixed or flyable battens over the stage), or booms (verticals supports at the sides of

the house). You will access the lighting supports via a ladder, catwalk, rolling scaffold, Genie

or other electric lift, or by having the support lower to you in the case of flyable battens.

Once you have accessed the hanging position, you will need to get you, your fixture, and any

applicable accessories (safety cable, gel frame, etc) to the position. Make sure the C-Clamp is

sufficiently open to easily slide over and onto the support before you try and hang it. Clip the

safety cable of the fixture through the yoke and over the support. Now place the unit onto the

support. Make sure you face the C-Clamp with the open side towards you to make it easier to

focus and remove the fixture. Tighten the pipe bolt to finger tight to secure the fixture to the

support and then, using your wrench, tighten it 1-2 additional turns. You should repeat this

process with the clamp bolt. You can also use your wrench to snug the pan bolt but don’t

over tighten pan bolts as they can break. Now, unwrap the power cable (also called a tail) and

let it dangle from the fixture.

Working with Gels

Gels come in two different types: Plastic gel sheets and glass or plastic roundels. Roundels

are rarely used and, when they are, their use is for old-style striplights or small birdies

designed for DJs. Due to this limited utility, they will not be discussed further. Standard

plastic gels can be used with any type of conventional light and come in three different

forms.

1. Precut gels for standard PAR can sizes are available in commonly used colors. For

example 9”x9” sheets are widely available for PAR64s. Perforated sheets for the

popular ETC Source 4 fixtures are also available from the gel manufacturer Apollo.

2. 20” by 24” gel sheets are available in any of the hundreds of available colors and are

then cut to the correct size for your lights. Usually one sheet can produce several

individual gels.

3. 24” by 20’ rolls are available in any of the colors gel sheets are available in for those

who need a large amount of a particular color.

The lighting designer will use a swatch book of all the different colors to choose which ones

they want to use and the technician supervisor will acquire any that are not kept in stock.

Once they are cut, gels are generally stored in file folders and when they need to be used they

are placed in a gel frame which is slid into the gel frame holder of a light and usually secured

in place by a latch. Gels are designed to withstand the incredible heat put off by modern

lights. However, with use, they will eventually burn or discolor and need to be replaced. As a

technician, you should report damaged gels to the technician supervisor. Gels do not have to

be a color. There are also misty gels and diffuser gels. These will be discussed more if you

choose to pursue lighting designer training. However, for lighting technicians, these types of

gels can and should be treated the same way as normal colored gels. When cutting gels from

a larger sheet, you should always label them with a silver Sharpie on dark gels or a black

Sharpie on light gels so that in the future everybody knows what color they are. You can also

use a special pen designed for labeling gels. In the corner of the gel write the first letter of the

name of the manufacturer followed by the color number of the gel.

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Reading Design Sheets

As a lighting technician, you will be tasked with carrying out the instructions for light

configuration created by the lighting designer and technician supervisor. They will usually

convey these instructions to you in the form of a design sheet and lighting plot. A design

sheet will list in columns the light type, its channel on the board, color, any gobos it may

have, shuttering (if applicable), focus (if applicable), which light bar or stand it is on, which

light it is from audience’s left to right on the bar or stand (in the case of vertical supports the

number is top to bottom), and any notes the designer might have. This information is often

represented in the form of a diagram with the following common symbols to represent light

types. There are also many model specific symbols for different conventional and intelligent

fixtures.

Fresnel Ellipsoidal PAR Can

When hanging a light using this sheet, the light is not pointed in the direction it will be when

the process is done. Aiming information has to come from the lighting plot. A lighting plot

shows a diagram of the stage with shapes to denote the areas a particular light shine onto as

well as which light shines there. To aim the light, a technician just turns on the light via a

RFU (Remote Focus Units are discussed in depth in the LT3 training) or requests that the

light board operator or technician supervisor turn it on, and then they aim the light and shape

its beam until it matches the drawing. This is what a very simple lighting plot often called a

magic sheet looks like. Note that some areas have multiple lights on them but with different

colors or direction of origin.

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Congratulations you have completed the reading for the Lighting Technician 1 level of

training. You should now ask your instructor any questions you have and insure you get

some hands-on time with some of the equipment discussed in this chapter to reinforce the

knowledge you learned.

Assessment

Please answer all questions to the best of your ability.

Safety

List 4 things that every technician should be wearing and indicate when they must be worn.

8pts

1)

2)

3)

4)

How should tools be handled when above 5 feet? 2pts

What are the safety rules regarding extension cords? 2pts

Please describe what a safety cable is and how it is used. 2pts

Lighting Unit Types and Basic Lighting Hardware

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Please list the 5 types of lighting instruments discussed in this chapter. Choose 3 to diagram

how light beams travel through them. 11pts

Please describe how you would adjust focus in the types of lighting instruments that offer

control over that aspect of their beam. 1pt

Please create a labeled drawing of the piece of hardware used to attach a light to a lighting

bar. 2pts

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Please describe the following pieces of lighting hardware. 5pts

Gel frame

Top hat

Side arm

Donut

Barn doors

Hanging a Light

Please describe the process of hanging a lighting instrument. 10pts

Working with Gels

P a g e | 21

Please list the 3 formats gels come in. 3pts

1)

2)

3)

Please describe how you would label a gel that you just cut. 2pts

Reading Design Sheets

Please name and describe the functions of the two types of plots that you will be using. 6pts

Please label the type of lights these symbols represent. 4pts

P a g e | 22

Lighting Technician 2

Prerequisites

LT1

Level Contents

Electrical safety

Dimmer pack use

Cabling and plugs

Changing bulbs

Working with gobos

Content

Electrical Safety

In this level you will begin to work with cabling and other pieces of equipment involving

electricity. The amount of electricity powering lights, dimmers, and other equipment is

enough to kill you so it is extremely important that you take precautions when working with

it.

If any connection looks loose, frayed, or is taped, do not use it until you have

consulted the technician supervisor and they have given you the go-ahead.

Never plug or unplug cables from live dimmers.

Do not attempt to change the bulb or adjust any internal part of a light which is

plugged in.

Alert any other crew members who are working in the same facility as you before

beginning to work and keep them aware of which lights you will be working with so

they don’t accidentally turn lights on that you are working with.

Dimmer Pack Use

Modern lighting boards to not offer direct control over lights. Instead they communicate the

desired light intensity for each unit to a piece of equipment called a dimmer pack using a

digital format called DMX. DMX signals are carried over 5 pin DMX cable or 3 pin XLR

cables. Each cable can control 512 channels so units are daisy-chained together. Each

channel can be any value between 0 and 256 at any given time. Dimmer packs interpret the

DMX signal they receive and dim lights individually or in groups if more than one fixture is

connected to a single dimmer. Dimmer packs can usually control between 4 and 12 channels

each and in installations are installed in racks with cables for each channel running through

the facility. In smaller temporary installations and touring applications, dimmer packs are

P a g e | 23

either in small rolling racks or sometimes small 4-6 channel dimmers packs are mounted with

the lights. Because DMX cables carry 512 channels of information but each dimmer pack

only uses a few of the channels, dimmers have a system for addressing them. Technicians

enter their starting number, the first channel they should read information off of, using either

a screen and buttons or binary dip switches. You should look in the useful information

section at the end of this book for a chart on how to use dip switches.

Cabling and Plugs

There are three types of plugs used to connect a light to a dimmer. Stage pins are the most

frequently used and probably what you have in your theatre, Twist-locks are most commonly

used in touring applications, and Edison plugs are usually used in very small touring

applications, usually with the small dimmer packs mounted with the lights. Edison plugs are

also used when the light must plug directly into a conventional wall outlet.

This is a rack-mount 12-

channel dimmer pack made by

ETC.

This is a 4-channel dimmer

pack made by NSI.

This is a pair of male and

female stage pin connectors.

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Large dimmer packs in touring applications use multi-pin cables such as Socapex to carry

power for multiple lights to the desired location in the rig.

With many lights on a bar, it is inevitable that there will be a lot of cables running back

and forth. For safety reasons you should follow these guidelines in cable management.

This is a pair of male and

female twist-lock connectors.

This is a pair of male and

female Edison plugs.

This is a pair of male and

female 5-pin XLR connectors.

This is a pair of male and

female 3-pin XLR connectors.

P a g e | 25

After all the units on the pipe are plugged in, you can neaten up the cabling and tie it all

up. The best way to do this is as follows:

1. Use black theatrical string and tie a standard single-knot bow tie.

2. Tie the cable straight along the pipe from its source to where the unit is.

3. If there's excess cable, fold it once along the pipe and back and then tie it along;

do not to loop it.

4. Tie the final connector just above the unit, or close to it. Never tie the unit's cord

itself to the pipe.

5. Make sure that your ties give slack where connections are made, rather than

stretching them apart.

You may also want to use masking or gaffer’s tape and a sharpie to label both ends of cables

for easier troubleshooting with long cable runs.

Changing Bulbs

General rules:

a) Never touch the quartz glass envelope of a bulb with your bare fingers. If you

accidentally do, wipe it off with a soft cloth.

b) Make sure the power's off before replacing a lamp. The best way to do this is to

unplug it yourself.

c) It's sometimes not the lamp that's bad, so it's always a good policy to treat the bulb

you're taking out as good unless it's visibly broken.

Since the methods for bulb replacement vary greatly by the type and model of fixture, you

should consult the unit’s manual or ask someone who is familiar with it before replacing the

bulb. You will find that that once you have done it a few times with different units, it isn’t

difficult to do it on other fixures.

Working with Gobos

Gobos, which are sometimes called templates, are circular metal or glass images which can

be projected using an ellipsoidal lighting instrument. The lighting designer will choose the

ones they wish to use from a catalog or have them custom made and the technician

supervisor will acquire them so you just have to slide them into the lights that they are

supposed to go into. Due to the manner in which light goes through an ellipsoidal unit, gobos

must be placed upside-down and backwards to come out correctly on the projection surface.

To install the gobo in a unit, just slide the gobo into a gobo holder and insert that into the

gobo slot of an ellipsoidal unit. Location of the gobo slot varies by model, but they are

usually just in front of the top shutter. Donuts, which were mentioned in LT1 are often

inserted into the gel slot of a lighting unit when using gobos to increase the clarity and focus

of the projected image. For more advanced effects, gobos can be used in rotators, indexers,

and other advanced lighting effects units which will be discussed in the LT3 level of training.

P a g e | 26

Congratulations you have completed the reading for the Lighting Technician 2 level of

training. You should now ask your instructor any questions you have and insure you get

some hands-on time with some of the equipment discussed in this chapter to reinforce the

knowledge you learned.

P a g e | 27

Assessment

Please answer all questions to the best of your ability. Fields inside of grey boxes are for your

instructor and should be left blank.

Electrical Safety

Name 2 things which might indicate that an electrical connection is damaged. 2pts

1)

2)

What should you do before beginning to work on lights? 4 pts

Dimmer Pack Use

List the three types of dimmer packs discussed in this level. 3pts

1)

2)

3)

For each of the following channel ranges please indicate what position the 9 dip switches on

a dimmer pack would be in. You may use an addressing chart. 12pts

1

28

84

123

416

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512

Cabling and Plugs

Name and draw the 3 types of power plugs. 12pts

Name and draw the two types of plugs used for digital lighting data. 6pts

Changing Bulbs

List a few basic guidelines for changing bulbs which do not apply to specific types of

lighting units. 4pts

Working with Gobos

Name the 2 types of gobos. 2pt

1)

P a g e | 29

2)

P a g e | 30

Lighting Technician 3

Prerequisites

LT1

LT2

Level Contents

Working with RFUs (Remote Focusing Units)

Simple rigging

Advanced lighting and effects units

Content

Working with RFUs

Up to this point in your progression through lighting technician training you have been

forced to rely upon a board operator or technician supervisor to turn lights on and off for you.

A RFU is a small wireless or wired device which allows you, the technician, to control the

intensity of lights from where the lights are hung without interfering with the programming

of the main show. RFUs, which are board dependant, communicate with the main lighting

board. Most major programmable light boards such as the ones used in many theatrical

facilities are able to be controlled via an optional wireless or wired RFU. The operation of

the RFU is dependent on the board model but is usually designed to mimic the data entry

function of the board itself. This usually means that you can enter the channel number(s) of

the light(s) you wish to activate followed by the intensity at which you would like them.

Many newer boards offer network connectivity and can be outfitted with an off-the-shelf

wireless router to allow a tablet computer or WiFi equipped PDA or smartphone to act as an

RFU.

Simple Rigging

This is an RFU made by ETC

for their Express lighting

boards.

P a g e | 31

There are some standard pieces of rigging hardware that you will encounter as a lighting

technician so it helps to know your way around them for when someone trained in rigging

isn’t available. In LT1, you were introduced to three pieces of basic lighting hardware: the C-

clamp, the side arm, and the safety cable. These are some of the most basic pieces of rigging

hardware. In this level you will be introduced to a few more advanced forms of rigging and

ground support equipment.

Trunions

Strip lights are often mounted with trunions at each end to serve as feet. These are just

triangular pieces which hold the unit off the ground. If the trunion is set up that way, it

sometimes can serve double duty as a way to hang the strip from a pipe if you attach C-

clamps to them. Alternatively, you can use an angle iron to do the same job (which is a lot

like a sidearm but attaches to the side of a striplight).

Boom Bases

Boom bases come in a variety of diameters and weights and can be used to support anything

from a single light in place of a C-clamp to a whole vertical column of lights on a heavy duty

iron pipe.

Scenery Bumper

Scenery bumpers are slightly flexible rings mounted to a C-clamp. Technicians often use

these when light bars that can be raised and lowered run the risk of interfering with or

damaging curtains or suspended scenery above the stage.

Sand Bags

This is a single wheeled

trunion. Note the hole on the

bottom for a C-clamp.

This is a small 10” 6 lb boom

base for a single light.

This is a metal scenery

bumper made by Altman.

P a g e | 32

Sand bags are cloth sacks with a handle which are filled with sand and placed on the base of

large boom bases and other stands to prevent them from tipping. Sand bags range in weight

from 10 lb to 50 lb.

Weighted Base Stand

These stands are usually 50 lb boom bases with a five to ten foot pipe screwed into them.

Lights can be attached to them for placement in temporary locations such as side stage.

Special caution must be used with them because you can’t use a safety cable for the lights.

T-Stand

These stands are most commonly used in small touring and temporary applications. A T-

stand is a small cross bar for lights attached to the top of either a tripod stand or a crank-up

stand. These stands can hold four lights on the bottom of the cross bar and sometimes another

two lights on the top. Often they have bolts on the bottom to be used in place of C-clamps for

permanent storage and transportation of groups of four lights.

Advanced Lighting and Effects Units

There are times when your lighting designer will need to create effects with light which

cannot be achieved with conventional lights. These various pieces of equipment which either

P a g e | 33

modify a conventional unit or stand alone are gaining increasing acceptance in the theatrical

community and so it is likely you will have the opportunity to work with them at some point.

Color Scrollers

Color scrollers use scrolls of attached gels to change the color of a light on the fly. This

allows one light to have multiple colors at different points in a production or to create

dynamic color change in one scene. One caveat to scrollers is the crinkling sound they can

make when changing color.

Gobo Rotators

Gobo rotators create unique effects by spinning gobos. Most units either spin one gobo or

two gobos in opposite directions. Gobo rotators are connected to a standard plug on the

dimmers.

Gobo Indexer

Gobo indexers allow the light board operator to control the exact angle that the gobo is at via

DMX.

Gobo Animator

Gobo animators spin a patterned disc in front of the unit to create more random looking

moving patterns in conjunction with a gobo than can be achieved with a gobo rotator.

Different patterns on the disc can create different effects.

This is a common scroller

made for use with ellipsoidals.

This is a Rosco single gobo

rotator that fits in most

common ellipsoidals such as

the ETC Source Four.

This is a gobo indexer that fits

in most common ellipsoidals

such as the ETC Source Four.

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DMX Iris

DMX controllable irises allow light beam sizes to be dynamically adjusted which permits a

light to serve multiple roles in one show or to create special effects.

LED PARs

LED PAR cans can be used the same way a conventional PAR can would be but they can be

many colors. These units come in many different forms from small to large and in strip

lights. This offers some of the flexibility of scrollers but silently.

Moving Head Lights

Moving head lights are the most advanced types of lighting units available. These lights

frequently have double gobo rotators, gobo changers, color mixers, irises, remotely

adjustable focus, and many other effects built in and they can point anywhere. Although in

the past these have mainly been used in non-theatrical applications, they are increasingly

gaining acceptance. Due to the complexity of using these units they will not be discussed

further in this curriculum although they are covered in depth in our Intelligent Lighting

curriculum.

This is a Rosco gobo animator

that fits in most common

ellipsoidals’ gel frame slots

via an adapter.

P a g e | 35

This is a common model based off of a popular type of ellipsoidal which includes many of

the features listed above.

Fog Machines

Fog machines are used to create effects in and of themselves and for the purpose of making

beams of light visible. They vary greatly in size and fog production but all are used

essentially the same way. Many larger and heavier units use flexible hosing to carry the fog

to where it is needed.

Hazers

Hazers are similar to fog machines except that hazers produce haze which is barely visible

but still makes light beams visible.

This is an advanced moving

light called the ETC Source

Four Revolution. It includes

many of the common moving

light features and can be

upgraded via accessory slots

to have more features such as

remote controllable shutters.

It is based off of the common

ETC Source Four ellipsoidal.

This is a powerful high output

fogger made by Rosco.

P a g e | 36

Congratulations you have completed the reading for the Lighting Technician 3 level of

training. You should now ask your instructor any questions you have and insure you get

some hands-on time with some of the equipment discussed in this chapter to reinforce the

knowledge you learned.

Assessment

Please answer all questions to the best of your ability. Fields inside of grey boxes are for your

instructor and should be left blank.

RFUs

What are RFUs used for? 4pts

What does RFU stand for? 2pts

Simple Rigging

Name and describe the purpose of each of the following pieces of hardware. 21pts

This is a high output hazer

made by Rosco.

P a g e | 37

P a g e | 38

Advanced Lighting and Effects Units

Name each of the following pieces of equipment. 16pts

P a g e | 39

What is the difference between a fog machine and a hazer? 2pts

P a g e | 40

Lighting Designer 1

Prerequisites

LT1

LT2

Level Contents

Functions of stage lighting

Qualities of light

Reflection

Effects of differing lighting angles

Color mixing

Content

A good lighting designer can make a huge difference in the success of a show’s set which in

turn makes a huge difference in the success of the show itself. The principals of lighting

design can be taught but only diligent practice, real world experience, and a good mentor will

create an excellent lighting designer. The creative perspective, organization, ability to work

with the other members of a show, and the raw talent required to be a great lighting designer

are found in very few people but when they are their shows are an experience that won’t soon

be forgotten. The director is responsible for choosing a lighting designer for their show and

once hired the lighting designer reports directly to them under most circumstances although

there may be a technical director in-between on large productions. The lighting designer is

responsible for attending rehearsals to understand the feel of the show, working with set,

costume, makeup, and sound personal to create a unified experience, creating lighting plots

along with the technician supervisor, and working with the director to achieve your joint

creative vision for the production. The following sections will teach you the basic theory

involved in lighting design and LD2 will give you some hands on lighting design experience

but you will still need to spend many years working in the field before you will be a great

lighting designer.

Functions of Stage Lighting

1. Visibility: If the audience can't see the actors, everything else the lighting designer

does is a waste of time. Studies have shown that visibility affects our ability to

understand spoken speech. This doesn't mean that the audience must see everything

all of the time; a German director named Max Reinhardt once said that, "The art of

P a g e | 41

lighting the stage consists of putting light where you want it and taking it away from

where you don't want it."

2. Mood: (or "atmosphere") "Mood" is the evocation in the audience of the appropriate

emotion. Many designers mistakenly err in paying attention to mood to the point

where visibility is sacrificed.

3. Composition: The act of painting a picture, in this case, with light.

4. Plausibility: Sometimes called "realism", but that's not always accurate, since not all

plays – and certainly very few ballets, modern dance pieces, and operas – are

realistic. It's the same quality that Stephen Colbert refers to as "truthiness".

5. Reinforcement: What are we reinforcing? Everything.

o We reinforce the playwright's text: In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Puck has

the line, "And yonder shines Aurora's harbinger," meaning the dawn. The

lighting designer can reinforce this by providing the first rays of dawn.

o We reinforce the work or the set and costume designers:

We might use colors that flatter or complement those used by our

colleagues.

If the sets and/or costumes are sculpted and lush, we might light them

so as to highlight their 3-dimensionality.

6. Revelation of Form: Decide on the level of 3-dimensionality you want the audience to

see. In some productions, you might want a "flat" look; in others – particularly in

dance – you might want a more sculpted look.

7. Punctuation: The blackout at the end of a climactic musical number! The slow fade to

black....

Qualities of Light

1. Intensity: How bright it is

2. Distribution: Where light is and where it isn’t, related to intensity

3. Angle: Discussed in later section of this level

4. Color

5. Change and movement: When any of the other qualities of light change

6. Visual quality of the light field: (diffuse, soft edged, or even and hard, with or without

a clear outline)

7. External look: Beams cutting through fog filled air

8. Pattern: Gobos etc

Reflection

It is important to understand how light reflects of different surfaces as this will inform your

decisions on how to light various set elements. Obviously darker surfaces absorb more light

than lighter surfaces and matter surfaces absorb more light then shiny surfaces. When

reflection is going on, there are 4 types.

1. Specular Reflection changes the direction of a beam of light without otherwise

appreciably altering the nature of beam. A mirror is a specular reflector.

P a g e | 42

2. Diffuse Reflection occurs when the beam of light is completely dispersed. The light

bounces off the reflector in all directions. Example: flat paint.

3. Spread Reflection is similar to diffuse reflection, except that a greater percentage of

the light is reflected along the angle of reflection than along any other line. Example:

crumpled-up aluminum foil.

4. Mixed Reflection is a mixture of diffuse and specular reflections. Examples: a

doorknob / shiny wood floor /gold watch

Effects of Differing Lighting Angles

The angle from which an actor is lit will affect what parts of their body and face can be seen

as well as the dramatic and emotional implications of the moment. The vast assortment of

P a g e | 43

lights available to the modern lighting designer makes it possible to light actors in any way

which suits the moment.

EVEN LIGHT

From two angles in front and backlight

TOP LIGHT

From directly above

UP LIGHT

From directly below (just in front of the actor)

BACK LIGHT

From directly above and behind

FRONT LIGHT

A single light source in front of the actor

SIDE LIGHT

From stage right

Color Mixing

Please refer to the color mixing section later in this curriculum for this section of LD1.

Congratulations you have completed the reading for the Lighting Designer 1 level of training.

You should now ask your instructor any questions you have and insure you get some

P a g e | 44

opportunities to experiment hands-on with some of the ideas discussed in this chapter to

reinforce the knowledge you learned.

Assessment

Please answer all questions to the best of your ability. Fields inside of grey boxes are for your

instructor and should be left blank.

Functions of Stage Lighting

Please list the seven functions of stage lighting with brief descriptions or examples for each.

21pts

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

P a g e | 45

7)

Qualities of Light

Please list the 8 qualities of light and provide a brief description or example for each. 16pts

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

P a g e | 46

6)

7)

8)

Reflection

Please list the 4 types of reflection and provide an example of what types of material one

might see them in. 8pt

1)

2)

3)

4)

P a g e | 47

Color Mixing

Please list the two sets of primary colors and what they are for. 12pts

Please list the two types of color mixing and describe them. 6pts

What are secondary colors? 2pts

What are complementary colors? 2pts

P a g e | 48

Lighting Designer 2

Prerequisites

LT1

LT2

LT3

LD1

Level Contents

Lighting plots and cue sheets

Movement

Working with advanced units

Hands-on project

Content

Lighting Plots and Cue Sheets

Way back in LT1 you learned how to read a lighting plot. As a lighting designer, it is your

responsibility to make these plots as well as cue sheets for the light board programmer. Being

able to read a cue sheet provides most of the necessary skills to create one. All you have to

do is sketch out where lights are located in the facility, consult with the technician supervisor

as to what channels are located where so you can indicate this on your sheet, and draw and

label the lights in such a way as to carry out your creative vision. While this is somewhat

easier said than done, it is on the whole a relatively simple process and with a little practice is

mostly painless. Some lighting designers cut a cardboard stencil for themselves which allows

them to quickly draw the symbols for the different types of lighting instruments on a plot and

more frequently, computer software is used by many lighting designers. The cue sheet lists

any and all lighting changes you want to happen during the show. This is from the time the

audience enters the theatre until the end of the curtain call. This sheet needs to indicate every

single time a light is turned on or off and if it fades how fast as well as what exact place in

the script this happens. The light board programmer will work with the operator to decide

how best to program the board to do this and then they will turn your cue sheet into a cue

sheet that they will use during the performance.

Movement

P a g e | 49

In LD1 change and movement were briefly mentioned as one of the qualities of light. Change

and movement are in fact two different words for the same thing. Basically, movement is any

time one of the other qualities of light (e.g. color, distribution, intensity, etc) changes during

a scene. When the qualities of light change during a blackout so that when the lights come up

again they are different that is not movement. However, when the lights are up and then they

dim, for example, that would be movement. Movement is used by lighting designers to

indicate change of scene or occasionally change of character state. For example, dimming

lights and added hues of blue might indicate that time has passed and it is now night or

streaks of red being added to the background might highlight the growing evil side of one of

the characters during a particular moment. When using moving lights or by cross fading

between lights, movement can literally be movement. One common example of movement is

when lights fade leaving only a spotlight illuminating a single part of the stage.

Working with Advanced Units

Modern lighting instruments and effects offer unprecedented flexibility to lighting designers.

Scrollers and LED PARs allow for the creation of movement during scenes without the need

for dozens of differently colored lights and the increasing affordability and availability of

devices such as fog machines and hazers allow lighting designers to access the 3rd

dimension

of a stage in ways they couldn’t readily just a few years ago. Of course, with these increasing

options, comes increasing knowledge required to effectively utilize these pieces of equipment

and increasing time and cost required to implement designer’s plans. Some units such as

scrollers will be used by the lighting technicians in the process of carrying out your designs

even if you didn’t originally indicate for them to do this, however for the most part it will fall

to the lighting designers to assess what equipment will be available to them and then decide

what of it they will want to implement and where. Units such as fog machines will usually be

operated and handled by stage crew so designers have to work with them on that but other

units will fall under the purview of the lighting technicians’ responsibilities.

LED PARs

LED PARs are often small enough that they can be integrated into elements of the set such as

a fireplace. They are used just like normal lighting units except that they take up 3-12 DMX

channels on the board. This may limit how many of them can be used with older control

boards.

Scrollers

The special gels scrolls used in scrollers will usually have to be specially ordered for a show

unless you want to limit yourself to the standard colors from stock Theatre or Rock-and-Roll

color scrolls. This means that the technician supervisor will need plenty of advanced warning

P a g e | 50

about what colors you wish to use in the scrollers and you will not be able to change your

mind after the fact.

Gobo Rotators, Indexers, and Animators

When these are available they can be used with normal gobos with little advanced notice so

these are usually easy to implement.

Moving Lights

As was mentioned in LT3 when moving lights were first discussed they are extremely

complicated. Additional study and training will be required before you will know enough to

effectively design for them. Even then, many facilities do not have access to them or the

special light boards required for their operation.

Practicals

Practicals are elements of a set such as a table lamp which are actually operational. Using

adapters and creative collaboration between lighting, set, and props personnel these are

something which is available to any production. They are a powerful tool in lending

credibility to a set and supplementing the conventional theatre lighting in a scene.

Hand On Project

Before you are ready to go out on your own and design lights, it is important that you receive

a structured opportunity to design lights for a show and receive instructor feedback and

guidance.

The Project

You should work in pairs to design a light show. This can be set to music if desired or it can

be in partnership with actors or dancers who will perform as part of it. This is very open-

ended however the one main guideline is that there must be no talking by anybody during the

performance. The goal of this project is not to build a lighting scheme around a show but

rather a show around a lighting scheme. One possibility for this project is to choose a book or

short story and create a lighting show which represents a particular character throughout the

story. The whole performance should be between four and eight minutes long and serve as a

demonstration of your best skills and creativity. For this show you will be responsible for

serving as your own lighting technician although you are permitted to receive technical

assistance from your classmates.

Assessment

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For this certification level your hands on project will serve as your assessment. Your

instructor will gauge whether they think that you have mastered the content from LT1-3 and

LD1-2 and if they feel this is the case they will award you your certification. It should be

expected that it may require more than one attempt to successfully complete this task so it

should be thought of as a learning experience not as a test.

P a g e | 52

Light Board Theory

Prerequisites

LT1

LT2

LT3

Level Contents

Role of a light board

Types of light boards

Using DMX

Content

Throughout your training up until this point you have worked with lighting instruments,

advanced lighting units, and dimmers but have yet to touch one of the most crucial elements

of a lighting system: the light board. This level will introduce you to the basic ideas involved

with light boards and their operation. In future levels you will work with your instructor to

learn how to operate and program specific models of light board but with skills which can

carry over to any model.

Role of a Light Board

A light board’s job is to provide a way to control the lighting instruments and other

equipment used in the lighting system. Lighting boards provide varying methods depending

on the complexity and size of the unit for controlling dimmers and advanced lighting units.

All lighting boards except the simplest testing units offer a means to adjust settings of units

without actually affecting what the audience sees and many offer a system to store multiple

snap-shots of scenes which can then be selected when they are needed. This is needed in

anything but the smallest lighting systems due to the difficulty of trying to manually set the

intensity for dozens if not hundreds of individual lights for every scene.

Types of Light Boards

There are three main ways that light boards are used. Many models offer not just one of these

methods, but some combination of two or all three. All lighting boards have a master fader

which allows all of the units to be controlled together as well as a blackout button which

quickly blacks out all of the lights and then can be pressed again to bring them back.

P a g e | 53

Two-Scene

Two-scene lighting boards are essentially two separate light boards with a cross-fader to

control which one is being seen. The operator manually sets up the next scene on the inactive

piece of the board and then switches to that scene and repeats the process. This type of board

is usually reserved for lighting systems with no more than twenty four lights and no

advanced lighting units. Most two-scene lighting boards can also be operated in wide mode

which uses both scenes as one to double the number of controllable channels but forces the

board to be operated entirely manually.

Submaster

Submasters allow multiple lighting units to be assigned to a single fader. This can either be

done via a keypad where the operator enters the channel numbers of the lighting units and

then records them to a submaster or via channel faders which are set and then recorded to a

submaster.

Memory Board

Memory boards are the most common in theatrical applications. They are programmed

before the show with every scene used in the show by using either a keypad or channel faders

to configure a scene and then record the scene to a memory. Memories can also be chases

which are multiple scenes which are cycled through at an adjustable rate. During the show

the operator presses a “Go” button to advance through the prerecorded memories. Many

memory boards also have submasters to facilitate convenient programming. They also

frequently have external monitors to allow the programmer to view all of the memories.

This is a common two-scene

light board called the ETC

SmartFade.

P a g e | 54

Using DMX

In LT2 you learned how to address a dimmer pack using the starting number. You also

learned that DMX has 512 channels each of which can be any value from 0 to 256 at any

time. When working with a standard lighting fixture connected to a dimmer, this number

represents the intensity of the unit: 0 meaning the light is off and 256 meaning the light is at

full intensity. When working with more advanced lighting units it represents whatever the

manufacturers wants it to represent. Although DMX accommodates 512 channels of data,

some lighting boards cannot control that many lights. Instead, the programmer soft patches

the lights to the boards. This tells the board which board channels correspond to which DMX

channels. Many boards allow multiple units to be patched to a single channel to allow smaller

boards to control larger systems when one does not need individual control over all of the

units.

Congratulations you have completed the reading for the Light Board Theory level of training.

You should now ask your instructor any questions you have to reinforce the knowledge you

learned.

Assessment

Please answer all questions to the best of your ability. Fields inside of grey boxes are for your

instructor and should be left blank.

Role of a Light Board

Please describe the role of light boards in your own words. 10pts

The ETC Express is one of the

most popular memory light

ever made and is found in

many school theatres.

P a g e | 55

Types of Light Boards

Please name and describe the three types of light boards. 15pts

Using DMX

How many channels does DMX have? 2pts

What is the range of values which each channel can represent? 2pts

Please describe what those values represent. 10pts

P a g e | 56

Light Board Operator 1

Prerequisites

LT1

LT2

LT3

LBT

Level Contents

Light board operator role in a production

Reading cue sheets

Inter-crew communications

Content

Role of the Light Board Operator in a Production

The job of the light board operator in a modern theatrical production is to handle all lighting

aspects of the show before, during, and after the actual performances. Before a performance

this usually means turning on the equipment, turning the lights on for several minutes to

allow them to warm up, reviewing all equipment to insure proper operation, and performing

any last minute fixes that might be required. During the show, the light board operator

follows along in the script and, when using a simple light board, manually controls the lights

for each scene or, when using a memory board, presses the “Go” button to advance through

the cue stack. They also remain in contact with the stage manager to insure that the show

runs smoothly. After the show, they reset any equipment which requires resetting before the

next performance and power down the lighting system. The light board operator, as is the

case with all members of the crew, should not leave until all members of the audience have

left the venue and they can turn the house lights off on their way out.

Reading Cue Sheets

During the pre-production phase of the show, the light board operator and the light board

programmer (although this can be the same person) work together to create a cue sheet. This

is a sheet which contains every cue the lighting board operator is expected to carry out during

the show. If a memory board is being used, every cue will correspond to a point in the script

and a memory on the board. If a simpler board is being used, every cue will correspond to a

point in the script and a set of levels for all of the channels or submasters on the board. When

P a g e | 57

using simple boards it can become tedious and confusing to write out all of the channels for

each cue so instead they a usually written out as a change. For example, instead of listing all

of the levels for all of the channels, it would just say “Ch15 to 90.” This indicates that all of

the channels will stay at the same level as they were in the previous cue except for channel

fifteen which will change to an intensity of ninety from whatever its previous state was. This

is called tracking and although most memory boards are non-tracking, some use this changes-

since-last-cue to record information. When using a memory board the information for each

cue on a cue sheet is minimal so it is common to just write the cues directly in script that the

light board operator will use. That way, the operator just follows the script as the actors talk

and when they reach a mark in their script they just press “Go”. As one can see, the job of the

light board operator is greatly simplified by the use of a memory board which is the reason

they are used in most theatrical productions.

Inter-crew Communication

As was mentioned earlier in this section, the light board operator’s responsibilities involve

communicating with other members of the crew. They must works closely before the show

with the light board programmer to insure smooth translation of the programmer and

designer’s intentions into the actual performance and during the show they must

communicate with back stage crew via intercom to insure that the lights match the actors. For

example, sometimes an actor gets stalled back stage and is not able to get out on stage to

begin a scene as quickly as usual. Good communications between the light board operator

and the stage manager insures that this is nothing more than a minor delay. Without good

communications, the lights could come up on a stage with nobody who is ready to perform

on it.

Congratulations you have completed the reading for the Light Board Operator 1 level of

training. You should now ask your instructor any questions you have and insure you get

some hands-on time with some of the equipment discussed in this chapter to reinforce the

knowledge you learned.

Assessment

As is the case with several other more advanced levels of training, the assessment for LBO1

is somewhat different than normal. In the past you have taken a written assessment to gauge

you knowledge and skill retention for the level but as you advance in your training it

becomes impossible to accurately assess your mastery of skills which require practice to

gain. For this assessment, you will start by working with your instructor on the particular

lighting board you are learning on. Throughout this process, it will be your instructor’s job to

judge your mastery of the skills involved with its operation. To complete this certification

P a g e | 58

level, you must show your proficiency in light board operation by running the light board for

at least one scene of a theatrical performance under the supervision of your instructor. Your

instructor will help you find an opportunity to do this or he/she will work with actors to

create one for you. Successful completion of your assigned scene will earn you your

certification.

P a g e | 59

Light Board Programmer 1

Prerequisites

LT1

LT2

LT3

LBT

LBO1

LD1

Level Contents

Role of light board programmer

Memories

Memory Types

Submasters

Programming Considerations

Content

Due to the fact that light board programmers aren’t used when a venue has a 2 scene board

since these boards cannot be programmed and since memory boards are used in most

facilities, this chapter will only address the issues involved with working with a memory type

lighting board which has submasters.

Role of Light Board Programmer

The role of the light board programmer is to work with the light board operator (the

programmer and operator are frequently the same person), the technician supervisor, and the

lighting designer to choose the optimal way to program each scene to allow for convenience

to the operator, working within the equipment restraints such as light board channel output

counts, and meeting the design requirements for movement as set out by the lighting

designer. In smaller venues this can sometimes call for creative soft patching work-arounds

to deal with limited channel output counts and a general flexibility and perseverance that

many of the other technical roles in a theatrical production do not require. Light board

programmers are responsible for creating their show based on the lighting plots and cue

sheets given to them by the designer and the technician supervisor and they are responsible

for creating the cue sheet the light board operator will use during the actual performances.

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Memories

As you learned in LBT, a memory board contains a cue stack which is comprised of a

sequential list of memories. All memories have a number which is more than the prior

memory and less than the next memory and usually can contain decimals to allow for

memory insertion after the cue stack has been programmed, a fade in and fade out time, a

hold time, and a trigger variable. Many more advanced boards also allow text names for

memories to be entered with an external keyboard. The fade in and fade out times are how

long it takes for all of the values to fade to full or to fade to zero. These are set by the

programmer and are frequently zero. The fade in starts when the memory is triggered and the

fade out time starts when either the next memory is triggered or the hold time is met. The

hold time is how long the memory will stay active. The hold time is usually set to infinite so

the memory is active until the next one is triggered. When a hold time is used, advancing to

the next memory overrides the hold time and ends the cue even if the hold time has not yet

been met. A trigger variable tells the board what activates the memory. Trigger variable

options are usually “Go” which is when the “Go” button is pressed on the previous memory,

“Timed” which is a set amount of time past the end of the hold time of the previous cue (in

most cases the board will not advance if the previous cue’s hold time is set to infinite

however some boards have the timed cues set to start from the beginning of the previous cue

in which case it will override a hold time which is not met), and “External” which allows

some external source such as a foot switch or remote to be used to activate the “Go” button.

This can be useful when a light board operator must also operate other equipment such as a

sound board. It should be noted that most boards to not allow the “Go” button to be used to

advance a memory if the memory is set to “External” or visa-versa however some board let

the two be interchangeable and don’t require cues to be programmed for one-or-the-other.

Memory Types

One crucial element of a memory which was omitted from the section you just read on

memories is the memory contents. The contents of a memory can either be a scene or a

chase. A scene is a single set of DMX values for all of the board’s channels. This is the most

commonly used type of memory. Chases are a set of scenes (called steps in a chase) (usually

between 2 and 99) along with settings pertaining to the chase. Chases are programmed like a

mini cue stack within a memory and include information on playback direction, playback

method, playback speed, and movement. The playback direction setting allow the

programmer to indicate whether a chase will be played from first step to last in a loop, visa-

versa, or back and forth. The playback method allow the programmer to choose whether the

chase will be advanced manually using a special “Go” button for advancing scenes within a

chase, automatically based off of the playback speed control, or at a semi-randomly varying

speed. Some boards also offer an audio input to connect the board to a sound system so that

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chases can be synced to the beat of music being played. Playback speed is set using either a

speed dial or an entered setting. When many chases are being used in a show which all

require different playback speeds, it is necessary to set their individual playback speeds as

part of their chase. When one is using only a few chases in the course of a show it is possible

to manually control their speed using a dial on the board. This requires that the lighting

operator manually adjust the speed for the chase between their playbacks. The movement

setting controls whether the steps of the chase will be moved between sharply, with a fade in

or out, or as a cross-fade between the steps. The speed of fades is dependent on the playback

speed of the chase. Regardless of the type of memory being used, each scene or step is

programmed by configuring the lights as desired using either channel faders or a keypad and

recording the scene to a memory or step.

Submasters

Submasters play two roles in a memory board: Assisting with programming and assisting

with improvisational playback. When working with large and complicated lighting systems,

it can become tedious and confusing to manually set every single light for every single scene

especially since most light are in groups and are never configured out of those groups in a

given show. This is where submasters come in. A scene can be manually set and recorded to

a submaster in the same way as a memory. Submasters can be configured with commonly

used groups of lights for convenient programming. Submasters are also used in simpler

shows, especially when little time is offered for preparation. Submasters can be configured

with commonly used scenes, part of scenes, or even chases. Then the lighting board operator

simply activates the submasters as needed during the show instead of advancing through a

cue stack.

Programming Considerations

This section will be very short. In fact, it includes only one key piece of advice to any

lighting board programmer: Back up your shows. Most lighting boards store their settings

and shows in low-power volatile flash memory. What this means is that even when the board

it off it still draws a small amount of power from the outlet to power its memory. If it is not

plugged in as is often the case with light boards which are not being actively used, it uses a

small watch battery installed in the factory to power the memory. After a couple of years, this

battery can run out of electricity and you will lose all of your hard programming work every

time you unplug the board. For this reason it is vital to back up your shows. All modern

memory boards offer a floppy drive, a USB port, or a memory card slot for back up. You

should use them under all circumstances unless you don’t need the work you’ve done since

your last back up to be there when you come back. Many programmers use an individual

floppy disk/memory card/etc for each show they are working on so they can easily find the

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show the need and have it for reference in the future. You instructor will show you how to

back up shows on the specific board you are being trained on.

Congratulations you have completed the reading for the Light Board Programmer 1 level of

training. You should now ask your instructor any questions you have and insure you get

substantial hands-on time with some of the equipment discussed in this chapter to reinforce

the knowledge you learned.

Assessment

Please answer all questions to the best of your ability. Fields inside of grey boxes are for your

instructor and should be left blank.

Role of Light Board Programmer

Please briefly describe the role of the light board programmer in a modern theatrical

production. 4pts

Memories

Please name and describe all of the common settings for a memory. 20pts

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Name one memory setting which is more common on more advanced lighting boards. 2pts

Memory Types

There are two types of memories. One is called a chase. What is the other one? 2pts

What is the difference between the two types of memories? 10pts

Name and describe the four common settings which affect a chase. 16pts

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Submasters

Please name and describe the two uses of submasters. 8pts

Hands on Project

In LBO1 you participated in a hands on project/assessment as the end of the section. For this

assessment, you will start by working with your instructor on the particular lighting board

you are learning on. Throughout this process, it will be your instructor’s job to judge your

mastery of the skills involved with its operation. To complete this certification level, you

must show your proficiency in light board programming by programming the light board for

at least one scene of a theatrical performance under the supervision of your instructor. Your

instructor will help you find an opportunity to do this or he/she will work with actors to

create one for you. You instructor will work with you to insure successful completion of this

project and, assuming you completed the written assessment satisfactorily, this will earn you

your certification.

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Technician Supervisor

Prerequisites

LT1

LT2

LT3

LBT

LBO1

LBP1

LD1

RT

A First Aid/CPR class within the last year. Many technicians who will be supervising larger

rigging and lighting operations choose to pursue the training required to attain a First

Responder certification.

Extensive experience working in the lighting field.

Level Contents

A note on the position of technician supervisor

Responsibilities of a technician supervisor

Safety

Equipment management

Crew management

Technician paperwork

Content

A Note on the Position of Technician Supervisor

The role of the technician supervisor is not an easy one and it should not be assumed that this

level of training should or can be part of many lighting technicians’ progression through

training. The technician supervisor is in charge of a work site when on duty and they have the

final decision on every aspect of what happens there. When it comes to the matters of safety

technician supervisors are faced with on a daily basis, a technician supervisor is expected to

have the final call over anybody else including the director of a show. However, with great

power comes great responsibility since the technician supervisor is responsible for the safety

of all of the people and equipment at a work site. When on duty, the technician supervisor is

expected to supervise not engage with the other workers. As hard as it can be sometimes, it is

the job of the technician supervisor to lay down the law because when they don’t things go

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wrong and in this field when things go wrong people die. The technician supervisor cannot

become distracted. Instead, they must constantly be checking on what every single technician

and bystander is doing and making split second judgments about the safety of everybody’s

actions. Even when they need to answer questions and make decisions they must be able to

continue to monitor their work site. If you have any doubts about your ability to take on this

responsibility stop now. In order to receive your certification you will need to consistently

prove your ability to monitor a worksite under the supervision of your instructor despite

various distractions. The technician supervisor certification is extremely difficult to earn and

will require perseverance and multiple failed certification attempts. Many find that they do

not even enjoy the position once they earn it. However, it needs to be done and, for those

who can step up to the plate, the position of technician supervisor can be incredibly

rewarding.

Responsibilities of a Technician Supervisor

In addition to the observational role of the technician supervisor you just read about, TSs

have many more administrative responsibilities.

Safety

TSs are responsible for carrying around the first aid kit for a work site and handling any

medical emergencies which is why first aid and CPR training is required for certification.

Equipment Management

The TS is responsible for working with the lighting designer to figure out what equipment

will be available for the show. They are also responsible for ordering gels, gobos, bulbs, and

consumables such as gaffers tape as needed and reserving equipment rentals. The TS is also

in charge of maintaining inventory and keeping track of what equipment it being used for

what, what equipment is not operational, and what equipment is being loaned out to or on

loan from another venue.

Crew Management

The TS is in charge of lighting and rigging crew members. TSs must keep track of when

different crew members are working, what each crew member’s specific responsibilities are,

and, if the production has a person in charge of payroll, the TS must report what hours were

worked by each crew member. For the actual show, if the light board operator cannot attend a

specific performance the TS must find a replacement. The TS also is responsible for hiring

all of the lighting and rigging crew in the first place. It should be noted that the lighting

designer is not considered a member of the lighting crew and is not under the supervision of

the TS but rather the production’s director.

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Technician Paperwork

The TS is entrusted with organizing and handling all lighting and rigging related paperwork.

They also work with lighting designers to create the paperwork in the first place.

Although the technician supervisor must work within the scheduling and other constraints set

by the director and the creative directives given by the lighting designer, they report to the

person who hired them. In most cases this is either a production’s producer or a facility’s

technical director or manager.

Safety

Unlike the safety sections throughout the rest of this curriculum, this one will not set out

guidelines and rules to be followed. By this point in your lighting career you know all of the

safety rules and your medical training has prepared you for when they aren’t followed.

Instead, this section will provide you with one simple rule to remember throughout the rest of

your lighting career: Use your judgment. If you receive the technician supervisor certification

it will be because your instructor feels that you have demonstrated good judgment throughout

your work. Since you have good judgment, use it. You know that using your cell phone when

you’re supposed to be watching a 2 ton piece of box truss loaded with moving lights and two

rigging technicians get hoisted 30’ up is not the right thing to do so let it go to voicemail. Use

your judgment and things usually won’t go wrong.

Equipment Management

As is the case with any type of management, you will need to develop your own equipment

management style but this is one that is popular. Create a spreadsheet with all of the pieces of

equipment that you have listed down the left hand side. For each piece of equipment the

sheet should indicate what category it is (e.g. light, dimmer, etc), what make and model it is,

what year it was purchased (you can put a date in the future if it is on order), what condition

it is in (e.g. working, needs new bulb, etc), what location it is in (e.g. first electric, second

catwalk, on loan to xyz theatre, light booth, etc), what its status is (e.g. inactive, used for xyz

show, reserved for xyz show, etc), and any notes that are relevant to that particular unit.

Consumables should be included on these sheets so you know when to order more although

many TSs choose not to include items like gobos and gels instead electing to keep them well

sorted and just check by hand to see what it needed. The lighting designer will provide a

sheet listing the manufacturer numbers and required quantities for all of the gels and gobos

needed for a show which you can just compare to your supply and order needed items.

Crew Management

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You already learned a little bit about crew management from earlier in this reading and

hopefully you have learned some crew management skills by watching your technician

supervisors in the past. One thing which cannot be stressed enough is the need for a balance

in your crew relations between friendship and respect. Everybody wants to be liked, TSs are

no exception, and it is important to be liked by your crew or else they may not listen to you

when it counts. However, it is above all else your job to keep things safe and efficient and

your friendship with, and need to be liked by, your crew cannot get in the way of your job.

Crew management is a slippery slope which will require practice to get down but with

practice, there is no reason why your crew can’t like you and still work under you. Just as a

good teacher can be liked by their students without sacrificing authority, a TS can be liked by

their crew and still be listened to when they need to make a tough call. An important thing to

consider is responsibility. It is imperative that you not micro-manage your crew. A good TS

lets technicians take responsibility for being a technician and make technician decisions and

reserves their authority of TS decisions.

Technician Paperwork

Throughout this curriculum and your work you have had to work with various documents

involved with the lighting process. As a TS it will be your job to keep track of these

documents. By all means make copies and distribute them liberally to relevant members of

the crew, in fact this can be an important part of crew management, but at the end of the day

it is your job to keep track of them and only your job. Organizational styles vary and you will

have to choose what works for you best. Accordion folders and three-ring binders are both

popular organizational tools but you should go to your local office supply store and decide

what is going to work best for you.

Normally the readings for the levels in this curriculum culminate with a statement

congratulating you on your completion of the level but this level will not. This reading is but

a fraction of the process of becoming a technician supervisor. Your instructor will now

supervise you during countless hours of real life technician supervising.

Assessment

When your instructor feels that you have demonstrated a consistent mastery of all of the

skills involved with being a technician supervisor they will grant you your certification. This

may take anywhere from 15-50 hours of hands on work and in some cases may take more.

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Color Mixing

There are two ways to mix colors in lighting:

1. Additive mixing happens when two or more differently-colored lights are aimed at

the same surface.

2. Subtractive mixing happens when a single light source shines through differently-

colored filters. Each filter allows certain colors to pass while blocking or absorbing

other colors.

In additive mixing, primary colors are those three colors which, when aimed at the same

place at the same intensity, theoretically form white light ("theoretically", because in

practice, this is limited by the imperfections of color filters and light sources). These colors

are red, green, and blue.

The secondary colors in additive mixing are those colors which can be created by evenly

mixing two primaries. These colors are:

Cyan (blue and green)

Magenta (blue and red)

Amber (red and green. Really.)

Additive Mixing Subtractive Mixing

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In subtractive mixing, the primary colors are those which can be created by evenly mixing

two secondaries, as shown in the drawing above. In the example on the right, a white light is

altered by inserting a cyan filter, which absorbs the red part of the spectrum and passes (or

"transmits") blue and green light. The resulting cyan light is then passed through a yellow

filter. This filter absorbs blue light, but transmits any red or green that may be present. Since

there is no red (because we've already blocked it with the cyan filter) all that is transmitted is

green.

Subtractive mixing is often found in automated fixtures. The act of inserting a color filter in

front of a light is a very simple form of subtractive mixing.

Complementary colors are those colors directly across from each other on the color wheel:

For example: yellow and blue are complementary to each other, as are green and magenta.

As you can see, the complementary of any primary color is the secondary color formed by

mixing the two remaining primaries.

Complementary colors, when combined additively on a neutral surface, form (in theory)

white light.

Complementary colors, when used adjacently, reinforce each other; each makes the other

appear to be more vibrant.

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Non complementary colors when used adjacently have the potential to be very subtle, usually

in an undesirable way.

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Useful Information

DMX Addressing Chart

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References

METTI would like to thank the following sources for providing the images used in this

curriculum:

Altman Lighting

Theatrecrafts.com

Stagelightingprimer.com

Stagelightingstore.com

Electronic Theater Controls Inc

Elation Lighting

NSI Leviton

Chauvet Lighting

Rosco International

Chris Mearing

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About METTI

METTI seeks to promote technical theatre education in middle and high schools as well as

colleges and universities. METTI provides a comprehensive framework for constructive

technical theatre education as well as a means of assessing and regulating the quality of

training programs. METTI embraces the importance of the technical aspects of theatre as

well as the artistic aspects of technical theatre and understands that working as part of the

tech crew provides a vital outlet for many students' creativity and energy as well as

facilitating their inclusion in the arts.

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Legal

All contents copyright © 2009 by the Modern Education Technical Theatre Initiative

(METTI). All rights reserved. No part of this document or any related files may be

reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or

otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The publisher has used its best efforts in preparing this curriculum, and the information

provided herein is provided "as is." Neither METTI nor Matthew Haber (hereto referenced as

The Author) makes any representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy or

completeness of the contents of this curriculum and specifically disclaims any implied

warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose and shall in no event be

liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to

special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

This curriculum identifies product names and services known to be trademarks, registered

trademarks, or service marks of their respective holders. They are used throughout this book

in an editorial fashion only. In addition, terms suspected of being trademarks, registered

trademarks, or service marks have been appropriately capitalized, although neither METTI

nor The Author can attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this

curriculum should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark, registered

trademark, or service mark. Neither METTI nor The Author is associated with any product or

vendor mentioned in this curriculum at the time of writing however there is no guarantee

written or implied that products or vendors mentioned herein will not become associated with

any or all of this curriculum’s publishers at a future time.

It is the sole responsibility of the instructors and students using this curriculum to objectively

evaluate its instruction and information and decide on a safe and effective course of

procedure in their lighting education and practice. Neither METTI nor The Author shall be

held liable in any event for damage to property or injury to self or others resulting from

misinformation gained through this curriculum.

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This is a publication of METTI Press: Part of the Modern Educational Technical Theatre

Initiative. For more information or to order or download additional copies please visit

www.METTI.org