A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting, 2nd Edition

The Parameters

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cables, special c-clamps, just for starters. All things

that can break. You’ll need spare units (no matter

what anyone says, moving lights break—a lot). And

when moving lights are in the performance space,

you’ll need some amount of storage space somewhere

to store the travel cases, because they all need their

(not so) little homes when they’re not in the air.”

Then there’s the console; a basic decision is

whether to control the moving lights from a sepa-

rate console, or combine them with an existing con-

sole (which is also controlling conventional fixtures).

If there aren’t many movers, and the console has

programming hardware built-in (like encoders, for

starts), it might be possible to consider controlling

both fixture types on the one board.

Next, there’s time. If the existing console doesn’t

have the right additional hardware built-in to easily

control some number of movers, so much time may be

lost trying to inadequately program the movers that

they’re not worth the effort. The other half of that con-

sideration is the brain; that is, the programmer’s brain.

If both fixture types are in one console, then only one

fixture type will be able to be worked on at a time.

It’s impossible to program conventional lighting cues

at the same time as moving light cues. Only one sys-

tem can be addressed at a time. With two consoles and

two separate operators, both needs can be addressed

simultaneously: but now you’re back to having two

consoles and two operators, the potential headache to

combine the two once the show’s up and running.

There’s also the programming time; moving lights

are of no value unless time is built into the sched-

ule to pre-program and establish focus points, color

libraries, and template libraries. Without these basic

components, trying to quickly write moving lights

cues is like trying to write cues with conventional

lights without the plot being focused or colored. The

tools are not in place for the work to be efficiently

completed.

Which then takes us to the issue of labor and

skill. If moving lights are included as part of the light

plot, then there will need to be someone who knows

how to prep them, install them, replace them, pro-

gram them, trouble-shoot them, and maintain them.

(After a point, having moving lights in the plot is a

little like having kids in the cast.)

When it comes to moving lights, whether the

console is separate or combined with conventional

fixtures, any moving light programmer is going to be

a higher pay rate. Typical rates for good moving light

programmers are sometimes equal or greater than the

fees paid to lighting designers.

Now, just in case you think that getting a cheaper,

less experienced programmer is a potential solution,

the harsh specter of experience whispers from the back

row: fiasco. Renting moving lights without having a

competent programmer isn’t a solution, but a recipe

for disaster. When your new nervous programmer

jokingly admits that, due to his lack of program-

ming accuracy, his last lighting designer dubbed him

“Mittens,” it may be time to simplify the mover cues.

The moving light junkies, on the other hand, pooh-

pooh the nay-sayers; see how the movers can change

color, size, and focus? See how they can be used to

quickly sculpt a scene? And you know what? They’re

right. Moving lights are fantastic pieces of gear that

can become the additional character in the show. They

can exponentially expand the possibilities of the pro-

duction concept and the final product. They can make

a crummy script look like a million bucks (or, in most

cases, look like a really pretty crummy script).

While the flexibility of moving lights can be per-

ceived as the perfect solution for liquid theatre (and

in some cases they are), they must be carefully con-

sidered within the context of the surrounding param-

eters. If the money is built into the budget for them,

they can be lifesavers and, with budget, support, and

a programmer, make the lighting designer look like a

genius. More often than not, they just need money.

For now, any decision regarding movers in the plot

will be tabled. In order to make a clear decision, more

information has to be acquired; the labor questions

need some answers, the production schedule needs

to be more closely examined, and the remaining big-

picture parameters need to be examined. Is there

power to run them? What’s the venue? Is this a one-

off? A tour? By considering all of the parameters, the

lighting designer can make this major decision based

on fact, not just “gut instinct.”

Finally, one last thought regarding the topic of

budgets: While it may seem obvious, it’s worth remem-

bering that all monies spent for rental, perishables,

transportation, and labor, are all the financial respon-

sibility of the producer, not the lighting designer.

DEFINE THE COMMUNICATION

Understanding the parameters is wholly dependent on

exchanging information: asking questions and getting

answers, and typically doing it fast. Those exchanges

depend on the ability to communicate, and know-

ing how to get in touch with the folks who have the

answers. To that end, contact sheets, search engines,

email lists, and text messaging are now the primary

tools that accelerate that communication. Knowing

what questions need to be asked, and how to ask

them are important skills, but grasping whom to ask

the question from in order to quickly get that missing

piece of accurate information, is just as important.