Lighting technicians are involved with rigging and controlling electric lights for art and entertainment venues (theater or live music venues) or in video, television, or film production. In a theater production, lighting technicians work under the lighting designer and master electrician. In video, television, and film productions, lighting technicians work under the direction of the cinematographer and gaffer. In live music, lighting technicians work under the chief lighting technician, who reports to the production manager.
Lighting technicians are responsible for the movement and set up of various pieces of lighting equipment for visual effects. Lighting Technicians may also lay electrical cables, wire fixtures, install color effects or image patterns, focus the lights, and assist in creating effects or programming sequences.
Most lighting technician work is rigging rather than electrical based with modular units such as lamps and premade cables plugging into other modular units such as bigger premade cables and splitters using the standard IP44 splash or waterproof connectors. Changing bulbs while the modular unit lamps are completely unplugged from power sources and wiring modular cable based plugs and sockets in the same circumstance make the electrical part of a lighting technician's job safer than wiring a domestic light or socket in a home where the cable circuits are permanently connected through a trip switch board.
Rigging safety of cable runs and both overhead and stand based lamps is a much bigger concern than electrical safety. A lighting crew can consist of no qualified electricians when using the standard modular cables and lamps, and small location-based television crews have operated this way for 30 years since the 1980s (using standard 13amp 240v domestic circuits to power 2,000W "Blonde" lamps, 2,500W HMI lamps and smaller). Safety glass and safety mesh are very important on lamps in case of exploding bulbs. Bulbs do explode and their safety with a working crew or at a concert is based on how close they are rigged to people and not an electrical issue.
It's very important to use the correct gauge of electrical cable for the power carried in it. Cables will melt if too much power is pulled through too thin a cable. This is not a complicated skill and is easily learnt but very important. It's useful to have an electrician on a lighting team in order to patch power from permanent power distribution boards attached to the national grid and other more complicated electrical tasks. The rest of a lighting technician's work concerns safety of rigging and working with objects which can be very heavy and get very hot. Lamps are getting more efficient so can provide more light output at lower power levels and motion picture cameras are many times more sensitive than in earlier times so big electrical rigs are not so necessary anymore.
Temporary power distribution equipment for events is commonly of the “plug and play” variety which doesn’t require a degree in electrical engineering to connect a system together but it does a good understanding of electrical theory and safety.[1]
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Also called Set Lighting Technician, Lamp Operator, Electrician, Electric, Spark or a Juicer. The Lighting Technicians on a motion picture set handle all of the electrical needs as well as place and focus all of the lighting under the direction of the Gaffer (Chief Lighting Technician).
The lighting technician's duties include:
The film set electrical department hierarchy is as follows:
In live music performances, concerts, and other entertainment, stage lighting technicians (also called a lighting tech, lighting operator, "sparky", "lampy", or "techie") set up lighting and make effects for live performances and concerts.
Duties include:
The Stage lighting department hirearchy is as follows:
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