Automated Lighting: The Art and Science of Moving Light

April 15 is coming at us faster than we realize. It’s a good time to discuss one of the big bugaboos in the entertainment business:… Read More »Get Ready for the Tax Man

Another part that I deal with a lot [in teaching] is how to make the transition out of academic training into the professional industry. I… Read More »Book Learnin’

I chose a straight front truss with five wash lights, five hard-edge lights, some Molefay blinders for crowd lighting and six Lekos for front key… Read More »Separate But Equal

There are a few essentials in preparing for a programming session with a digital media server. For instance, the content should be organized ahead of… Read More »You Got Served

In order to fully understand the purpose of patching, you must have a notion of the basics for DMX communication. The automated lighting console outputs… Read More »DMX FYI

For smaller cables like XLR data cables, I teach my cable-rolling helpers to coil in about 7-inch circles using the over/under technique. The technique is… Read More »Roll Cables to Maximize Space

We can’t allow the quality of the show to suffer just because technology allows us to achieve certain things. Ultimately, in every case where lighting… Read More »Double Duty

I’ve noticed a downward trend in lighting techs over the last few years. When I was young and new, I was taught to respect the… Read More »Don’t Be Like That

I know many programmers who carry around a disk loaded with palettes or presets of their favorite color mix combinations. Some of these combinations are… Read More »Shake It Up