Conventional Fixtures A "101' book on lighting

[Ted jones]

One of my coworkers and I were talking about a problem in our minds. When we turn over a new theater system to a teacher that may have little or no experience in the use of the equipment, it would be nice if there was a "101 book" for stage lighting.

I write manuals in how to use the rigging systems safely and how to do level one inspections. But using a rigging and drapery system is kind of site specific and comes out in the training session and questions posed afterward.

The discussion we were having was about the lighting. I often set the places for electrics and sight lines based on my idea of lighting for the space. Todd, my coworker, and I were talking about what happens when the teacher doesn't know basic lighting and why we put those backlighting positions there in the first place.

So, is there a publication, digital or paper, that is very basic and short that could help the English teacher that got pressured into the job? This publication should be for modern lights McCandless is great, but dated.

BTW- I'm not talking about lighting with intelligent lights, just fixed, possibly with color mixing.

Ted

 

[Amiers]

Good labeling and a cheat sheet goes along way even for the novice.

Are you worried about back lighting specifically or just everything in general?

A few days of shadowing anyone will familiarize them with the space and they should be good to learn more from there.

The MCandles might be dated but still works pretty well.

 

[derekleffew]

So, is there a publication, digital or paper, that is very basic and short that could help the English teacher that got pressured into the job?

Somewhat dated, but not bad, especially for free:
https://billwilliams.ca/resources/sld.htmhttps://billwilliams.ca/resources/sld.htm

Now if you're wanting to hand the teacher a "how to," I don't see that happening unless you write it yourself. Alternatively, "These are your lights. You can change colors and refocus, but don't rehang them. Bright for comedy, dark for tragedy; call it a day."

 

[Colin]

Perhaps an indexed compilation of photo references showing some looks achievable with the rig in question? Might be more effective for that target audience? Down to earth context rather than abstraction? Include the "formula" for achieving the look.

 

[JAC]

These need an update, but you might find something in them useful:

https://www.vls.com/lighting-101
https://www.vls.com/lighting-102