High School I want to be a stage or tv lighting technician, what courses should I take ?

[Qwertyqaz]

[-][/-]Hi guys,title says pretty much all but in currently 14 and going into year nine and my electives are drama and commerce (if that's any help) and I would like to become a a stage or tv lighting technician and I'm wondering if there's any specific classes to take o places to apply to get a portfolio going ? And after school any university courses to take or specific school to go to (I'm in Australia) and after that where to apply for work to get me into the business.

any help would be HUGELY appreciated
Thanks guys

 

[Aman121]

While I can't advise to much on courses, the best bit of advice I can give you is to stay on the booth! As a fellow HS student, I can say its definitly taught me allot about everything to do with this industry. So make sure you stop by the new member board and introduce yourself proper!

Another way to prep yourself is to try to take advantage of any opportunities outside of school that you can. Church needs slave labor board op for a show? Take the oppurtunity, you'll learn about a different branch of the industry and get your foot in the door for other jobs.

 

[derekleffew]

... I would like to become a a stage or tv lighting technician ...

Other Aussie members will need to chime in with specifics, but Getting a Job in the Industry - ControlBooth should apply to just about anywhere.

Work hard. Stay in school. Be safe. Don't do drugs.
.

 

[gafftaper]

I suggest two things
1) Find work doing anything you can. Paid or volunteer. Just get busy doing theater. Try small community theaters to see if they need volunteers. Or call a rental /sales shop and ask if they want someone to sweep their shop, make coffee, and coil cable. It doesn't matter what, just find a way to get in the door, then work hard and learn everything you can.
2) Take classes in history, art history, art, drawing, CAD, architecture, and computers /networking. All these skills will help you later.

 

[Qwertyqaz]

there is no local theaters near me but i have volunteered at my local radio station. im also taking buisness studies as one of my electives.
ill have to try to search for a theater in my area

 

[lukejoyner]

Hi qwertyqaz,

Remember it never hurts to knock on door either. You have all the major free to air networks in Sydney as well as Fox studios.

I can't recall the film studios down your way as I'm up in Brisbane. I know we have Warner brothers here on the Gold Coast.

chris15 may be of more help to you.

I echo to comments of the other user as well and volunteer your time. It's never too early to start networking. Even local amatuer theatre companies would be worth approaching.

Controlbooth is an excellent resource with many users with a lot of experience.

Also, try the Australasian lighting industry association - http://www.alia.com.au/forums/index.php

 

[Qwertyqaz]

yea i will have a try at fox..as much as i doubt they will accept any 14 year olds with no experience, i have a bit of a foot in the door due to the fact my mum works in the industry as a script supervisor at some shows on fox. ill ask her to recommend me

 

[NZM]

there is no local theaters near me but i have volunteered at my local radio station. im also taking buisness studies as one of my electives.
ill have to try to search for a theater in my area

I expect if you look hard enough you can find some

Find out where all the local dance schools put on their end of year performances. In my local area just north of Brisbane there must be more than a dozen dance schools and the majority of them use one of two local performance spaces. Naturally those performance spaces are used for many other events throughout the year.

I expect you will also find several community theatre companies. Again I can think of at least 4 in my area. These companies don't have their own theatres, but use venues such as the local council "Cultural Centre" or "Entertainment Centre". Some use venues like local churches or school performing arts centres.

My local city council has a "Cultural Centre" that is quite active throughut the year. They have their own team of techs (my son is one) and many of the performances bring their own techs. My son started as a 16yo volunteer at the local council Cultural Centre and then when a paid position became available he was encouraged to apply and got the job - because by then they knew him and his capabilities. He has since done a national tour with a theatre company that regularly use the venue and asked him to tour with them.

Look around a little harder and be creative about how to find somewhere to get involved. Don't assume that every theatre company has its own bricks-and-mortar theatre venue. Get involved somewhere. Perhaps ask the drama teachers at you school if they know any local theatre companies.

One theatre group/school I volunteer with puts on 4 shows a year (during school holidays). I know they would be happy to have a keen 14yo get involved in the technical aspects of theatre production - my son started as their LD when he was about 14, after being a performer in their shows since he was 8. So look around opportunities like that.

There are some courses offered by some schools that are (or are the equivalent of) a Certificate III or IV in Performing Arts, Technical Production or Live Production. Some examples can be found at the following links:

training.gov.au - CUS30209 - Certificate III in Technical Production
TAFE Queensland - Certificate III in Performing Arts
training.gov.au - CUE60103 - Advanced Diploma of Design for Live Production, Theatre and Events
training.gov.au - CUE60203 - Advanced Diploma of Live Production, Theatre and Events (Technical Production)
training.gov.au - CUE10103 - Certificate I in Live Production, Theatre and Events
training.gov.au - CUE20103 - Certificate II in Live Production, Theatre and Events
training.gov.au - CUE30203 - Certificate III in Live Production, Theatre and Events (Technical Operations)
training.gov.au - CUE40303 - Certificate IV in Live Production, Theatre and Events (Technical Operations)
training.gov.au - CUE50303 - Diploma of Live Production, Theatre and Events (Technical Production)

Some high schools offer these courses, or components of them. You may even be able to include a Cert II or III level course from a TAFE college as part of your high school education. I know that can be done in Qld and expect there are similar opportunities in NSW.

 

[jhochb]

Good Morning Qwertyqaz

I may be biased but take some classes in basic electricity & electronics. You don’t need to be an engineer but you should know what’s coming out of the wall.
As stated networking is becoming important. And you’ll want to be skilled with a wrench, or do you call it a spanner. Become familiar with rope & basic knots. You don’t want anything you work on falling on anyone or coming apart.
if you focus a fixture, you want it to stay where you point it.
Socialize Socialize Socialize (network network network)
Work you’re a…… off
Have Fun
I just worked with a small shop owner who gauged the success of the gig by how many laughs he had.

 

[jhochb]

A letter to Ann Landers
*


Dear Ann
I have recently become engaged & I want to be honest with my fiancée.
I am the youngest of 3.
I have a brother who works in television
My other brother is on death row for murder.

My question is....


Should I tell my fiancée about the brother who works in TV?

 

[lipinski]

One thing I will say as a fellow young technician: Don't work for free. Believe it or not, your time is worth money, and believe me, thier are Production Mangers that will take advantage of you. Don't take more than 3 "trial hours", "training hours", ext.

Ask various Production companies around town. At the very least you can push road cases, hang lights, run power. Say thank you and learn quick: They'll call you again.

As to classes, and Tech Theatre, A/V production, Physics is a bit helpful. Understanding Networks is helpful for intelligent stuff. ETC has some good online resources. J Michelle Gillette's Design and Production for Theatre is an awesome resource for various theatrical things.

Summer Stock Theatres are another great way to learn and get into the industry. Some pay, some don't. HS & college ones are the best for you age, but they're kind of rare.

I've found that thier are 3 major bodies of knowledge and skills that are great to know in theatre and production. First is power: generators, Distros, Saxopex, How to draft and spec power plots ext. Second is DMX: running cable, addressing, patch listing, and troubleshooting. Third is running consoles. If you can learn a solid knowledge base in one of these area, you become an extremely valuable employee. Not to say that you need to become a master of one of these, but if you're looking to learn about the industry. Those are great places to focuses to start in. Power is going to be the most valuable for movies and TV, DMX or consoles for Theatre and Event Production.

Solid knowledge in one of these and a good resume will also go a long ways into getting you into good colleges for Theatre and Production.

Good luck my friend.

 

[jbilyj]

One thing I will say as a fellow young technician: Don't work for free. Believe it or not, your time is worth money, and believe me, thier are Production Mangers that will take advantage of you. Don't take more than 3 "trial hours", "training hours", ext.

I'd have to disagree. One of the last free gigs are ended up doing as a Board Op (grandMA2) for a small production company in my local theatre's newest venue. The theatre staff saw what I could do just in those two weeks and hired me as a casual technician a few weeks later. All of that experience I had then learned from a lot of other free gigs.

 

[Les]

I'd have to disagree. One of the last free gigs are ended up doing as a Board Op (grandMA2) for a small production company in my local theatre's newest venue. The theatre staff saw what I could do just in those two weeks and hired me as a casual technician a few weeks later. All of that experience I had then learned from a lot of other free gigs.

That's a good point. There's nothing wrong with working for free IF you have the chance to gain some valuable contacts or experience. Community theatre stuff is generally pro bono, but can at least keep you sharp and adaptable. Just be careful about working your tail off for those who are just using your free labor to their benefit. You have to be a good judge of character in deciding who you work for free for -- after some time, you will be able to identify those I'm referring to if you haven't already.

My advice is to only work for free when you have nothing else better to do with your time. Treat it like an educational hobby - don't over-extend yourself, and don't give them too much control over you. Keep it on your terms, but make sure they know and agree with your terms. Otherwise, you will find yourself overly-committed and missing out on better opportunities. Know when it's time to move on.