Looking into lighting as a career, Interested in studying design

[calwalker1]

Hello all
I have no idea where to start so I'm just going to go for it. I am a student who is in year 11 (2011) and I am fairly interested in working in the production industry (LX, Sound, SM, Fly {these things interest me but I haven't done much with the last two}) when i am older (when I say interested I am at the stage where I am almost 95- 110% certain). One of the main things I want to specialise in is lighting (however at school at the moment I mainly do sound).

I have been involved in my schools technical department for 3 years now and I have worked up from cable roller to head tech. making purchases, designing and training people. One of the main things I have noticed working in this field at a school level is that most people do it because it is fun. I do it because I find it very interesting and absorbing (I don't know how to explain that amazing feeling on opening night of a big show that you've designed and everything just comes together however I'm assuming that you will know what I am talking about)
The More Relevant Section. Which is less rambling from here

I want to start getting serious about this sort of work as a career and one thing I was thinking of is going to a university and getting a masters in lighting design. or sound design. Or stage management. At WAAPA, VCA or NIDA
I am still looking at all the different fields and I dable in all of these at the moment so I will work out what I really love closer to the day (so to say, not literally). What advice do people have when it comes to getting into these places when I have to interview and be amazing to get a placement.

My main concern is at the moment I am very technical (eg I understand concepts such as HTP and LTP and DMX and 3 Phase) and not so design oriented, while I can (and do) design shows I have no idea if they will cut the standard. Does anyone have any recommendations on how I can do "design exercises" with shows as I work for my school where we do design large shows and I am able to be very creative however we only run 3 or 4 shows a year, and on the other end of the scope I volunteer at another another theatre where their idea of contemporary design is a small amount of colour on the large plain back wall cyc (but not to much as they freak out) and we run a show every second month.

so yeah. Ramble Over. My main question:
University courses in lighting design. any advice. getting ahead in the career any advice.

I know someone will tell me to read other posts but the way I look at it. every persons situation is different and I wanted to tell mine.

Thanks everyone for your help. this are some really big questions but I know someone will have the big answers to match

 

[DuckJordan]

This has been covered a couple times so you could try using the search function.

But Being in college right now and focusing on lighting and sound design I can tell you at USD they prefer you to come in without knowing much more than some basic lighting knowledge such as what an ellipsoidal is, basic fundamentals of light and color. It's the same way at Ohio state which is where my professor is originally from, they want students who are open and aren't already set in there processes. My suggestion is look at why you choose the choices you pick for your lighting or sound designs. Why is there a fixture there and why did you choose that color, Designing does not mean following the script when it says there should be a sound here or a light should be focused like this. Thats the play write designing. As a designer your job would be to enhance the directors thoughts and how he wants the play to feel.

 

[gafftaper]

Good advice Duck.

First off Cal did you read the Recomendations about college FAQ? For that, I got a group of CB's most senior members with MANY years of experience together and asked for their advice on education. So go read that if you haven't.

One key theme you will find in there is the importance of not specializing too soon. The way tech is done in high school is dramatically different than the real world. You may find that you hate being a lighting designer once you really get a sense of the job at a pro level. Do you know that pro lighting designers often haven't actually touched either a light console or even a light fixture in years? Other people do those jobs. So on one hand now is the time for you to experiment and make mistakes with lighting. On the other hand I strongly advise you to not close your mind to other aspects of production until you reach grad school.

Another reason for this (as you will see in the FAQ) is that if you specialize too much as a lighting designer you will have a much smaller number of jobs you are qualified for. If you want to pay the bills and eat, picking up some side work as a carpenter, costumer, or sound tech is not a bad thing at all.

For all these reasons we advise you find a undergraduate program that will give you a wide base of training. You should spend time working in every branch of theater if possible during your undergraduate experience. Also seek a school that has a wide variety of connections with internships in the professional world. This will give you a chance to see first hand what the job is really like. Once you've really had that experience then start grad school for lighting design. Along the way we encourage you try to pick up a few extra classes in art, architecture, drafting/CAD, and History. These will make you a much better prepared designer.

In the mean time I suggest you pick up a couple books and start reading. Used books are awesome and CHEAP!
A great starting point would be A practical guide to stage lighting orScene Design and Stage Lighting". The current edition is around $140 but you can pick up a used 8th edition for around $20... 7th edition even less than that. The book does change to upgrade the technology but the theory is the same. At this point it's not worth you buying the new one unless you just happen to be a spoiled rich kid. Odds are very good you'll run into this book in college.

THE book that most modern lighting theory is based on is "A method of lighting the stage" by Stanley McCandless. It was originally published in 1932. It's been reprinted many times, most recently 1964. It's not light reading, can be hard to find, and makes a great birthday gift. It's way out of date on the equipment so it'll test your brain to figure out some of it. BUT if you can slog through it, the theory is very good for you.

 

[LXPlot]

I guess it kind of depend what exactly you want to do. If you plan on becoming on specific type of technician, and only want to focus on becoming that type, then you very likely would benefit from a BFA focused conservatory program. I have heard very good things about Cincinnatti Conservatory for the Music, and recommend you check it out. If you'd rather focus on solely the technical aspect or solely the design aspects, but don't have a preference to any specific area of this design, a different type of program is desired. I don't know a ton about this specific setup, but I know that Carnegie-Mellon has such a system and is an excellent school for this. I believe that the University of North Carolina also has a similar setup which is renowned, buy I don't know anybody, directly or indirectly, at that particular school, so I have no idea how good the program actually is.

If you want to go into theatre technology and design, but do not want to become super focused on any particular area of it, you could go to a BFA program in tech and design overall (I believe UNC has such a thing) or you could go to a liberal arts program, which are known for giving you a strong education in other fields in addition to theatre.

 

[DuckJordan]

I guess it kind of depend what exactly you want to do. If you plan on becoming on specific type of technician, and only want to focus on becoming that type, then you very likely would benefit from a BFA focused conservatory program. I have heard very good things about Cincinnatti Conservatory for the Music, and recommend you check it out. If you'd rather focus on solely the technical aspect or solely the design aspects, but don't have a preference to any specific area of this design, a different type of program is desired. I don't know a ton about this specific setup, but I know that Carnegie-Mellon has such a system and is an excellent school for this. I believe that the University of North Carolina also has a similar setup which is renowned, buy I don't know anybody, directly or indirectly, at that particular school, so I have no idea how good the program actually is.

If you want to go into theatre technology and design, but do not want to become super focused on any particular area of it, you could go to a BFA program in tech and design overall (I believe UNC has such a thing) or you could go to a liberal arts program, which are known for giving you a strong education in other fields in addition to theatre.

Not to take away from the information given, but given that you haven't entered college yet nor had the opportunity to witness what happens in specific programs I would be careful about anything any college recruiter or professor tries to tell you before you are signed up with their college.

College professors and Recruiters are much like the military where they will tell you all the great things about their college but fail to mention the likely hood of you getting involved with it. How things are run at their school and what happens to the students who either change their mind about theater or end up graduating but not being able to find a job.

I know if a potential undergrad was looking at USD to make sure they knew that most of the professors and pretty much all of the recruiters are trying to sell the college to you. I would echo what gafftaper said and say wait to specialized as long as possible. I thought i was going to build sets then i found out I can't really work a screw gun or a hammer to make things look very nice. Yeah they get done but it doesn't look nearly as professional as it should. I found my niche designing lights and being a sound engineer, I prefer working with audio equipment and working with lighting theories more than i would prefer trying to figure out what audio should go where and I tend to dislike doing mindless cleaning of fixtures. but that's personal preference.

I can't post everyone's feelings or experiences from the USD theater department but there are more than a few who thought coming in that they would be doing this particular thing and ended up hating how it is done at a pro level and deciding to either choose a new major or do something else in the theater.

I'm sure this has all been said before, and unfortunately became more of a spill than i originally intended but remember just because your going for theater now doesn't mean you will later. And just a heads up, College math and English is hard, I learned that this year. I thought I would be good but I would suggest getting stronger with the concepts of those subjects that you are having trouble with now.

 

[gafftaper]

The key point in all this is it doesn't matter how advanced your high school theater program is, I am yet to see one that operates like the real professional world. Do you have a student who only programs the console? Do you have a student who designs light plots in Vectorworks and never touches a light fixture? Do you have a team of electricians who hang lights only as directed by the light plot perhaps with possibly no interaction with the designer until tech starts? What about a set designer in New York designing shows for a theater in LA that he's never even seen? ...and don't get me started on the high school definition of technical director.

It's not BAD, it's just VERY different. College will get you closer to what the real world is like, but even then it's the rare college program that actually let's a stage manager do the job of a professional stage manager. How many college stage managers are given the absolute authority to schedule all rehearsals and tell the director when to show up? College T.D.'s are typically head scenic artists or master carpenters in the pro world. Pro T.D.'s spend their days crunching numbers not sanding and welding. Speaking of welding, how many high school carpenters are learning to weld?

I contend it's very difficult to say what job you want to do until you get into college and get out in the real world and do some volunteer work, summer stock, and internships. If you have a good community theater in your area volunteer as much as you can to get a sense of it, but even there things are often much different than a real pro-setting.

So wait as long as possible to specialize and get out there and volunteer, job shadow, do internships, etc. Do everything you can to see how theaters operate in a variety of settings so you can better educate yourself on what these jobs are like at the pro level.

 

[Footer]

To all the U.S. based people... the OP is in Australia and is probably not looking at studying in the U.S. From what I remember there are certificates and all kind of other things you can get in Australia to do work in entertainment. We do have many Australians around here, they should be able to give you more specific advice to your area.

 

[calwalker1]

As far as I can see the next two years are going to be really important to my development of a portfolio for my university application(s) would anyone who has been through the whole thing have any advice on what my portfolio should be displaying. I also Want to know if there are any examples of someones interview portfolio around.

Another question I have is in regards to the assessment piece they give you and what the ratios are. When I say ratios I am talking about a scale between how much they care about the assessment piece and how much they care about former designs (eg. do they usually look very thoroughly at the project and just skim over your former work or do they look at both evenly) any pointers would be appreciated.