Rigging Advice!

[Tmart805]

Hello,

I am in need of a rigging certification. My goal is to be ETCP certified. I'm having a very difficult time locating an actual rigging school in the Los Angeles area that specializes in rigging for the entertainment industry. I'm not looking for any college classes, just a school dedicated to rigging. I've found one such place but its in Massachusetts. I find it a little strange that I haven't found anything in the Los Angeles area or anywhere in California considering the industry is so prevalent here. Advice and feedback is greatly appreciated!

 

[MNicolai]

You'd do best to check out the qualification requirements for ETCP. You can't just take a class, study up, and take the exam. You have to have an enormous amount of hands-on, employer-verified experience. You don't need quite as much if you've got an undergrad or master's in the field, but you still need quite a bit.

Your best bet is to find somewhere you can cut your teeth. An employer who will mentor you into the profession and keep you from making any amateur mistakes that could get someone hurt while you learn the ropes. I'm sure someone from your region can help you out with that.

Do a search of the forums here. This question has come before, and the very appropriate response is usually, "Why do you want to do rigging?" It's not a job for everyone, and it takes years to get the craft honed in. Not the kind of thing you'll find much success or happiness in by waking up some morning and deciding out of the blue you want to build structures above people's heads.

 

[Footer]

CM motor school covers a lot of it. There are classes at LDI and USITT that cover a lot of it. However, unless you have 3000 hours of real world experience its all moot anyway.

Buy "Rigging Math Made Simple". It will cover the mathematics that is on the test. The practical stuff can be found in a few other books but in reality if you have the hours you won't need that.