(warning: long post)
As an interesting
point of reference, my college is known for having turned out two of the most well-known theatrical designers working today. One is a
lighting designer, and the other is a sound designer. We were fortunate to have both of them spend a significant amount of time at our school this past year, and they each spoke to students at length about their design processes, their lives and careers, and many other topics. Prior to meeting these two individuals, I had always kind of been under the impression that lighting designers created art, and sound designers just picked whatever equipment would work best in that
venue.
When the
lighting designer spoke to us, it wasn't a big surprise to me to hear him tell that he didn't know much about the technology behind today's lighting. After all, why should he? He was a competent and well-trained electrician when he started working professionally, but he hasn't touched a lighting
fixture or a
C-wrench in over 20 years. Fortunately, he's able to rely on a team of highly trained and skilled lighting technicians who specialize in a specific segment of their craft. Just like the ML Repair Technician doesn't need to know how to choose color, the
Lighting Designer doesn't need to know how to change out a
gobo on a VL3500. When he designs a show, he doesn't decide how many inches off center to hang the
Source Four, or whether it should be a 26 or a 36, or even how many zones of front light to hang. Instead, he just sits down with his Associate
Lighting Designer and talks about his ideas for the show, sometimes speaking for more than 18 hours in a single session. He discusses the script, the concept, the underlying themes and morals, the character development, the "quality" of the light, the general "feel" of the lighting, the moods he wants to convey, and infinite other elements of the show. Then, he walks away and expects that the
ALD will convert those ideas into specific distances, degrees, and areas.
However, I was very surprised when the Sound Designer sat down to talk to us. When he started doing professional sound, he worked as a
mixer on Broadway for a number of years before finally making the transition into Sound Design, a field that was still being born at the time. And while he certainly knew nearly everything about his rig back in 1978, he hasn't touched a
speaker or a mixing
console in over 20 years. Fortunately, he's able to rely on a team of highly trained and skilled sound technicians who specialize in a specific segment of their craft. Just like the
Mixer doesn't need to know how to find that perfect
level of
orchestra underscore, the Sound Designer doesn't need to know how to set a mic frequency into a receiver. When he designs a show, he doesn't decide how high to
trim his center
cluster, or what model of
speaker it should be, or even what kind of processing equipment to use. Instead, he just sits down with his Associate Sound Designer and talks about his ideas for the show, sometimes speaking for hours upon end in a single session. He discusses the script, the concept, the underlying themes and morals, the character development, the "quality" of the sound, the general "feel" of the sound, the moods he wants to convey, and infinite other elements of the show. Then, he walks away and expects that the ASD will convert those ideas into specific distances, model numbers, and zones.
In my opinion (and it's nothing more than that), the reason Sound Designers are more often associated with a higher
level of technical expertise is because in the majority of theatres, they're required to have that. Because sound as a design discipline is so new and still evolving, there's often a shortage of highly skilled and knowledgeable sound technicians at all but the highest levels of live production. As a result, the SD is, in many cases, forced to
gain the technical knowledge about his tools in order to ensure that his show will work as he designed it. The LD chooses
instrument types based on what capabilities and attributes he wants to get out of the
fixture - the SD does the same thing. The LD chooses the degree of his instruments based on the coverage he needs and the distance from the
focus point - the SD does the same thing. The LD places his instruments based on available space, intended angles, and proximity to the
focus point - the SD does the same thing. At the highest levels of live production, when you really break down the position of Designer into its most basic definition, the roles of the
Lighting Designer and the Sound Designer are virtually identical.
Note: I do not, by any stretch of the imagination, work at the "highest levels of live production," and I certainly don't intend to imply that everyone not doing it the 'broadway way' is wrong and bad at their jobs. More than 99% of theatres don't have the budget, time, or need for an army of specialized individuals, and as we consolidate job responsibilities, it's easy to blur the lines between the different hats we wear.
