Light Technician Training

Lesson 1 • Basic Electrical Concepts for Lighting

Introduces voltage, current, resistance, and power calculations relevant to lighting loads. Provides the electrical literacy needed for safe rigging and dimming work.

Lesson 2 • Properties of Light

Covers intensity, colour, angle, and diffusion as the four core attributes of light. Understanding these properties underpins every design and operational decision.

Lesson 3 • Lighting Fixture Categories

Surveys conventional, LED, and moving-light fixture families. Identifies each category's strengths to guide fixture selection in later chapters.

Lesson 4 • The Role of a Light Technician

Defines responsibilities across production types and team hierarchies. Establishes professional expectations that frame all subsequent technical training.

Lesson 1 • Risk Assessment and Hazard Control

Teaches the hierarchy of controls and a structured risk-assessment process. Students apply this framework to lighting-specific scenarios in practical exercises.

Lesson 2 • Emergency Procedures and First Response

Covers electrical-incident response, fire procedures, and basic first aid priorities. Prepares technicians to act decisively before emergency services arrive.

Lesson 3 • Electrical Safety Principles

Covers shock risk, arc flash, and safe working distances around live equipment. Directly applies the electrical concepts introduced in Chapter 1.

Lesson 4 • Working at Height Safely

Addresses ladder, scaffold, and aerial work platform use in venue environments. Establishes fall-prevention habits required before any rigging tasks are attempted.

Lesson 1 • Hanging and Securing Fixtures

Demonstrates correct clamping torque, safety-bond attachment, and fixture orientation. These techniques are practised in every subsequent lab rig.

Lesson 2 • Derig and Strike Procedures

Covers systematic derig sequencing to prevent dropped equipment and cable damage. Reinforces safety habits by reversing the installation workflow.

Lesson 3 • Rigging Hardware and Load Ratings

Identifies clamps, truss, drop arms, and their working load limits. Accurate hardware selection prevents overloading, a prerequisite for all installation work.

Lesson 4 • Truss Assembly and Ground Support

Explains truss assembly sequences and ground-support tower erection procedures. Students apply load-distribution principles from the hardware section.

Lesson 1 • Patching Dimmers to Circuits

Covers hard-patch panels, soft-patch in consoles, and dimmer-per-circuit systems. Students trace signal flow from console channel to physical fixture.

Lesson 2 • Power Distribution Architecture

Maps the path from venue supply through distros, socapex, and breakouts to fixtures. Builds on Chapter 1 electrical concepts with venue-scale distribution logic.

Lesson 3 • Troubleshooting Power and Dimming Faults

Provides a systematic fault-finding process for dead circuits, blown fuses, and dim failures. Diagnostic skills developed here apply throughout all remaining chapters.

Lesson 4 • Dimmer Rack Operation

Explains thyristor and sine-wave dimmer modules, rack configuration, and load matching. Correct dimmer setup is required before any console patching can occur.

Lesson 1 • Programming Cues and Playback

Teaches recording cues, setting timing, and building a cue stack for live playback. Students apply fixture addressing and console navigation skills in a practical exercise.

Lesson 2 • DMX512 Protocol Fundamentals

Explains the DMX512 data structure, universe capacity, and refresh rate. This protocol knowledge is the foundation for all console and fixture addressing work.

Lesson 3 • Groups, Palettes, and Macros

Demonstrates how groups, colour palettes, and position palettes accelerate programming. Efficient use of these tools is essential for fast turnarounds in Chapter 8.

Lesson 4 • Fixture Addressing and Universe Planning

Covers DIP-switch and menu-based addressing, universe splitting, and address conflict resolution. Correct addressing is required before any console programming begins.

Lesson 1 • Colour and Emotional Impact

Explores psychological associations of hue, saturation, and contrast in performance contexts. Students script colour choices to support narrative and mood in a practical exercise.

Lesson 2 • Colour Consistency Across Fixture Types

Addresses matching colour output between LED, tungsten, and discharge sources. Consistent colour across a mixed rig is a key professional competency.

Lesson 3 • Fundamentals of Colour Science

Covers the visible spectrum, colour temperature, and the CIE chromaticity model. This scientific grounding informs every practical colour decision in the chapter.

Lesson 4 • Gel Selection and Handling

Guides selection of colour gels by transmission, saturation, and heat resistance. Proper handling and cutting techniques prevent premature gel failure.

Lesson 1 • Programming Movement and Effects

Teaches fan, spread, and effects engine use for dynamic movement sequences. Builds directly on the palette and cue-programming skills from Chapter 5.

Lesson 2 • Calibration and Homing Procedures

Covers reset, home position, and pan/tilt inversion settings for consistent rig behaviour. Calibrated fixtures are required before position palettes can be reliably recorded.

Lesson 3 • Colour Mixing and Gobo Control

Addresses CMY and RGB colour mixing, CTO correction, and gobo selection and rotation. Precise colour and gobo control distinguishes professional programming from basic operation.

Lesson 4 • Moving-Light Fixture Architecture

Explains the optical path, motor systems, and parameter channels of moving-head fixtures. This internal knowledge supports accurate programming and fault diagnosis.

Lesson 1 • Technical Rehearsal Management

Explains tech rehearsal etiquette, note-taking, and rapid cue adjustment under director pressure. Efficient tech rehearsal skills directly affect production quality and schedule.

Lesson 2 • Load-In and Focus Procedures

Sequences the rig, power, data, and focus workflow for efficient venue load-in. Students apply rigging, patching, and DMX skills from Chapters 3 through 5.

Lesson 3 • Live Show Operation

Covers calling cues from a script, managing unexpected failures, and maintaining show consistency. Students operate a live simulation with introduced faults to test response.

Lesson 4 • Wrap, Strike, and Post-Show Reporting

Details systematic strike, equipment return, and post-show documentation practices. Accurate reporting supports future productions and equipment maintenance schedules.