How to Work Concert Stage Lights
- 1). Download the lighting console's user's manual from the manufacturer's website if a printed manual is not available at the venue. The major theatrical light board manufacturers in the U.S. are ETC, Leviton and Strand, while smaller concert-only venues may use Dove or other console brands. The major brands all have user manuals free for download, while smaller brands may require contacting the manufacturer directly.
- 2). Bring up the lights you want for your first look in the concert. You may be able to do this with adjustable sliders on the light board, or you may have to key it in by typing "Channel," "#," "at," "##" then "Enter," with "#" representing the number of a specific light's control channel and "##" representing the percent of full power you want the light to receive. If the console has "thru" and "and" keys, you can use these in conjunction with channel numbers to bring up multiple channels to the same level at once, such as channels 1 through 10 or channels 14 and 19, all to 50 percent. Adjust the percentages of power until you are happy with the look on stage.
- 3). Record this look according to the console manual's instructions and repeat for each look you want to achieve during the performance. Typical cue recording requires a sequence of keystrokes such as "Record" plus the cue number, then "Enter," although some models require more keystrokes. If you want to program a series of looks that will run in sequence, record them as cues. If you want to be able to switch back and forth between a few set looks, most boards will allow you to program the looks as "submasters," which can be controlled by the sliders or buttons labeled "Submasters" on the console. Recording process for this may be as simple as pressing "Record," then the button under the submaster's slider. Because submasters are layed out visually on the console, it is easier to switch back and forth between them in any order. You can also bring up multiple submasters at the same time, unlike cues on most consoles, so you can record several submasters with background looks and another one with lights for the musicians, then leave the musician lights up while changing the background.
- 4). Fade each cue up and down during the show by using preprogrammed times between cues or by manually moving your crossfade sliders, which may be labeled A and B, C and D or X and Y. In any case, the first letter of the pair generally controls all lights coming on while the second letter's fader controls all lights fading out. You can move them at the same speed or different speeds to control the look of the change between preset lighting cues.
- 5). Switch between submasters using the sliding switch (fader) labeled for each assigned submaster. Bringing the slider up raises all lights in that submaster, while moving it down fades them out.
- 6). Practice fading between looks before the show starts. During the performance, time your changes to changes in the music for a cohesive feel.
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