In the Spotlight: Lighting Jobs on Set

As we progress through our Production-module at CCAD, I have been assigned the role of lighting twice, both at ‚A Good One’ and ‚Broken Planets’. Which is the reason why I will broadly look at job roles in lighting today.

Looking at the various positions in the lighting department, I was confused and overwhelmed by the different job titles, responsibilities and areas of specialisation. As the sheer amount of job titles does not necessarily give away what’s inside and as the boundaries between them seem to blur, I decided to delve deeper into the matter and read up on various job roles in the lighting department, what they do entail as responsibilities in general and what tasks would therefore be required of me in regards to our productions.

1) Lighting Technician

The first lighting department job I will be looking at is the so-called Lighting Technician or, more informally, ‚spark’. They are also called Lighting Operators or Lighting Electricians, but for the sake of easy readability and less confusion, I will just call them Lighting Technicians or Sparks in my blog.

Sparks are the basic foundation of every lighting department as they are those responsible for setting up the equipment, looking after it and keeping it up and running in a production. They may also help out with the power supply in general, but I will come to that part in a bit. Depending on the size of the production, their responsibilities may be subject to change. On smaller productions, lighting technicians work in tandem with the camera operator. A lightning technician will need to have a vocational qualification as an electrician and a minimum of two years of work experience (in e.g. apprenticeships) before they will be able to work in a lighting team.

When lighting technicians set up the lighting equipment and conduct lighting tests, they are called ‚Rigging Electricians’. However, they can also work in lighting stores as so-called ‚Lighting Storemen’. These are temporary stores set up on filming locations or in studios that keep important equipment and essentials at disposal to allow for a quick exchange in case e.g. a lightbulb blows up. Which I did not know about but find to be a very smart solution. However, regardless of what their actual task will be, sparks usually follow the instructions of a gaffer.

As this can be a physically highly demanding job, lighting techicians need to be fit, healthy, and need to be able to work at heights to execute their job properly. As they are working with electrical appliances, sparks will, as a matter of course, need to have proper knowledge of their equipment and understand current Health and Safety regulations to ensure a safe working environment for cast and crew.

Sparks may be employed in various productions, and thus are required to work flexibly in regards to location, time of day and duration. They need to execute their tasks quickly and accurately as well as paying a great attention to detail. Naturally, as part of a team, communication and personal skills are needed as well as the ability to be directed and work in a team. Furthermore, as with all crew roles, lighting technicians are required to possess a driver’s license and be able to drive.

A lightning technician will need to have a vocational qualification as an electrician and a minimum of two years of work experience (in e.g. apprenticeships) before they will be able to work in a lighting team.

2) Practical Lighting Technician

Moving on to the job role of Practical Lighting Technician (or ‚Practical Lighting Operator’ or ‚Practical Electrician. This was the point where I needed word cards to memorise the job titles.), many of the requirements and abilities mentioned above do also apply here.

However, in addition, Practical Lighting Technicians also need to install and maintain power supplies on set. They will have to access fuses, take feeds and generally tap into the power supply of a location. The may need to remove preexisting lights and fittings, replace them and set up practical lighting, if necessary for production. Afterwards, they will have to revert everything back to normal, and test as well as certify it for safety. According to Health and Safety regulations and laws, this also includes so-called PATs (Portable Appliance Test).

Furthermore, PLTs will also need to work closely with art directors if wiring of props or models is needed and control and maintain them. Looking at the job descriptions, Practical Lighting Technicians are essentially electricians working on set, which needs them to possess vocational qualifications and attend regular, additional training. From what I have read researching online, PLTs generally seem to be considered a step-up to the sparks as they carry additional responsibilities.

3) Lighting Director:

Exploring now the topic of TV lighting, the lighting director is the senior role in the lighting department as they create the design and style, . Apart from leadership and teamworking skills they naturally require a working knowledge of Health and Safety laws and lighting equipment as well as attention to detail and good colour vision. As they take major part in designing the look of a production, they are required to read the script, create lighting plans that inform about position and colour of lighting equipment, and plan lighting-releveant recces effectively.

Thus, Lighting Directors interact closely with a variety of positions and departments to discuss locations, set designs, shots, costumes, and even hair and makeup in regard to lighting schemes and requirements. They furthermore oversee and control set-up and operation of lighting equipment.

4) Gaffer:

This is where it gets complicated to discern the different job roles, as Gaffers (‚Chief Lighting Technician, ‚Chief Electrician’ or ‚Senior Electrician’) are considered to lead the team of Lighting Technicians and work closely with the DoP in film. As far as I currently understand it within the TV industry, Gaffers are superior to LTs and PLTs but inferior to Lighting Directors. If that is true, than this, of course, means that Gaffers need to be qualified in the same aspects as Sparks, into which I won’t go again.

As this role holds more responsibilities, it also requires leadership skills, assertiveness, experience, and a pristine as well as a general and topical knowledge of lighting equipment similar to the Lighting Director. Further helpful abilities that have recurred during my research was the ability to compromise, tactfulness and imagination as well as the ability to make quick but nonetheless competent decisions. Much like the Lighting Director, they also oversee all practical and technical elements of lighting, conduct risk assessments, and keep control of the lighting budget.

However, in contrast to what I have been reading about Lighting Directors, Gaffers also do help to select equipment and crew members, install equipment and power supplies, certify of electrics and electrical safety in tandem with their responsibilities in regard to Health and Safety regulations, actually carry out recces and plan lighting installations as well as operate the lights during filming.

This catalogue of tasks and requirements definitely prescribes a certification as electrician and climbing the ranks of the lighting department to gain sufficient experience and knowledge.

Looking at the requirements of our production module, most of my tasks will settle around the rigging and de-rigging of lights and planning the lighting design. As I don’t hold any qualification as an electrician, it is obvious that I will not in any way be meddling with the plugs, circuits, and wires on set. However, I liked the idea of creating a lighting plan as I have already carried out lighting recces and could really use that knowledge and preparation to my advantage.

So basically, I will be Lighting Technician, Gaffer, and Lighting Director at once.

This is going to be fun!

References:

All About Careers (2018) Media Lighting Technician (Broadcasting/Film) [online]

https://www.allaboutcareers.com/careers/job-profile/lighting-technician-broadcasting-film [Accessed on 30 March 2018]

Creative Skillset (2018) Gaffer (Film) [online] http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/3793_gaffer_film [Accessed on 30 March 2018]

Creative Skillset (2018) Lighting Director [online] http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/298_lighting_director [Accessed on 30 March 2018]

Creative Skillset (2018) Lighting Technician [online] http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/3769_lighting_technician [Accessed on 30 March 2018]

Creative Skillset (2018) Practical Lighting Technician [online] http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/3806_practical_lighting_technician [Accessed on 30 March 2018]

Media Match (2018) Gaffer [online] http://www.media-match.com/usa/media/jobtypes/gaffer-jobs-402722.php [Accessed on 30 March 2018]

National Careers Service (2018) Lighting Technician [online]

https://bit.ly/2rjuTUH [Accessed on 30 March 2018]

Prospects (2018) Lighting Technician – Broadcasting, Film, Video [online] https://bit.ly/1RqLfP1 [Accessed on 30 March 2018]