How to Tell the Light Tech What You Want

Most bands can’t afford to hire their own light technician and are forced to trust in-house light techs, which means that your light show may vary from gig to gig and more often than not doesn’t look like what you asked for. The cause? Communication, or rather miscommunication. Guest-blogger and stage manager Thomas Oberson-Ricoat is here to share five welcome pieces of advice.

#1. Call the Venue In Advance

What you should always do before a gig is reach out to the venue. Most of the questions from their end can be answered by sending over a stage plot aka technical rider, so be sure to include a section about stage lighting. Since you’re not bringing your own light tech, you shouldn’t include any demands regarding specific gear. Just stick to the essentials and describe the kind of light show and general style or ambience that you have in mind. The staff that’ll end up preparing your gig know what they’re doing. You can trust them to go with a different setup depending on whether you’re a rock band or a jazz trio. Also, let the venue know that you’re available for additional questions should any come up.

How to Tell the Light Tech What You Want

#2. Stage Positions

The way each band member is positioned on stage is a solid starting point for the staff that handles the lighting. Let the venue know how you’re planning to position yourselves on stage so the local light tech can plan ahead accordingly, but accept that there’s no point in communicating in detail how you’d like every spotlight to be configured if you’re not bringing your own light tech. You also want to avoid giving the impression that you actually are bringing your own light tech.

#3. Simple Requests

Okay, now that you’ve communicated your basic idea and the band member’s positions on stage, you’ve covered the basics. Now it’s time to go into a little more detail. If the band includes a pianist who needs to be able to see all of the keys of their piano, then make sure to request that one of the spotlights is aimed accordingly. Next, you’re going to use a secret weapon that few bands know even exists: slipping the local light tech a copy of your set list ahead of the show, complete with one or two simple comments about the colours or style you would like for each song. Most light techs will appreciate this. You could even indicate that certain songs have a special status or standout features like an unusually fast or slow tempo, or perhaps an important solo.

How to Tell the Light Tech What You Want

#4. Don’t Push It

Remember:

Seemingly simple requests may not be simple for the light tech. We can’t blame you if you know nothing about lighting, but it’s worth knowing that you may be told ‘no can do’ from time to time.
Keeping the requests simple increases the chance of them being met. There’s no point in writing out every effect you want for each song. Keep it up and maybe one day you’ll be big enough to afford to bring your own light tech.
If you’re playing a venue where you’re the only band that’s performing that night, the light tech will be more flexible than when you’re playing a festival where the stage manager has to deal with the wishes of various different bands. In this case, you’ll want to stick to the essentials.

#5. Treat the Light Tech Like a Band Member

Light techs are a lot like musicians. On the one hand, they’re experienced, knowledgeable and used to improvising. You can trust them to make the most of your music. On the other hand, they can be just as nervous as a lot of musicians. Creating mind-bending visuals also comes with stage fright, so don’t hesitate to comfort them. When I was just starting out as a stage manager, it always helped when someone told me: “Don’t worry, do what you think is right and it’ll be a great show!”

In a Nutshell

Communication — that’s what it’s all about. Sure, nothing beats a personal light tech who comes up with unique light shows that are tailored specifically for your music, but for now, you’ll have to make do with what you’re given. Or whom. Either way, give them some clear guidelines and everything will be fine!

Ever played a gig where the lighting was a disaster? Do tell!