Lighting Designer

Lighting Designer Career

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A Lighting Designer decides how electric lights will be placed and used in performance venues. You usually work at show productions such as plays, movies, and concerts, but you can also design at affairs like corporate launches, movie premiers, or other large festive occasions.

Lighting is a a huge part of a production so as a Lighting Designer, you work with the top executives and designers including Film Directors, Set Designers, and Unit Production Managers to make sure everyone is on the same page. In these meetings as the Lighting Designer you’ll need to figure out what the look and feel of the production is meant to be and what resources you have to work with. To round out this picture you review the script/show plan, and watch how people use and move about the stage.

You use this research to create your vision. This will obviously be more complicated at rock concerts than on the set of a sitcom, but whatever the venue your job is to create a visual atmosphere that enhances and enlivens the production.

Your design involves planning out light placement, movement, timing, and visual effects. You need to use technical markups, drawings, and computer graphics to chart out and share your design plans. Once you get to the implementation phase, you work with lighting technicians and electrical departments to make your vision a reality.

How do I become a Lighting Designer?

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At this position you are a electrician with a lot of style and vision. Try starting as a Lighting Technician.