The Standard Lighting Setup

What a Client Should Expect

Once a client hires a venue, what do they get for their money in the way of lighting?

There should be a standard lighting setup. You should be able to walk into a venue and ask to see what the lighting looks like. You should not have to wait around for the tech to focus and color the lighting before you have to start.

This is, of course, if you are intending to use the standard rig, and don’t required a special set up for your event. There needs to be something rigged that can work straight out. If anything special is required this should have been worked out before when the initial booking was made.

The standard lighting is there to make a show happen with very little setup time. Most venues have a standard setup, and it should be ready to use the moment the client walks in the door for their booking. It needs to be focused corrected and properly colored.

What a Venue Should Do to Ensure the Lighting Is Ready.

Time should always be allowed for a lighting focus check before a hire. Your standard setup may not have been changed for the last client, but it is possible for lights to drift out of focus. So check before the client steps through the door.

If the previous client had the lighting changed to suit their particular production, they should also have made sure that it was returned to standard and obviously paid the associated costs.

To make life easier when you come to refocus, make sure that you have up to date lighting plans, patching charts, and color plots etc. The entire lighting setup should be documented, and any changes notated on the paperwork. Version control of documents becomes very handy as lighting plots evolve with the addition of new equipment etc.

It is also a good idea to keep copies of the relevant documents near where they are needed. For example, dimmer hook up charts should be near the dimmers. Patch bays can have charts kept next to them. You could even mark the patch points that are always used for the standard lighting rig. But most of all make sure it is up to date and that the newest copy is available for the duty tech.

The key to making a standard lighting setup great is paperwork. Document it, don’t keep it in your head. No one can read your thoughts. I have seen venues where there is none or little paperwork, and they are a nightmare to work in. If you consider yourself a professional act like a professional.