A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A LIGHTING DESIGNER.
“What does a lighting designer do?” This is a very good question and one that you may have asked yourself. On the surface it may look like a plush job that only requires you to plug in a few lights and set a color, but like every job, there is a world of things that go on behind the scenes in order for the “show to go on!” So, grab your coffee and take a quick 5 minutes to learn a little about what we do behind the scenes.
VISION
We start by connecting with the client and getting as much information as possible about them and their vision. This is a very important time to gather information because once they enter the world of lighting “eye-candy”, they may unintentionally stray from their original vision. Although we may embellish their ideas, it is important to always maintain elements of their original vision. By remembering to maintain certain elements, we keep it personal to them, even if they forget what their original vision was in the first place.
DESIGN
Next we create a design specific to their needs and vision. This design must first translate their ideas into a vision and then take into account their venue logistics. This includes things such as available setup time, loading dock, elevator size, ceiling height, room lighting (dimmable or not) as well as time of day (sunset), type of decor, type of centerpiece and desired lighting color. All of these things must be considered in order for the design process to go smoothly and look amazing in the end.
COMMUNICATION
I hate bad communication. Unfortunately, it happens often—even with the people closest to us whom we live with for years! So how much more likely will it happen with people we have just met and will only know for a short time? For this reason, we set up a communication timeline so that the client will know where we are at every step of the way. This keeps everyone in the loop and reduces stress…we could all use a little less stress!
IMPLEMENTATION
If you’ve seen us at an event, you know the look. It’s like ants running around with little pieces of food setting them in their perfect spot. This beautiful dance that we call “load in” is one of the most important aspects of the process. If load in goes smoothly, then there is plenty of time to create the perfect design. If load in goes poorly, we look like roaches instead of ants, bumping into each other and other things in chaos. Not only does a poor load in put us behind, but it also delays other vendors working around us.
To avoid this chaos, we implement a high standard for load in. From our labeled uniforms to our lined up cases, each step is designed to create an organized atmosphere that enhances the experience of everyone around us.
YOUR LIGHTING DESIGN TEAM
Let’s face it, there are too many details hidden under each person’s job to try and micro-manage them. You don’t have time to do that anyway! You have to trust that they have a process and are doing it right. This is why I am sharing ours with you today. I want you to know what you are getting with your lighting design team at Maryland Productions so you can relax and focus on what you do best!
