On Stage Lighting looks at the workhorse of gaining employment as a lighting professional, the Curriculum Vitae, and considers how you can create a killer CV.  But first, how does your CV actually fit into the recruitment process?

As a lighting professional, either freelance or looking for permanent employment, at some stage you will try to gain access to people and places that don’t know you from Adam.  It could be an advertised job or simply an attempt to create an “in” with a company you would like to work with.  Let’s focus on advertised jobs for today, you’ve seen an ad inviting CV submissions and want to make sure you give yourself the best chance of securing an interview.

Even when you have a few years behind you in any industry, you’ve met new people and have the beginnings of a contact network.  As time passes, those contacts move about, find new roles themselves and you slot into new areas of work, and meet even more contacts. But remember, that ideal gig might just be around the corner,  and you may still be facing a cold start to get it.

Note: Modern Curriculum Vitae are often shorter versions of a more traditional CV, with some emphasis on personality as much as a list of employment history and qualifications.  These are more like the US “Resume”, but as I’m sitting here in sunny England, we’ll use the term CV for today.  We also aren’t going to look at covering letters or application forms, also important tools in the process.

Many On Stage Lighting readers are in the early stages of their chosen path. As a student or budding lampie just starting out, applying for jobs and pitching yourself in amongst a gaggle of other doing the same, your CV is vital.  While there are a number of ways in which employers invite applications, including standard application forms and personal statements, the CV is still probably the most common way to make that first contact with a potential employer in our business.

What does the CV do?

Simple.  The purpose of the Curriculum Vitae in this scenario, is to get you in front of the employer, the next stage of the selection process.

The Recruitment Process

Before we dive into what you need to do to get that job, it’s worth understanding the process from the employers point of view. Be the employer for a moment.

As an employer, you need to hire someone to fill a role.  You want to make sure that you have the best chance of finding the right person, the person that fulfills your requirements – the person specification.  That spec might be laid out in a document, be set down by industry convention or just thoughts in the head of the hirer.

As an employer, you try to reach many possible candidates by placing advertising in places that are the most relevant to the industry – perhaps in The Stage ( in the UK), Stage Jobs Pro among others.  In the job advert, you want to give enough information to reach only the most suitable candidates, a hands off weeding out process.  The next part of that process might be to invite prospective candidates to apply for more details / information pack, where they can read a detailed version of the role and the person that you are looking for.  The second weeding, if you will (?!).

After that, you as the employer will want to shortlist a choice of candidates for interview so may invite submissions of CVs.  Sifting through CVs can be an onerous task, especially with a large number of applicants who, due to the first two stages of elimination (advert and information pack), all basically fit the vacancy based on qualifications and experience.

The CV Sorting Scenario

As the employer you have a stack of CVs that have rolled in since your advert went live.  It’s time to start shortlisting but you are busy and don’t have all day to study CVs, you do have a business to run.

From 100 CVs in the pile, you and a colleague are looking to find ten, just 10 CVs, to discuss and consider more fully with a view to shortlisting five candidates for interview.  For one job.  That means you have to bin 95.  Let’s hope that at least 70% of applicants make it easy for you…..

Tips for creating that killer CV

Ok, that’s enough of being an employer.  How might you attempt to make sure that your CV isn’t in the 70% that are hardly read before losing out in the first cut?

Making your CV attractive and readable

I don’t mean making your CV possible to read, but making it seem easy to get the information the employer wants.  This is where formatting and first impressions counts.  Maybe you only have 20 seconds before your CV is put on the “nah, not today” pile.  (20 seconds is an age these days, I reckon you have 3 seconds to keep a web visitor interested in an article enough to read it!! )

If an employer feels that getting to the information is going to be hard work, they may not make a special effort to drill down into your experience or outside interests long enough to keep your CV in their hand.

How should I layout my CV?

In the first instance, this could mean good use of headings, groups and columns alongside other formatting such as bold text or horizontal lines.  I personally wonder  about the wisdom of straying so far from CV convention that the reader has to work out your own personal UI before getting to the information, particularly in this scenario against 99 others.  Whacky and unique is not always an asset.

If it looks easy to read, it’ll get read.

Note: In a sea of white  floppy printouts, you might even want look at the paper you present with, remembering that in the end, paper is not going to actually get you an interview.  I find I hold on longer to documents on thicker than normal paper, but that’s just me

Attention to Detail

Anyone ever seen a person spec or job of any kind that doesn’t require attention to detail?  Ever?  No, thought not.

Spelling and grammatical errors on a CV don’t suggest attention to detail but they do make it a great deal easier for your CV to get “passed over” – i.e. canned.

The Right Candidate

The CVs on the pile should be from people who actually qualify and are suitable for the job,  after all, that’s one function of the advertisement.  So how might you make your CV stand out from the crowd in the suitability stakes?

For me, this means understanding that “your” CV is not a static entity – something that you create once and send out with every application.  OK, so you are you.  But, how do you fit into the job for which you are applying?  A busy employer would like an easy-to-spot clue that you fit the person specification for this job, a clue that’ll keep your CV in their hand long enough to make your pitch.

This might be in the way the headings are titled, a tag line in the header or simply the order in which you present things.  Some categorise CVs as Chronological or Functional (Skills Based), either a list of employment history or a precis of skills and experience – and the two can be combined. (I assume that we all tend to scan a document top to bottom first time round and it’s silly to put your most relevant experience half way down a second page just for the sake of chronology)

The employer isn’t looking for a CV to shortlist, they are looking at pieces of paper to find a person that fits their requirements.  If you are the right person, make sure they see that.

How does a CV get me an interview, anyway?

Right, so you’ve passed the spellchecker, the layout test and have demonstrated that your skills and experience fit the person specification.  What is actually going to get you from the final ten CVs, to the shortlisted five for interview?  Still hangin’ in there in the final 5%…

The employer feels that you would be a suitable candidate by now, else they wouldn’t still be considering you.  Each job, person and CV is different but getting to interview comes down to one thing:  They want to know more about you.

Interviewing can a hard process for employers, especially if they are not professional recruiters.  They have to think of questions to ask, how to interpret the answers and base what could be a big decision on a short meeting.  And then do that four more times or more.

While there are some stock questions that are popular with some interviewers in all industries, the trouble with stock questions is that they can lead to stock answers. So, at some point, this interview is going to be more specific – not about your ability to deal with stock questions but about that which is unique to you.

The employer might see something in your CV that will make their life easier as an interviewer, something they could ask about.  It could be a gap year doing something particularly interesting or relevant, or maybe just a bullet point in your Skills and Interests section.  It might be that you have had two recurring roles in particular that seem wildly opposed.  Asking about those things is what makes an interview, both for you and them.

I’ve recently spent some time reviewing CVs of Technical Theatre graduates, people starting to make their way in the business.  As your work life move on, things get more diverse, skills and roles held become unique.  At graduate level, your skills and experience are very similar to those of your peers – CVs can look pretty much the same.  At this time, it is even more important to highlight those unique parts of you that makes a potential employer wonder and to want to know more.

Make sure there is plenty to wonder about.

Take Home Points about your CV

To wrap up, here are four stages that you poor little CV has to go through during the shortlisting process before you get that call for interview.

• Don’t get binned – Errors and formatting can effect your chances of getting much more than a cursory glance.
• Make me want to read – Look like you’ve got something to say and I won’t have to struggle to find what I’m looking for.
• Let me know – that you are suitable for the post and fit the person specification.
• Find out more – Make me want to ask you more about your Unique Selling Points.

On Stage Lighting readers will often find themselves pushing to get that next gig .  Graduate or a seasoned pro, looking to make a life in an industry that is suffering as much as any.  Using a CV to get access to a potential employer, from a cold start, is hard and potentially daunting.

Hopefully, we’ve managed to nail the important points and given you an employer’s point of view, to help you create your own killer CV.

Now, go do.  Guess you could always get a T shirt printed up instead … (image from Blackbird Tees)

While OSL has a lot of student readers, we also have a lot of more mature lighting peeps around here too, many of which are employers.  So guys, if you have any experience or insight on what makes a good CV for you, comments as usual please.

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

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Many On Stage Lighting readers are young aspiring lighting designers, keen to get into the industry and begin their journey to the top of their chosen profession. In this guest article, Lighting Designer, Author and all round stage lighting guru Richard Cadena tells it like it is.

How do I get to be a top lighting designer, then?

One of the most common questions I’m asked is, “How can I get into the lighting industry as a top lighting designer?” or something similar. It always reminds me of the punch line, “I don’t have to outrun the lion; I only have to outrun you.” (Oh, come on! Don’t tell me you’ve never heard that joke.  OK,  it’s at the bottom of this page)

But in this industry it’s not a lion that’s chasing us; rather, we’re chasing the lion and we have to outrun everyone else in the industry if we’re going to catch the prized position. If you want to be the one that chases down the king of all lighting positions, you’ve got to be prepared to put in some extra effort to prepare for a long chase. Here are some of the things you need to know.

You’re young and don’t know any better

That’s good because most people I know in this industry who are over 30 years old are trying to figure out how to come home off the road without giving up the salary to which they have become accustomed. And most people I know under 30 who want to be in this industry are trying to figure out how to go on the road and earn the kind of salary to which those over 30 have become accustomed. It’s a cruel trick of nature but it’s for your own good. If you knew what you were in for you might not be so anxious to go on the road. I won’t bother to tell you about all the missed birthdays, weddings, funerals, holidays, first baby steps, new teeth, broken arms, tonsillitis, first days of spring, report cards, quiet nights home with the family, not-so-quiet nights home with the family, graduations, and beautiful sunsets because you won’t listen anyway.

You don’t know how good you have it

Back in the day, there was no such thing as off-line editors, visualizers, the internet, social networking sites, smart phone apps, online user manuals, specialized books on stagecraft, lighting design software, or computers, for that matter. Nor was there Starbucks, Red Bull, cell phones, iPods, MP3s, or noise-cancelling headphones. We were lucky to have airplane travel and land lines. But here’s the reason I bring this up. There are lots and lots of resources to help you make your way up the industry ladder. All you have to do is put down your Wii, Nintendo, television remote control, and your texting down long enough to put the ladder against the wall and start climbing. Spend some quality time putting your brain in overdrive and learn the stuff. But don’t expect it to happen overnight. I hate to be the one to break it to you but it takes a lot of time and a lot of effort to master the fine art of being a master.

It takes more than automated lighting and a console, and less money than you think to create compelling lighting

Just because you can lay out dozens of automated lights, call them up on a console and record a scene in a console doesn’t necessarily make you a good lighting designer. The best lighting designers are the ones who can make a piece of wire, some gaff tape, and three sheets of gels sing like a songbird without resorting to the use of an effects engine. How do you think the great masters did it before the days of automated lighting? I’m not talking about the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, I’m talking about Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet, and Rembrandt. They did it all with shadow, light, and color. No effects engine required.

It’s easier than you think to be a part of this industry

Half the job is knowing how to get along with people, half is showing up on time, and the other half is bringing a great attitude. You don’t even have to know much math.

There are times when it’s okay to take chances and there are times when it’s not

The times when it’s okay to take chances include: moving to a different city to be close to production centers like London, New York, Paris, Chicago, Dallas, Munich, Los Angeles; taking on a project that requires you to stretch your skills and imagination; peppering the industry with resumes; asking a local production company if you can train on their console in exchange for sweeping the floors. The times when it’s not okay to take chances are when someone can get hurt: climbing without a harness on and clipped in; lifting a safety ground in an electrical system; rigging heavy objects over people’s heads if you’re inexperienced… You get the drift.

Have fun

If you really enjoy what you’re doing it shows and it’s contagious. Then people want to be around you and they’ll call you back again when they’re putting together their next crew list. You’ll be even happier when that happens and it turns into a vicious (but happy) cycle. If you don’t really enjoy this business then do us all a favor and get out. Chances are you won’t be making a terrible financial decision.

Read Rob’s On Stage Lighting blog

There, I said it. Now do it.

Richard Cadena has been in the lighting industry since the time of the bag phone.

He is the author of Electricity for the Entertainment Electrician & Technician (which is also available at in the US at Amazon.com ) and Automated Lighting: The Art and Science of Moving Light in Theatre, Live Performance, Broadcast, and Entertainment
(now in its 2nd edition) (Also available in the US at Amazon.com).

As an ETCP Certified Entertainment Electrician and an ETCP Recognized Trainer he conducts seminars about electricity, power distribution, and controls. He is also the editor of PLSN magazine and he has missed his share of weddings and funerals due to circumstances beyond his lighting control.

The Lion Joke

Two guys on a photo safari in South Africa far from their vehicle or shelter with no means of protection. All of a sudden they realize that a lioness has crept up behind them unexpectedly and that they are in grave danger of being attacked. One of them immediately takes off his safari boots and starts to put on some trainers.  The other says  “Are you crazy? That’s just a waste of time – you’ll never outrun a lion.”

The guy replies “I don’t have to outrun the lion, I only have to outrun you….”

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

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• Boom and Bust in the Lighting Business
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Designed to link freelance technicians with companies looking for crew, My Tech Spec is a UK based website hoping to make life easier for production houses and freelancers. On Stage Lighting investigates.

Freelance Membership

The business of a being freelance technician is not complicated. You need work, a diary and to get paid (easier said than done at the moment ).

As a freelance member, My Tech Spec allows you to advertise your details, upload a CV, photo and appear in employers searches on the site . Your skill keywords and availability are matched up with employers crewing their next gig. You also can search upcoming job advertisements.

At first glance, the point of My Tech Spec is to be part of a database of available skill and connect you with suitable employment. Our recent article on getting work suggests that it’s unlikely you will be booked as LD for the 2012 Olympics just by being listed on a techies website. The real bonus could be features like the online diary and invoicing.

Running a diary

The gig diary at My Tech Spec is used by employers as an “availability tool”. Freelancers could also see the benefit of running a “cloud” diary to manage their time on the go. Everyone has a different diary system – Outlook, Phone, paper diary, wall planner, Google Calendar (my current favourite). All of these methods have some pitfalls (like constantly trying to sync them with other diaries, families etc) and a decent diary at a site like My Tech Spec could be the answer, particularly if it was easy to use with mobile devices like the iPhone. The 3 line “Quick Job” (Name, Start Date, End Date) would be pretty handy when trying to do the whole “hands free”, shouting at the phone thing.

My wife has yet to become a company member of My Tech Spec in order to check my availability for family events

Getting paid

Getting paid is the last piece of the puzzle . My Tech Spec enables the quick creation of invoices based on the diary – day rates (that’s a whole can of tax worms in the UK), PO numbers, company details etc. The invoice being generated from the saved details of companys, it’s spat out in PDF format for printing or emailing.

Another nice and simple touch is being able to run a quick report on paid/unpaid invoices for a period. Although the invoicing features aren’t going to magically fill out your tax return, it creates invoices and keeps a log of them. After all, who wants to spend their day off crafting hand illuminated typesetting masterpieces ?

Is Freelance Membership of My Tech Spec worth it?

My Tech Spec is very new but what struck me was the number of reputable UK production companies that are signed up. Taking into account the diary and invoicing features, plus the chance to browse upcoming jobs, the current price is a cheap for the chance to get in front of some Production Managers looking for crew. [Adopts BBC style gloom mode] If there are any.

Company Membership

I had a bit of play with the company membership side to see what the “other half” gets.

As a company member of My Tech Spec, you get to post jobs, upcoming freelance gigs and search the freelancer database for available crew. The search facility would be the real attraction for production companies, allowing them to find available crew with the right skills. The searches were successful although the initial search and subsequent pagination of results takes a little too long.

A good feature is the ability to add freelancers to a favourites list, a quick view of availability for the next few weeks. I couldn’t work out if searches could be performed on favourite freelancers only or if their results appeared ahead of others. If a company persuades all it’s freelance crew to sign up to My Tech Space, they could significantly cut down the time spent ringing around to find someone that can do a gig.

Will My Tech Spec be successful?

Cloud computing and the fragmentation of employment has spawned a lot of online sites aimed at freelance working in general

The idea of a central crew booking system a bit like National Rail might seem alien but it only takes a bit of momentum to get the snowball rolling. My Tech Spec tells us that take up is quicker with event companies, than freelancers. Running a freelancer database is a headache for companies of all sizes and being able to “compare the meerkat” in one place is great, even if you only stick to your “pet” meerkats – sorry, crew.

Production companies would love to be able to get access to a bigger freelancers list for “extra” hands when their own crew list is exhausted. For freelancers, My Tech Spec should continue to tweak their features (like the diary and invoices) and try to become a valuable tool to the busy self employed.

With the rate of full time layoffs in the industry increasing, this website could find a growing list of “converted freelancers” (ie. people who used to have jobs) setting them up with a sizeable labour base. In an improved economic climate, a site like this could become an industry hub.

Like Facebook, this game is “winner takes all” – if your site becomes the one , everyone converges in one place. Whether My Tech Spec is that site only time will tell but one thing’s certain – if you’ve got a good idea, first mover advantage doesn’t last for long.

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

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On Stage Lighting considers the process of securing work as a freelance Lighting Designer. We unravel the mysteries of “getting the gig” and find out that it isn’t all about portfolios, CV’s and qualifications.

In our Freelance Lighting Technician article, we looked at the guys that make their living going from gig to gig as freelancers. Many prominent LD’s are also freelance or running small design businesses, selling their skills as a Lighting Designer with a small team around them. From big event chaps like Durham Marenghi to well known theatre lighting designers like Richard Pilbrow, many LD’s plough their own furrow as small businesses.

Alex asked a question about how the decision “who gets the big gigs?” is reached. He said:

The work will come?

That answer is perfect – the work will come. Thinking about the underlying process of how this mystical thing happens is valuable, especially for anyone just starting out. It’s something that we’ve chatted about backstage recently, probably brought on by more uncertainty in the job market. The answer isn’t specific to stage lighting or even the entertainment business in general. It’s more of a fact of life / human nature kind of thing.

How do you get work as a freelancer?

In all business, there is a certain amount of “pitching” to clients. You try to win the contract with ideas, presentations and proposals. While this certainly goes on in the entertainment business, pitching is often done to “outsiders” – Corporations, Sponsors, MoneyMen etc. People who don’t know a thing about lighting are going to agree to use your team for their show.

The Lighting Designer may be part of the pitching team, but their actual involvement in the project depends on others on “our side” – Producers, Technical Managers etc. The Lighting Designer might have to pitch design concepts but is unlikely that they would have to pitch their services. They’ve already got the gig and aside from high quality work, dedication and reputation yaddah yaddah yaddah, usually for one reason….

So, you’re a freelance LD. You get to some decent sized shows, get phone calls, take engagements, keep busy and all that. Why do you get asked to be part of all these?

Trust. Business is built on relationships and trust. If you need a truck taken to Glasgow, you book a truck driver because you trust them to get the truck there. On time, no accidents, no tickets, just get there. You might trust them because they work for a big name agency or you know them well personally.

If you use a lighting company, it’s because you trust them to deliver equipment that works. If you choose a Lighting Designer, it’s because you trust them to get the job done. A “safe pair of hands”.

How does this trust thing start?

Trust is often based on first hand evidence – “That truck driver has always been on time so far..”. When you’re starting out, it seems like proof comes on a few pieces of A4 paper and some photographs. – a CV and a portfolio. While these are great indicators of your interest and experience in stage lighting, they don’t create instant trust with an employer – more a “foot in the door” to build a career upon.

Working your way “up the ranks” is as much about building long term relationships as it is about learning the trade. Trust builds up over time (with proof) and you can use it to springboard yourself out of your current “position” on to the next level – Production Electrician, Associate LD, Medium-sized Cheese etc.

Getting new work?

“So if I can get work with people I already know, what about new contacts?”

Of course, it’s possible to get new work with no history or proof. That’s how we build up contact networks, particularly in the early stages of a career. Further down the ladder, people are willing to give you chance to prove yourself.

Further up (like an LD), it’s unlikely you will be “given a go” as a complete unknown. However, when you’re a big name LD past gigs can provide a certain amount of instant trust among new contacts. You might even become the next “big thing” and a must-have LD, but getting work can still be hard in such a small market.

Long Term Relationships

Here’s my experience as an ordinary jobbing LD/Programmer. I can’t think of one of my business relationships that doesn’t have ties going back 10 years or more. Maybe I haven’t worked with that client but I have known that production manager since before I went to college. Or I used to tour with someone who now does something else and they booked me to do this show and then I did that show … Hell, I still work with guys in my youth theatre when I was 10 years old.

A straw poll among other technical crew suggests that my own experience is not uncommon. Every show, every phone call, has a little Facebook-like network (cue: plug for the New OSL FB Group) of history behind it.

So, take a look around your own personal network and try to spot the next Harvey Goldsmith. You might still be working with them in 20 years time! In the meantime, it doesn’t hurt to meet as many people as possible.

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

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On Stage Lighting looks into a current hot industry topic – the immediate and and long term future of jobs in live events .

The entertainment business is not immune to the general ecomonic picture, as has been demonstrated by a number of production companies pulling down the shutters. Difficult times can also be the catalyst for reflection and change, specifically when it comes to how the production industry conducts it’s business.

This week, the most interesting of Blue Room technical forums has been The Office – a space for discussion on life as an production professional. Alongside reports of UK companies in trouble, topics have included a forced change in freelance staff payment terms, the tax status of sub contracted labour and so-called “part-time” freelancers.

It all starts with how showbusiness in the UK is run.

Theatre shows, concerts and other live events are staffed, sorry crewed, using temporary employees. Freelance management and technicians, the business couldn’t function as it does at the moment without a flexible workforce. Teams of skilled workers are assembled together for a particular period and then disbanded as soon as the show is over. Us “freelancers” crawl back off under our stones until the phone rings again.

Most freelancers are engaged on a self-employed subcontractor basis. Paying their own Tax and National Insurance they get none of the perks that a temporary employee would be entitled to. As a free market it’s pretty unregulated and most areas of the industry are untroubled by pesky things like unions.

What’s wrong with that, then?

The Taxman (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) doesn’t like all this. He says that temporary, labour-only employees should be treated as such and don’t really fit into the HMRC definition of genuine self-employed subcontractors. Small businesses, if you like.

What the Taxman doesn’t like, the production business loves. They’re blowed if their gonna start paying extra contributions, tax and giving these filthy freeloaders employee rights as well as cash. It makes sense to keep them on a string and use buying power in a saturated market to pass the business risk onto casual labour.

The freelancers are, for the moment at least, happy with the flexibility that the status quo affords. But it can seem like large employers want it both ways. They want to be able to treat you as a small business but then start trying to dictate terms, leaning on the unwary and using their large freelancer list as some kind of overdraft facility. “Well if you don’t want to do it, I can just call the next lampie on the list!. People will do anything to get into showbusiness”.

When a labour market is this flexible, shit always rolls downhill – and it doesn’t stop ’til it gets to the bottom.

So, we’ve established that the Taxman doesn’t believe in our system and is looking at ways of changing it. It’s reasonable that, as supply outstrips demand, freelancers (the bottom) start to ask questions about their future prospects. This begs the question “Can we really sustain this model of supposedly “freelance” temporary employees and still meet the needs of the market?”. After all, what we do seems to require a greater skill level than ever before and we ain’t going back.

Evil Part-Time Freelancers

When reflecting on “where it all went wrong”, people look for someone to blame. In the lighting industry, we don’t have a herd of eastern european migrants so instead some of the blame goes to freelancers who aren’t “keepin’ it real”. Part-timers who come in , undercut us and depress our fees (don’t forget, the Taxman told us we can’t do day rates anymore) and then go back to their day job. It’s all right for them, they don’t need the money. It’s all a bit of jolly day out of the office.

Well, I don’t agree and I’ll tell you why.

I don’t doubt that these extra bodies in the market have an effect on pay.

I believe in free enterprise. I am also the (almost) sole breadwinner for a family of four and have worked as a freelancer since 1995. I’m the guy who is supposed to be getting screwed by these moonlighting cowboys, food being ripped from the mouths of my children.

I believed in free enterprise when I pitched and won that gig over another LD. And when I was introduced to a client by a LD friend of mine, who I subsequently accepted work from. Some of which would probably have ended up in that mates lap. All’s fair and no hard feelings – that mate outbid me for a series of gigs later on.

I know freelancers whose partner has a good steady job. They have no kids and decent income even without the odd gig. I am the only earner.

I know freelancers who live with their parents or in a cheap bedsit. I have a house and mortage to pay.

I also know freelancers who spend all their time flying helicopters and parachuting in exotic places. I can’t afford to do that.

The point is, you can’t make a distinction. Part-time freelancer or gig slogging “lifer”, you either believe in “the market” or you don’t. When supply is greater than demand, fees take a bashing but there is an upside to the economics. When work is tight, you can bet I’ll be calling in favours, ringing up old chums and getting around. If in lean times, a freelancer is making their way just “below” my usual hunting ground, you can be sure that I will be looking to eat their lunch. It won’t necessarily be by cutting rates but it will be having a better “offer”. All’s fair and no hard feelings.

The Future

Freelancer or not, we could do ourselves a great deal of good by taking a more optimistic and pro active view of our own talents and marketable skills. Get more training, build more relationships and have more “offer” than the last guy. If you find that the supply is saturated, it makes business sense to become “ in demand” by upskilling and evolving. But don’t forget it’s people that count, not just skills. Let’s not blame the Eastern Europeans or the local house tech.

If it takes the Taxman to propel the UK events industry into it’s future employment system, that’s fine. If employers are forced to rethink how they do business in order to retain high quality talent, whatever. If all the good freelance crew upsticks and go away before London 2012, that’d be funny. One thing for sure, the status quo is not an option. If we want highly skilled, motivated home grown professionals in our business we need to offer them a bit more that the chance to work 15+ hours a day just in the name of showbusiness.

And you need to realise your own worth.

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

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The modern stage lighting industry is extremely changeable. The call for lighting techs goes up and down like a truss rigged on elastic, it’s what they call a flexible labour market. So, production companies rely on freelance technicians ( freelancers, freeloaders [insert term of abuse here]). Becoming a freelance lighting tech seems like a good deal from the outside and this article takes a look at what it takes to be a freelancer and the ups and downs of the self employed lighting technician.

What does being a freelance lighting tech involve?

Freelance techs of all abilities are contracted on a temporary basis to take on different jobs within a lighting crew. While working on the production, they take on the “hat” of the company they are contracted to but are expected to be self-employed, pay their own taxes and run like any other small business. The tax authorities have some special measures the determines what is a contracted freelancer (not an employed temporary worker) but let’s not get into that today. Many shows have crews made up almost entirely of freelancers who then disperse after the production is complete.

What skills do you need?

A Freelance lighting technician must, at least, have a good understanding of working practice in stage lighting. Being able to rig, focus and fault find are the minimum requirements with further skills such as lighting desk operation, roped access, electrical qualifications and other certificates being an advantage. The more wide ranging your skills, the better. And mobility. A driving license and a passport that isn’t down at the local police station means you can get to your next gig.

The less tangible skills for a freelancer is the ability to get on with other people and work in teams, as well as being able to work unsupervised. Freelancing is awash with new faces and situations so being able to cope with pressure and change is a must. These are all vital “on the job”.

What is less obvious are the personal skills that a successful freelancer needs away from the gig. Building up contacts and personal relationships within the industry helps get more freelance work. Good technical freelancers can come unstuck if they don’t possess good personal finance discipline. Being able to budget and control your own money is essential when you are working in such a precarious employment situation. Even if you have a good accountant, you still need to be in control. And some people just don’t like the thought of not knowing where the next pay cheque is coming from.

There are some other requirements to “going freelance”. Self employed status, your own tools and transport, producing quotes and invoices etc. And insurance to indemnify yourself against any claim made against you in relation to your work.

The good bits about being a freelance lighting technician..

• Work flexibility – Ultimately, you can choose what work you take. “Where? Oh, no I think that my cat’s got a dentist appointment that day?”
• Travel – Planes, Trains and Automobiles…. And maybe some nice hotels.
• Meeting new people – You end up knowing loads of people in the stage lighting business. ( And running into them all in the bar at PLASA)
• Time Off – When not directly on a gig.- No going “back to the office” after the gig is over. Daytime television, mmmmm!

The bad bits about being a freelancer..

• Work Flexibility – When you need work, you don’t get any choice which gigs you do or how they muck up your other plans.
• Travel – Endless hanging about at airports and being stuck in traffic on the motorway. And being away from your family.
• Meeting new people – Not everyone is a nice as you are.
• Time Off – There nothing like having no work in the diary for post-Christmas depression.

So, can I make my first million as a freelance lighting tech?

It’s unlikely. Many people think that being on a decent daily rate (how you charge for your time as a tech) means that you must be raking it in. The reason that freelancers “seem” to be paid so well is that is to compensate for the level of risk of being a self employed. Don’t forget that they have to pay tax, national insurance and other business costs too. And there is a limit to how much a freelance lighting tech can earn. There are only 365 days in a year – you do the math. Depending on your particular stage lighting business, it can be hard to fill up every day of the week. Gigs are often all on at the same time and you can only do one at a time (well, mostly).

Having said that, being a freelancer is OK. I have spent nearly 15 years as a freelance “lampie”, LD and Production Manager. I have a house, kids and all the usual stuff. The family of a freelancer has to put up with a lot of instability in their lives too. But it’s just a job like any other. If you have any questions about being a freelance technician, put them in the comment section below.

If they say that “you’re only as good as your last gig” , let’s get on to the next one!

If this has helped you, consider buying me a beer and CLICK HERE to donate a few bucks to On Stage Lighting (why should I donate?). Thanks, - Rob

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