Freelance Stage Lighting Technician - The Inside Story
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!
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5 Responses to “Freelance Stage Lighting Technician - The Inside Story”
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April 15th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Hey m8,
So is freelancing the only decent way of making money as a lampie or is there ways of, say working for a company that sends you out on jobs with a anual sallery, or maybe working in a venue fulltime?
Cheers
Jimmy
April 15th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Hi Jimmy,
You have picked out the three main ways to earn money as a lighting tech. They are all valid and suit different people.
As a full time tech, the freelancers seem to be on a very high day rate. When you are full time, it doesn’t matter if you are in the office, or slogging your guts out on site - you get paid the same. Same can be said of some venue technician jobs. But what price do you put on knowing that you will be paid at the end of the month?
Working full time for a company or venue you may get health cover, pensions, paid holiday and training/development paid for. You also get someone to “hold your hand” and let you make mistakes while learning the trade.
Full time can be a great way to develop your skills. In the last 10 years, it has been the norm for full timers to do a few years with a company, then go out on their own (often still working for the same company as a freelancer).
You don’t get any “benefits” as a freelancer. Every day that I am not on site, rigging kit, pressing buttons or working shows - I ain’t getting paid.
I have always liked freelancing because I can see the direct correlation between how much I work and how much money I earn. I probably average 3 days a week (calculated over the whole year) and but still take home the same (or more) money as if I was full time. But it all comes in chunks. and some months of the year I will slog from gig to gig, hardly see my family.
And work isn’t guaranteed.
Recently, things are getting tough in the industry. We are not immune to the wider economy and check this:
Looking at the last 8 months turnover, I am 6K down on the same period last year. If you asked full timers if they would like a pay cut like that, I know what the answer would be.
Final thought - Nobody goes into stage lighting to really make money. The pay is not great compared to some other industries and it’s too much like hard work.
Good to hear from you again.
Rob
April 16th, 2008 at 1:15 am
“Final thought - Nobody goes into stage lighting to really make money. The pay is not great compared to some other industries and it’s too much like hard work.”
And yet you do it, I look at things when im at colleage, connections and things, and i always come back to this. The pays not great but it has a some what lure to it. =/ maybe thats just me being strange.
I’ve been trying to get some venue work for the last 6 months with no luck, simply for the insurrance and risks for being 17 .etc …but then again you got to start some where. How did you get started?
I think i’ll probly go do a degree in lighting programing but i then think about it and see the cost of university, and then the income of a lampy to pay it off.
On the other hand tho, i’ld rahter be doing something i like than being stuck in a office sending fax’s. =/
Jimmy
April 16th, 2008 at 4:55 am
Jimmy,
You’re right to be worried about the cost of university. Not that you can’t earn enough money to pay it back, or that the course won’t benefit you.
The thing that really winds us “old pros” up at the moment is the number of places teaching degrees in “lighting design” or “wagglylite programmer”. They do this, as commercial enterprises, because there is a demand for places on these stage lighting courses. This doesn’t mean that there is a lot of demand in the industry for graduates, or even a lot of vacant jobs in that field.
Some of the lighting design courses seem to train to become Patrick Woodruffe or [insert favorite international LD here]. The fact is, there are only a handful of LD’s doing that. It’s not enough to say, “I have a degree in moving light programming - I’ll have a job please.”
Maybe that will change. The industry is still new and changing fast (just look at the old footage of music festivals in the ’70’s or the Staging/PA that the Beatles used in Shea Stadium). 30 years ago, the business was run by maverick individuals and mis-fits who made it up as they went along. That’s what is so great about it, you don’t need to explain to anyone in lighting about about the “lure” of working on shows. It either gets you or it doesn’t.
I started as a casual in my local theatre at 16 (the youngest that you could be paid to work in a theatre). I got that gig because I had been in the Youth Theatre, learned technical stuff from the the pros and worked for free at the weekends. It’s not so easy now and our industry is growing up to have a more rigid training system where you must jump through the hoops.
In contrast to the generation above me, I do have formal training (on the About page). This would have got me a place as an ASM or Assistant Electrician in a regional theatre when I graduated. But I went freelance instead.
The whole question of stage lighting training and opportunities is always under discussion by those of us already in stage lighting. We never seem to be able to come up with real answers but “It used to be much better in my day.”
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I know what you meen, I here that of are chief techy quite alot.
The way i see it, the degree gives you the pieces of paper e.g ladders, electrics .etc and you’ve got some theory behind it. Dosent give you experience, i suspose somewhere slack on health and safety is where to learn.
I gathered there maybe alot of demand in this field as soon as i saw how busy the blue room forum is. =/