How To Be A Bad Lighting Designer

[@kristinmikles]

Thank you for this video. I really needed to hear step 5. I’m the lighting department head at my school and one of only two students who do lights (the other is two years younger than me so I take seniority). We have a new tech teacher and it’s been so hard for me to accept his critiques, ideas, and general authority, mostly cause my old teacher left me alone and my new teacher is completely unfamiliar with our board and the inventory and just working in our theater in general. very helpful video, thank you.

[@ChrisMonson]

Hi Kristin! Thank you for your kind words. Dealing with criticism is hard. I've been doing this for over 15 years, working in a very collaborative environment where there is no shortage of critique. I still find it hard at times. It is so important though. Nothing has made me grow more over the years than listening and responding well to critique from people who "know less" than I do. I think the fact that you are able to identify that dealing with critique is hard for you and is something to be worked on shows a lot of maturity as an artist. Keep growing, keep learning, and keep up the good work! The world needs more good lighting designers (-:

[@RH-qd2nm]

There are a number of people I’d like to send a shorter, to-the-point version of this to. If the same concepts could be covered in an amount of time a beginner/amateur would view, that would be a great video to share.

[@artistwintersong7343]

I am a musician newly studying lighting and you express the challenge well. For example, I see lighting in those tv talent shows that seems cheap like fast food, to offer a metaphor.

[@jordanhenshaw]

Indirectly Motivated Effects are lighting effects that may occasionally build when the band drops off, or drop off at a musical high point. You have to really know what you’re doing and spend a lot of time refining to get this right though. The lighting doesn’t always have to directly match the band’s energy. Sometimes you want counterpoint. Very cautiously though. And only if you actually know what you’re doing.

[@lauriemonson5360]

Chris, this is a great video and I like the way you presented this. I’m sure it will be helpful to other lighting designers.

[@randylight9886]

Good Stuff, as a Touring,Festival House LD , it is always the challenge , to avoid the traps of a "Bad Lighting Designer".Wow , transitions I've really battled on one offs to get better and cringe when I fail on those.For me You Tube has been very helpful to see a Band's set up and songs going in , and really breaks the Ice when you actually know their songs, while you introduce yourself before a show .Thanks for the Video

[@hiptoalieu]

I agree with ALL of this! However, when you sync your effects, they don't ALWAYS have to be synced to a quarter note BPM, sometimes I run a song quarter speed, or half speed, or OCCASIONALLY I will flash some leds with ALL different speeds, but close together. It's a cool look that has a nice analog flow that's useful for par chases... Zach Williams, and Crowder... and movers, or led pars... for Hillsong Y&F and or Planet shakers, and some River Valley Worship Great stuff and god bless you and your ministry!

[@InfiniteEditsHD]

you dont need to have effects BPM synced all the time. saying that it has to be synced to a certain fraction of the songs tempo is silly. sometimes it makes sense to have fx speeds that gradually rise or decline over a period of time to add a sense of tension and relief

[@nitromix6644]

Super insightful ...toms up . Was taking notes and i just realised i wrote 6 pages woooow!. would love to see more of your contents. pls do you mind recommending any good book, article, channels to learn more on church and concert lighting .

[@zachstout7747]

Multiinstrumentalist-producer-band member here who's trying to automate lighting during my performances but has little experience w it. Thanks for this, man! Good tips.

[@sbdemos]

Phenomenal video. I learned so much. Couldn’t find anything like this anywhere. I appreciate it.

[@DuesGibGolfandLife]

Really good man... really enjoyed this and have a lot to think about. We did a new stage display today and it was great with heaps of color but now you got me thinking. It wasn't all over the stage and wasn't like a clown threw up but I think it will be to much. Make more videos. you seem to know a lot and you present really well

[@Descriptor_]

Love your channel. Please keep sharing videos! It's hard to find experienced LD's in the church world who are as helpful as you are.

[@ChrisMonson]

Thank you!

[@salmaamr2874]

Can u do a video on transitions and tips for making a show

[@PixelPlayslLP]

For step 4 i need mostly to improvise i workling on an Club where 2 Bands for an evening playing and then DJ and iis always different types if music like you got rock then directly indi Musik or Country and afterwards Mainstream music as the DJ plays i making an all around showfile and then try so i can improvise easyli

[@bernardsmedema9213]

Really nice video, learned a lot! What kind of moving head spots do you use?

[@worthyt3298]

When I heard the first song I got so happy haha

[@gigi18783]

Thank you so much, this was great!!!

[@thehodgi1]

Use green. At all.

[@spyder027]

I’ve used green twice in the last 3 years of programming lights for my church. It was the walk in cue for the Christmas services

[@FUXProductions]

On all Dance6 Festivals Lights is the most important thing of the whole show :P

[@danrijos4676]

Forget to turn off the house lights completely

[@lumpyeuphoria5688]

Very Euphoric

[@lukasschramm9887]

1min, grabbing popcorn

[@SickWorldPerspective]

Steps within steps. LD Inception.... Jokes aside, thank you for the tips!

[@jonathanjones4566]

Nothing clashes more than saying God needs your money so a church can buy millions of dollars of production gear.

[@Koubles]

Most churches do not overblow on their production gear. Much of the money (in good churches) goes to good works in the community and maintaining their staff. The production merely serves the purpose of drawing people in to want to be a part of the church as well as providing outlets for people in faraway places to still be able to come to that church and worship. Church can be held in a park with a dude on an acoustic and a pastor, that's really all you need. However, if you want to grow a large community and get large amounts of people excited to go to church you want that experience to be as welcoming, inviting, and accessible as possible. This is why you see most missionary contemporary churches put at least 6 figures into their production setup. Many churches have different flavors of worship, and there's no one right way to do it, at least that's what I think. The problem is when churches allow that money/production to make them lose their focus of their church's vision. Then it becomes just another soulless concert with a sermon you could get by reading even the most basic of self help books.

[@mphathisaila1549]

What lighting software do you use when you 3D rendering n what lighting software do prefer using most

[@ChrisMonson]

All of my pre-vis design work is done in Blender and then eventually moved into Capture for creating my plots, and documentation. As for a the lighting software, I use Lightforge.

[@ole4cookies]

Chris Monson can you please give a tutorial on how to set it all up?? i really need this and will never get a chance because of my sexist tech teacher

[@kevinscheffler6463]

Well said

[@moseman447]

THank you so much!

[@sevenpelomundo]

Nice

[@SteveO312]

Amen 🙏