The production electrician is responsible for the following:

Rough Light Plot

As of Fall 2015, the Rough Light Plot meeting will be a conversation between the lighting designer and the lighting design mentor.  The production electrician will not be responsible for anything at this time.  The Rough Light Plot is due two weeks prior to the Final Light Plot.  This will give the lighting designer and the lighting design mentor an opportunity to assess the current design prior to a meeting with the technical personnel.

Preliminary Light Plot

As of Fall 2015, the Preliminary Light Plot meeting will be a conversation between the lighting design team, the lighting design mentor, the Lighting and Sound Shop Supervisor, the production electrician, the master electrician, and the assistant master electrician.  This meeting replaces the old "Rough Light Plot" meeting, and will happen one week prior to the Final Light Plot meeting.

When the preliminary plot is turned over, the production electrician will do the following before the final plot is completed:

  • Reconcile plot inventory with actual inventory.  Communicate any shortages to design team.
  • Budget show with all color, templates, effects and practicals supplies.  Budget is to be approved by L&S Supervisor before any purchasing takes place.
  • Count number of necessary circuits in each position to determine the feasibility of the design given practical considerations (s/he does not need to create a final circuit plot at this time, only determine if there are enough circuits to hang the show).

Final Plot

The Final Light Plot meeting will be a conversation between the lighting design team, the lighting design mentor, the Lighting and Sound Shop Supervisor, the production electrician, the master electrician, and the assistant master electrician.  At this time, the light plot will be turned over to the production electrician and any remaining questions or concerns will be addressed.  

When the final plot is turned over, the production electrician will accomplish the following:

  • Compile a shop order and delivery schedule.
  • Complete a circuit plot and circuited Lightwright paperwork file.
  • Complete a data plot.
  • Compile a plan for safely rigging the show, in conjunction with the L&S Shop Supervisor.
  • Compile a list of prep tasks and a rough timeline for the prep period.

Shop Order

The production electrician should obtain the lighting package from the network and the completed set of drawings from the designer. S/he should then prepare a shop order to present to the light shop assistants and the master electrician. The shop order should contain:

  • Conventional fixtures: number, type, wattage.  Ideally: specify hanging hardware counts on fixtures (c-clamps or sliding tees).
  • LED fixtures:  number, type, lens information as appropriate.  Power supplies, data enablers, etc.
  • Moving lights:  number, type, gobo load (as per design team).
  • Followspots:  number, type, frame load, hardware.
  • Accessories:  color frames, gobo holders, top hats, barn doors, irises, etc.
  • Special Effects:  atmospherics, strobes, etc.
  • Control:  consoles and accessories, computers, wireless dimming, networking equipment, gateways, etc.
  • Pipe:  lengths, hardware, boom bases, cheeseboroughs, etc.
  • Iron:  sidearms, unistrut hardware, scenery bumpers, etc.
  • Rigging:  shackles, roundslings, steel slings, turnbuckles, chain, batten clamps, etc.
  • Cable:  XLR5, XLR4, XLR3, Cat5e, Edison, waber strips, UPS, etc.
  • Color and template counts.
  • Any other equipment needed.

Delivery Schedule

In conjunction with the audio engineer and L&S Supervisor, compile a prioritized list of equipment required for the production's prep period.  Efficiently scheduling delivery can prevent excessive clutter in and around the theatres (space is often at a premium).  

Data Plot

The production electrician is responsible for supplying control data to every DMX-controlled device in the production.  Data plot must include:

  • Placement and universe assignments of all Net3 Gateways, as well as specifying supplying network port connections.
  • Placement of all opto splitters.
  • Placement of all DMX-controlled power supplies (i.e. LED).
  • Routing of correct cabling to all DMX-controlled devices (XLR5, XLR4, XLR3, etc.)

Rigging

With the L&S Supervisor, the production electrician will create a rigging plot with point specifications for all booms, light ladders, dead-hung battens, or other rigging components pertaining to the production's lighting.

Expendables / Rentals

The lighting supervisor is responsible for creating a list of all expendables including: color, templates, scrolls, practicals supplies, and anything else above stock equipment. With the L&S Supervisor, contact all appropriate vendors to obtain said expendables and rentals.

Circuit Plot

The circuit plot can either be done on the computer or by hand and should take into account:

  • Where the circuits are in the theatre.
  • Whether the equipment requires 208V (L6-20 twistlock supply) or 120V (2P&G/stagepin supply).
  • How much of each type of cable is necessary.
  • How many two-fers and adapters are needed.
  • Which pipes or booms need extra circuits and where they will originate.
  • Each fixture must be assigned a dimmer (or non-dim as appropriate) and these should be indicated on the circuit plot.

Pre-Hang

  • With the master electrician, the production electrician will prepare hanging cards or hang tapes for the crew during hang.
  • The production electrician is expected to attend all production meetings.
  • The production electrician is responsible for the electrical design of all practical lighting elements (i.e. illuminated scenic props, light boxes) and will communicate plans to the master electrician.
  • The production electrician will generate a list of prep tasks to be undertaken by the master electrician and the crew.  This list should be prioritized and updated daily.

Hang

  • Before hang, the production electrician will meet with the master electrician to review the circuit plot and discuss any potential issues.
  • The production electrician will be readily available during hang to answer questions and deal with any circuiting issues. Any conflicts requiring the production electrician not be present at any time during hang must be discussed with and pre-approved by the L&S Supervisor.
  • The production electrician will take any changes made to the paperwork and update the Lightwright file, distributing new copies as necessary.
  • The production electrician is responsible for patching the show in the lighting console and preparing the console for focus.

Focus

  • Before focus, the production electrician will meet with the master electrician and lighting designer to review the plot and discuss the order of focus.
  • The production electrician will be readily available during focus to answer questions and deal with any issues.  Any conflicts requiring the production electrician not be present during focus must be discussed with and pre-approved by the L&S Supervisor.
  • The production electrician will take any changes made to the paperwork and update the Lightwright file, distributing new copies as necessary.

Technical Rehearsals

  • The production electrician is responsible for all lighting elements of production, including (but not limited to) tech tables, running lights and any other elements as defined by the L&S Supervisor.  Any non-working systems must be communicated to the design team prior to the beginning of a technical rehearsal period.  It is expected that the production electrician will make all reasonable efforts to have every element of the lighting rig functioning for every technical rehearsal.
  • During work calls which begin prior to opening of on-campus dining options, production electrician and master electrician will be responsible for securing crew breakfast for all working personnel.  
  • During work calls or performance calls which prevent any crewmember from receiving a meal break, production electrician and master electrician will be responsible for securing crew meals for all working personnel. 
  • The production electrician, master electrician, and assistant master electrician are responsible for console programming prior to and during the technical rehearsal process.  Programming duties shall be discussed in a meeting between the L&S Supervisor, the production electrician, the master electrician, and the assistant master electrician.  

Post Rehearsal Production Meetings

At the end of each technical rehearsal there will be a production meeting where the director will be able to give notes to the entire production team. After this, the lighting designer, production electrician and master electrician will meet to develop a list of notes in order of priority for the following day. The production electrician should compile the list of notes and update the plot and paperwork as necessary before the following day’s work session.

Before the End of the Semester

Each production electrician must submit a final lighting package as discussed and defined by the L&S Supervisor. No grade will be submitted until the receipt of these documents.