Vocabulary + BS-detection · 70-minute read · CPD hours: 1.5 · Includes the DMX moment
Listen to this module — narrated by Daniel
Tip: you can listen while you read along, or close your screen and treat it as a podcast on the drive home.
Why this is Module 1 of Tier 1B. Tier 1A put you in the production manager's chair and gave you the framework — schedule, team, compliance, budget. Tier 1B is the other half: the vocabulary and the BS-detection that make up the Bachelor of being Unbullshittable. We start with lighting because it's the department most teachers feel least equipped to question — and the one where the quotes run highest.
What this module is. You are NOT learning to be a lighting technician. You are learning enough of the language so that when your LD says "we've got a DMX issue, give us 30 minutes" you know whether to panic, escalate, or go grab a tea. After this module, you do.
What this module is NOT. It's not a substitute for hiring a competent LD. The pros do the work; you don't. The skill is in communicating credibly with the pros so they can't bullshit you, and reading their quotes so they can't over-bill you on the technical detail.
The 20 words that get you 80% of the way
Theatre lighting has thousands of terms, and you'll never need most of them. You need about twenty — the words that come up in every planning meeting, every quote, and every "give us a minute" moment during tech. Get these and you're across the conversation; the rest you can ask about without losing credibility.
Each entry below has the same structure: the word, what an LD says, what it actually means, and — the part that matters — what to do when you hear it. Read the "what to do" line as your script for the moment, not just a definition to memorise.
How to read these cards
The skill isn't reciting definitions — it's knowing which words mean "stay out of the way and let them work" and which mean "ask one sharp question". Watch for the second kind as you go: DMX, dimmer rack, focus hours and movers are where a single well-placed question saves you money or saves the schedule.
DMX (or DMX-512)
"We've got a DMX issue, give us 30 minutes."
What it is: Think of it as the river of information that runs to every light. It's the digital signal that carries instructions from the lighting console out to every dimmer and fixture — it's how all the devices in the lighting network talk to each other. What to do: If DMX is broken, nothing works — not a single light responds, because they've lost the line that controls them all. Fixing it is genuine work, so give them the time they ask for. Go and grab a tea, and don't ask questions until they come to you.
Channel
"Channel 47 is dark."
What it is: A numbered slot on the console that controls one or more fixtures. What to do: "channel 47 is dark" = one fixture or group is not lighting up. Routine — they'll diagnose. Worth knowing if it's a key light vs. a wash; ask gently.
Patch
"I need 20 minutes to re-patch."
What it is: The map from console channels to physical fixtures (via DMX addresses). Re-patching is moving the map around. What to do: 20 minutes is honest. If they ask for an hour, that's also normal for a big show. Don't interrupt; the patch is brain-on work.
Dimmer
"We've lost dimmer rack 3."
What it is: The device that controls the brightness of conventional (incandescent/halogen) fixtures. A rack holds many channels. What to do: Losing a dimmer rack = up to 24 channels dark at once. This is a real problem. Ask: "is it the rack itself, a breaker, or upstream power?" That single question signals you know enough not to be lied to.
Fixture (or lamp / light)
"That fixture is in the wrong colour."
What it is: The actual physical light unit. "Fixture" is industry; "lamp" is the bulb inside it; "light" is colloquial. What to do: "in the wrong colour" usually means the gel (a coloured filter) needs swapping. Routine. ~5 min per fixture if accessible.
Conventional vs. moving light (intelligent fixture)
"Eight conventionals on LX1, four movers on the bridge."
What it is: Conventional = static (focus is fixed); moving / intelligent = pan, tilt, colour, gobo controllable from the console. What to do: Movers cost 3-5× conventionals to hire. If the design has many movers, ask "could a conventional + a gel achieve the same effect for half the hire?" Often yes.
Focus
"We've got 4 hours of focus tomorrow."
What it is: Aiming + shuttering + colouring each fixture to do what the plot says. EWP work, usually. What to do: 4 hours for a 60-fixture rig is honest. 6+ hours is over-quoted unless it's a complex moving-light show. Push back politely if it's higher.
Plot / Lighting plot
"The plot has 84 fixtures."
What it is: The design drawing showing every fixture's position, type, colour, and function. Module 4 (Reading a Lighting Plot) covers reading it. What to do: 84 fixtures for a school musical is a lot. Question gently: "do we need 84, or could 60 achieve 90% of the effect?" Cost-saving conversation.
Bar / LX bar (e.g. LX1, LX2, FOH bar)
"LX1 in trim."
What it is: A horizontal pipe across the stage from which fixtures are suspended and clipped. On-stage bars are numbered from downstage (nearest the audience) through to upstage (furthest back) — LX1, LX2, and so on. The FOH bar is the front-of-house bar, out in the auditorium; those positions are labelled by where they sit in the house rather than numbered up the stage. What to do: "In trim" means the bar is at its correct height. It's a routine status update — you don't need to do anything.
Trim / trim height
"What's the trim on LX2?"
What it is: The height the bar flies out to — its working height above the stage once it's set. It's dictated by the lighting designer, or sometimes by the physical limitations of the space. What to do: The number comes from the design or the venue spec (typically 7-9m for a school theatre). The LD has it; if you're asked, "I'll check the venue tech pack" is a perfectly good answer.
Cue (lighting cue)
"Cue 47 isn't testing right."
What it is: A programmed lighting state recorded on the console with a "GO" trigger. What to do: "isn't testing right" = the look is wrong. The LD fixes by reprogramming. Routine. The SM calls "GO" for each cue from the run sheet (Module 2).
Console / desk / board
"Bring up channel 12 on the board."
What it is: The lighting control desk (ETC ION, MA grandMA, Avolites, Hog 4 are common). What to do: The operator's instrument. Don't touch it. The console is a 30k-50k piece of kit and incorrect inputs at the wrong moment cost rehearsal time.
House lights / FOH wash / blackout
"House to half. Blackout in 3."
What it is: House lights = the lights over the audience. FOH wash = the lights from the front of house bar onto the stage. Blackout = all stage lights to zero. What to do: "house to half" = audience lights dimmed, signal that the show is about to start. "Blackout in 3" = 3 seconds to total dark, the SM is calling a cue.
Wash (vs. spot)
"We need a warm wash on the cyclorama."
What it is: Wash = broad even light; spot = a single focused beam (often a follow-spot). What to do: A wash needs 4-8 conventional fixtures with diffusion + gel. A spot is one fixture. Costs differ accordingly.
Gel (or gel pack)
"That fixture needs an L201."
What it is: Coloured plastic filter, identified by number (Lee, Rosco). L201 = "Lee 201 Full CT Blue". What to do: A gel is ~A$3-8 per sheet. The LD has a gel stock; if they're requesting many specific numbers and it's adding to the quote, ask if standard stocks could substitute.
Gobo
"We're using a window gobo on the moving-head."
What it is: A metal or glass stencil placed in a fixture to project a pattern (window, branches, etc.). What to do: A gobo is ~A$30-150 (glass gobos for movers are pricier). Routine spec. Ask if it's a stock pattern or custom; custom adds cost + lead time.
Tech rehearsal vs. dress rehearsal
"Cue-to-cue tech tomorrow, dress on Thursday."
What it is: Tech = work through each cue + cue stack with cast in position (slow, technical). Dress = full performance run with all elements. What to do: Tech is slow and frustrating for cast — expect it to feel like nothing's happening. That's normal. Dress should run like the show, with notes after.
Standby / Standby cue
"Standby cue 22."
What it is: The SM warning the operator that a cue is about to be called. What to do: Nothing — it's not for you. Just SM-to-operator comm.
Pre-rig / pre-show check
"We'll need 90 min pre-show for checks."
What it is: Turning the system on + verifying every channel + every cue is firing correctly before the audience arrives. What to do: 60-90 min is standard for a musical. Less is risky. More is over-specified unless the rig has known flakiness.
Strike / bump-out / load-out
"Strike Sunday at 10."
What it is: Taking everything down and returning it. The reverse of bump-in. What to do: Strike usually takes 50-60% of bump-in time. Schedule it that way (Module 2). Plan post-strike pizza or you lose half the crew.
The hire-quote BS detector — lighting edition
Vocabulary gets you into the conversation; reading the quote is where it pays for itself. A lighting hire quote isn't a fixed price handed down from on high — it's an opening position, built on the assumption that the school won't read it line by line. Your job isn't to refuse the spend; it's to make sure every dollar is tied to something the show actually needs.
The method is the same one Tier 1A used on the safety quote: take each line, decide whether it's mandatory, fair, or over-spec, and put a single question against the ones that look padded. Here's a typical quote worked through end to end.
Worked example: a lighting hire quote, line by line
A typical lighting hire quote for a school musical might read:
"48 × Source Four LED at A$45/day × 8 days = A$17,280" — over-rigged. A musical typically needs 30-40 conventionals. Ask: can we reduce to 36 and use a wash + key approach? Possible saving: A$4,300.
"8 × Robe Pointe moving heads at A$220/day × 8 days = A$14,080" — likely over-spec. Pointes are big-touring kit. For a school show, 4 movers usually suffices; cheaper movers (Chauvet, ADJ) at A$110/day are fine. Possible saving: A$5,600.
"Console + DMX + cabling = A$2,200" — fair for an ETC ION or grandMA console + 100m+ of multicore.
"4 hours focus + 2 operators = A$1,160" — fair for the rig size described, IF over-rig stays. If you trim the rig, the focus hours can come down too.
"Pre-rig site visit = A$650 fixed" — over-spec. If they've worked your venue before, this is a free site walk-through. Ask for itemisation; usually waived or halved.
"Compliance documentation = A$1,400" — see Module 4. Itemise. Should drop to A$200-400.
Original quote total: ~A$36,790.Defensible after fixture-count rationalisation, mover substitution, site-visit waiver, and compliance itemisation: A$20,500 - A$23,000. Saving: A$13,000+ on a single production.
The conversation is not adversarial. It's: "we love the design, here's what we can fit in our A$22k lighting budget. Help us hit it without losing the warm-wash-into-cyclorama moment that makes the act-2 opener work." Reputable contractors will reshape the quote willingly because the alternative is losing the job to a cheaper competitor or to you switching to in-house gear.
The phrases that signal you know the language
You don't need a speech — you need 5-6 phrases you can drop, unhesitatingly, at the right moment in a meeting. Said with the same flatness an LD would use, they do most of the work for you: they tell the contractor that this is a school that reads its quotes. Practice them out loud once before you use them in front of anyone; the confidence is half the signal.
"Could we swap one of the movers for a conventional + a gel? Same look, lower cost."
"What's the trim on LX2? I want to make sure the masking lines work."
"Is the compliance documentation line itemised? I'd like to see the SWMS as part of the quote."
"You've got 84 fixtures on the plot — could we run a stripped-down 60-fixture version for the matinee?"
"What's your console preference, and is the school's existing patch reusable from last year's plot?"
"If we trim the rig to 36 fixtures, what's the focus hours impact?"
The point is not to sound like an LD. The point is to sound like a teacher who has had this conversation before. That alone shifts the dynamic from "school that'll pay whatever we quote" to "school that's going to read the quote."
The one move to carry into your next lighting meeting
You don't have to win on technical detail — you have to show you'll read the quote. Twenty words of vocabulary plus one rate-anchored question ("the rate card says this should be around X — your quote is Y; where's the gap?") changes how every line after it gets priced.
The EasyStagecraft Suite tie-in
Everything above gets easier when the tools carry the record for you. EasyOrchestra's plot view lets you mock up a lighting plot at a high level (where will the LX bars roughly hang? what coverage from the FOH bar?) — useful for the early conversation with the LD before any quote is generated. EasyRisk's hazard library has a pre-populated set of lighting-rigging hazards with sample matrix scores from Module 1. EasyScheduler tracks the focus hours + the strike hours against actual — so when the quote says four hours of focus, you can see whether four hours is what it took.
Open the annotated sample lighting quote in the resource pack. Go through each line item. For each, write a one-sentence note saying whether you'd accept, question, or challenge.
If a line is "accept", note the cost rationale. If "question", write the question you'd ask. If "challenge", write the email you'd send.
Save your annotated quote to your portfolio.
Exercise 1B-1.2 — Vocabulary self-test
Open the vocabulary flashcard pack in the resource pack. Run through the 20-term deck twice. On the second pass, write a sentence using each term in context — as if you were saying it to a contractor or to your SM.
Goal: be able to drop any term in the right context without hesitating. Save your sentence sheet to your portfolio.
Knowledge check
These are for your own reflection — not graded. Your answers save automatically to this browser.
1. Your LD says "we've got a DMX issue, give us 30 minutes." What's the appropriate teacher response?
2. A quote includes "8 × Robe Pointe moving heads at A$220/day × 8 days = A$14,080". You suspect over-spec. What's your question to the LD?
3. What is the difference between a "conventional" and a "moving head" fixture, and what's the rough hire-cost ratio between them?
4. A lighting plot shows 84 fixtures. The hire budget is tight. List two specific questions you'd ask the LD to reduce cost without compromising the show.
5. The SM says "standby cue 22, GO cue 21". What just happened?
6. The pre-show check is being quoted at "180 min for a 60-fixture rig." Is this over-spec, fair, or under-spec? Explain.
Resources
The reference sheets and decoders that back up this module. Open each in a new tab, print or save as PDF.
Ten phrases used to scare teachers into approving overspend — and exactly what to say back.
The CPD claim
This module counts toward 1.5 hours of accredited CPD under VIT / NESA / QCT / WACOT. Tier 1B running total at Module 1B-1: 1.5 hours. Combined with Tier 1A's 9.0 hours = 10.5 total if you've completed both tiers.