You are not learning to be a lighting designer. You are learning enough vocabulary to read a quote, ask the right questions, and call out the bullshit. Each term has a definition + a "why it matters to you as a teacher / production manager" line. Print double-sided A4 + keep in your show folder.
| Term | What it is | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| Profile (ETC Source Four, Selecon Pacific) | Hard-edge spotlight with shutters + gobo slot. Beam can be shaped to a precise shape. | Workhorse for keys + specials. Hires for ~A$25/day. If a quote prices these above A$45/day, query — that's mover-tier pricing. |
| Fresnel | Soft-edge spotlight with adjustable beam spread via a moveable lamp. Stepped lens. | Standard wash fixture. ~A$20/day. Lower cost than profile because no shutter/gobo. |
| PAR can | Sealed-beam fixture with fixed beam shape. Cheap, robust, bright. | The cheapest unit you'll see (~A$15/day conventional, ~A$30/day LED PAR). Workhorse for colour washes. |
| LED (Source Four LED, ColorSource, ETC ColorForce) | LED fixture with internal colour mixing. Replaces conventional + gel. | ~A$45-60/day. Worth the premium when gel-change time is short. Otherwise question vs. conventional + gel. |
| Cyc light (cyclorama light) | Asymmetric flood designed to wash a backdrop evenly top-to-bottom. | Typically 4-8 fixtures for one cyc. ~A$90/day each. If a quote has 12+, ask whether top + bottom is really needed. |
| Gobo | Metal or glass stencil placed in a profile to project a pattern (window, leaves, breakup). | Stock gobos ~A$30. Custom glass ~A$150 + 7-10 day lead time. Ask "stock or custom?" |
| Iris | Adjustable aperture inside a profile to vary beam size without re-focusing. | Standard accessory. Already in most profile rentals. Should not be a separate line item. |
| Barn doors | Four-flap shutter attached to a fresnel/PAR to control beam spill. | ~A$5/day accessory. Often free with fresnel hire. Push back if billed separately. |
| Scrim (wire scrim) | Wire mesh placed in front of a fixture to dim without colour shift. | Cheap consumable. ~A$3/sheet. Shouldn't appear as a quoted line item. |
| Frost / diffusion | Plastic sheet that softens beam edges. Comes in grades (light, medium, heavy). | Same cost as gel (~A$3-8/sheet). Should be in the gel-cut list, not a separate quote line. |
| Term | What it is | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| Wash | A broad, even light over an area (a band of stage, a cyc). | Built from 4-8 fixtures. When LD says "we need another wash", that's 4+ units. Real cost. |
| Special | A single fixture dedicated to one specific moment (a chair, a ladder, a doorway). | One unit. If a plot has 14 specials, that's 14 fixtures. Ask "could any specials double as keys?" |
| Key light | The dominant directional light on a performer (typically front-and-slightly-above). | Required for face visibility. Cutting key = audience can't see actors. Don't cut. |
| Fill light | Soft light that fills shadows left by the key. Usually opposite side, softer + lower intensity. | Polishes the look. Can be cut if budget tight; show still reads. |
| Back light | Light from upstage aimed downstage, separates performer from background. | Important for video/photo capture. If shows are being filmed, push to keep. |
| Practical | An onstage lamp / lantern / candle visible in the scene that actually works. | Hire item OR built by props. Confirm who owns the safety check (Tier 1A Module 4). |
| Followspot | Manually-operated spot fixture that follows a performer. Needs an operator. | ~A$280/day fixture + ~A$30/hr operator. Two followspots = two operators. Big line item. |
| Hazer | Atmospheric haze machine. Makes beams visible. | ~A$80/day + haze fluid consumable. Required when LD says "we need to see the beams". |
| Smoke (fogger) | Thick fog machine. Burst effect rather than continuous haze. | Smoke detector alarms — confirm with venue tech. May need fire-panel isolation. |
| Strobe | Rapid flashing fixture. Must be flagged in foyer signage (epilepsy warning). | Compliance trigger — Tier 1A Module 4 has the signage template. |
| Movers / Intelligent fixtures | Pan / tilt / colour / gobo controllable from the console. Movers ≠ followspots. | 3-5× the cost of conventionals. Question over-use in plays + small musicals. |
| Conventionals | Static fixtures (profiles, fresnels, PARs) with manual focus + gel. | The cheap option. Suggest substitution whenever movers are over-spec'd. |
| Term | What it is | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| Genny / generator | Mobile power generator. Used when venue power is insufficient. | ~A$450/day + fuel. If quoted, ask: "is venue 3-phase adequate? Confirm with venue tech." |
| Distro (distribution) | Box that splits one big power feed into many smaller circuits. | ~A$50-100/day. Required when the hire rig exceeds venue patch panels. |
| Dimmer | Device that controls brightness of conventional fixtures by varying voltage. | LEDs do not need dimmers (internal control). Dimmer line items only apply to conventional rigs. |
| Dimmer rack | A cabinet holding 12-48 dimmer channels. | ~A$100/day. One rack handles ~24 conventional fixtures. Count fixtures ÷ 24 = rack count needed. |
| DMX universe | One DMX-512 signal stream carrying 512 channels. Big rigs use multiple universes. | Each universe is one cable run. Adding a universe ≈ A$40 hardware. Should not be a major cost. |
| Patching | Mapping console channels to physical fixtures via DMX addresses. | Skilled work, ~30-60min for a typical school rig. Not billable as a separate line — part of focus. |
| Address | The DMX number a fixture is set to listen on (1-512 per universe). | Knowing the term lets you ask "what's the fixture's address?" if a unit isn't responding. |
| Term | What it is | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| Profile angle / Beam angle / Field angle | Beam angle = where the light is at 50% intensity. Field angle = 10%. Profile angle describes profile lens choice (e.g. 19°, 26°, 36°, 50°). | When LD says "we need 26-degree profiles for FOH", they mean narrow throw from a far position. Substituting a 50° = bigger spot, less intensity. |
| Throw distance | Distance from fixture to subject. | FOH throw on a school theatre is typically 12-18m. Long throws = narrow lenses = more cost. |
| Colour temperature (Kelvin) | How warm/cool a light appears. 3200K = tungsten warm; 5600K = daylight cool. | LEDs mix colour to match either. Conventional + gel is fixed once the gel's cut. |
| CRI (Colour Rendering Index) | How accurately a light source renders colours, 0-100. CRI 90+ = good for skin tones. | Cheap LEDs (CRI 70-80) make actors look green/blue. Pay the premium for CRI 90+ on faces. |
| Cosmetic colour (gel) | The hue chosen for mood (warm amber for sunset, lavender for romance). | Gel choice is a design decision. Doesn't affect cost unless a custom gel. |
| FOH (Front of House) | Lighting positions in the auditorium aimed back at the stage. | FOH key = main face light. Always present in a school rig. |
| LX1, LX2, LX3 | Lighting bars over the stage, numbered downstage-to-upstage. | "LX1 in trim" = bar 1 is at correct height. Routine status update. |
| Boom | Vertical pipe in the wings holding side-light fixtures. | Dance shows lean on booms for side-light. Plays often don't need them — possible saving. |
| Ladder | Horizontal-stacked side-light position (multiple fixtures vertically). | Same as boom but pre-built; faster to rig. Usually no cost diff. |
| Term | What it is | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| Channel | A console slot controlling one fixture or one group of fixtures. | "Channel 47 is dark" = one slot's output isn't reaching its fixture. Routine. |
| Cue | A recorded lighting state with a programmed transition. | A musical typically has 80-200 cues. A play, 30-80. More cues = more programming time. |
| Submaster | A console fader assigned to a group of channels or a recorded state. | Used for busking. If the show is well-cued, submasters are backup. Not a cost driver. |
| Crossfader | Two-handle fader pair that fades one cue out as the next fades in. | Standard on all consoles. Don't let anyone bill you for "crossfader access". |
| Grand Master | One fader that scales the whole rig's intensity. | Pulled to zero at end of show. Don't touch during the show. |
| Blackout | All stage lights to zero. Snap or fade depending on cue. | "BO in 3" = blackout in 3 seconds. SM is calling cue. |
| House lights | The lights over the audience. | "House to half" = 50% intensity, show-about-to-start signal. "House to full" = end of show. |
| Worker lights | Bright white lights used during rehearsal + bump-in/out. | Not for show. Should be off during dress + performance. |
| Pre-show state | The look before the audience enters (often a warm soft wash). | Always cued. Should not need to be re-built nightly. |
| Show state | The first cue of the show, run on top of pre-show. | This is cue 1. House goes to zero immediately before. |
| Strike | De-rig: removing all hire kit from the venue. | ~50-60% of bump-in time. Schedule accordingly (Tier 1A Module 2). |
| Bump-down / Bump-out / Load-out | Same as strike — three names for one thing. | The operator's preferred term varies. All mean "pack the truck". |
The deck has 50 terms. Run through it twice over a coffee.
You don't need fluency. You need enough confidence that an LD reading you knows you've done the homework. That alone shifts the conversation from "what shall we quote them?" to "what does the production actually need?"
Once the vocabulary feels familiar: