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Light on the Subject
By Steven L. Shelley
A Brief Practical Guide to
Lighting Paperwork, Part 1
Paperwork is an integral part of
theatre. Aside from speech, it’s
the primary device to communicate
or recall overall and specific elements
of any production. For a simple
show, paperwork may be limited to a
few sheets of paper detailing the “recipes”
used to create the lighting, hang
the soft goods or tally the costume
pieces. Archiving a complex production,
on the other hand, can quickly produce
enough paper to fill numerous threering
binders.
Theatre lighting is usually not a
static design form. Many things can
visually change what’s seen in a show,
So keeping track of, modifying or
recording information about a lighting
design requires many documents for
the different visual components of the
design: focus charts, light cues, followspots,
preset sheets, sidelight colors in
dance, deck sheets and so on.
While the equipment and systems involved in a show impact
the amount and types of lighting paperwork needed for that production,
there’s also basic differences between the paperwork
used to create a show from scratch and replicating a production
on tour. Touring paperwork isn’t discussed that often, and it
offers many lessons that can be applied to a variety of lighting
situations. This series of articles will examine some examples of
touring paperwork. Before doing so, though, it’s worth reviewing
paperwork categories, classes, axioms and goals.
Paperwork Categories and Classes
Lighting paperwork usually falls into three categories. The
first category is graphic diagrams, which includes the light
plot, the section or the magic sheet. The second category is
information presented as sorted lists. This ranges from the
instrument schedule and the channel hookup, to the shop
order, the color-cutting list or the lineset schedule. The third
category consists of forms that, when filled out, provide a
record of actions taken. These include light cue sheets, followspot
cue sheets or board operator sheets.
Lighting paperwork can also be sorted into three classes:
public, private and infrastructure. Public documents are
constructed in such a fashion that, not only do they contain
information, but any explanation required to understand the
information is included in the same document. A light plot
is a public document; it’s designed to be distributed, viewed
and understood by others without someone being present
to explain it. Keys, legends and notes provide hints for comprehension.
Private documents, on the other hand, often use
personal shorthand and shortcuts, and without explanation
Figure 1
may be confusing. These documents usually provide details
that don’t need to be shared, so they’re rarely distributed to
anyone other than associates. These documents have few
keys, legends or notes; their purpose is to jiggle personal
memory banks. Infrastructure documents include lists and
inventories that are rarely referred to, but when they’re
needed, invaluable to have on hand.
Paperwork Axioms
Brilliantly designed paperwork is useless if the people who
use it can’t understand it. While the lighting designer may
initially construct the layout, he or she may rarely refer to that
document again. If the document is used or referred to by others,
they should be consulted as to the layout and content. And
the document should be tailored to their preferences.
Out-of-date, or non-matching paperwork, is not a tool,
it’s a hindrance. Granted, the task of updating paperwork
quickly becomes a time-consuming PITA chore (it becomes
an assigned task for assistants on big shows). But it’s an
absolute necessity and a part of the technical process. If the
paperwork isn’t maintained, and if everyone doesn’t have the
same matching information, expect to waste time and effort
on the resulting miscommunications and errant decisions
based on inaccurate information.
In the “heat of battle,” making sure that all the paperwork
is updated and matches doesn’t always translate into freshly
printed out documents. If you run around to all four published
copies of the channel hookup, scratch out “37” and
write “38” next to it in red ink, then so be it. It’s updated and
all copies of the channel hookup match.
14 April 2008 • www.stage-directions.com