Lighting Programming & Operation

What it covers

• Patching, fixture profiles and a clean, logical show file
• Palettes and presets built so changes take seconds, not hours
• Cue stacks, timing and transitions
• Busking structure for shows that move, timecode for shows that are locked
• Pre-programming in pre-visualisation to save time in the room
• Show file management, backups and a tracking backup where the rig allows

Why the file matters

A tidy show file is the difference between a note taking ten seconds and taking ten minutes. Everything referenced to palettes, sensible naming, and groups that match how the rig is actually described in the room. When the director asks for the whole stage a little warmer, that should be one change — not forty.

Pre-visualisation

Programming in previz before the get-in means arriving with a show that already broadly works, so the time in the room goes on refinement rather than building from zero. It also catches the awkward problems — a fixture that cannot reach, a conflict between two looks — while they are still free to fix.

See the consoles in context in On the desk.