Stage lighting, in the obvious realm, is lighting that is on a stage. Practically, we see that stage lighting provides[...]

A massive lighting show takes up a whole arena, bathing an artist or speaker in vibrant light.   A corporate[...]

Today, I want to take you on a tour through the different types of lighting fixtures that you may encounter.[...]

We started off our guide to basic lighting fixtures with the wash fixtures. Today we will overview spot fixtures or[...]

Moving lights are a load of fun! Whether you're a band, church, DJ or in the theatre world, the dream[...]

You walk into a room- lights are fading up and down, moving, and colors and shapes are dancing on the[...]

While moving lights are more common than ever, non-moving LED and conventional lights are by far the most common lights[...]

Go to any theatre, large church, or other entertainment event space, and you'll see lights mounted everywhere, all pointing at[...]

When you're beginning with lighting, it's not going to be long before you have questions about DMX. In lighting, DMX[...]

You've got lights and a console all set up and working, but when you turn everything on you've got huge[...]

NSI Microplex is a proprietary control protocol made by NSI- now owned by Leviton lighting.   Microplex is a digital protocol, like[...]

One of the first things that you need to do when you get a new light out of the box[...]

Moving lights are wonderful tools that are becoming more and more commonplace in the lighting world every day.  The ability[...]

You might think that hanging a stage light is self-explanatory - attach the clamp, hang the light and viola! The[...]

In a modern lighting console or software, cues are the basis of programming your show. And while different lighting consoles[...]

Imagine this...You sit down at your lighting console and start bringing up various looks on stage and recording the scenes[...]

Whether you're planning a small concert, church service, or any other type of event - if it's going to be[...]

If you've worked with anyone who has theatrical training, then you may have heard them refer to a lighting "Special".[...]

When it comes down to it, we run a lot of cables in the world of lighting. Data one way,[...]

Do your ellipsoidals not seem as "punchy" as they once were?  Do you want to get significantly more output from[...]

If you work with incandescent stage lights, you've probably heard the rumor that you aren't supposed to touch the halogen[...]

Whether you are working directly with musicians, setting up equipment, or planning your next staging design, clear communication is really[...]

One of the questions that often hits my inbox starts like this: "What is the standard lighting design for a[...]

If you've been reading LSL for any amount of time, you know that I am big on making you an[...]

I remember my first job in lighting clearly. I was working as a tech/laborer for a small, rural lighting company[...]

The first lesson I learned on a modern lighting console was how to patch fixtures. And if you use pretty[...]

When was the last time you cleaned your stage lighting equipment? Perhaps it's been awhile since you last were up[...]

This is another post that gets me excited. After years "in the trenches" of event lighting, working countless corporate events[...]

Say you have a DMX lighting system and want to use a microplex dimmer or console.  Can it be done?[...]

When it comes to plugging in your lights to DMX, ask 5 different people, and you'll probably get 5 different[...]

If you've recently gone visited a large church, attended at child's graduation or flown to a national sales meeting, chances[...]

If you open your eyes, and you're like most people, you see color. I know this is simplifying it a[...]

If you're using more than a few DMX fixtures, or have them spread out across your stage, you're going to[...]

Working day in and day out in the entertainment industry, I naturally see a lot of people and meet a[...]

I remember the day I first worked with LED stage lighting. Back in the time frame of the mid-2000's, I[...]

Do you ever come across poorly wrapped cables that just tangle and knot the second you go to use them?[...]

One of the top 5 tools that I recommend to anyone getting into stage lighting is an electrical multimeter. An[...]

When you're looking to install a lighting system, buy new gear or begin in stage lighting, the amazing variety of[...]

In the last post, I wrote about the common power connectors and plugs the stage lighting.  If you haven't already[...]

Picture this - you're in a band, are a DJ or are in a small church worship team, and you[...]

Have you ever woken up, looked outdoors and seen beautiful, hanging fog with the sun streaming through? Perhaps you were[...]

I was recently speaking with a church tech director who was working out the details for a future lighting purchase[...]

You might know what dynamic range is in the audio world; it’s the difference between the loudest and softest sound.[...]

Set design can be one of the most underutilized aspects of stage lighting in many circles. Sometimes it's because people[...]

Once again, I'm really excited to bring you an interview with a lighting professional! Brad Schiller has been in the[...]

If you've been reading Learn Stage Lighting for awhile, you may know that I am quite a fan of jam[...]

Want a huge beam of light that zooms across the sky? Stepping back into history, the first way to accomplish[...]

If you're like many people who take up lighting as a hobby, you've probably spent a few hours looking at[...]

For beginners in stage lighting, one of the ideas that can be baffling is how to wire up all of[...]

One of the most crushing feelings you can encounter when working with lighting comes when things don't work right!  [...]

If you want your lights to live a nice, long, happy life, it's important to take great care of them.[...]

Picture this: You're running through your setlist, down the agenda, or through the service flow....things are going well.  You're hitting[...]

You may have just read the headline to this article and thought "duh!  At the stage!" as the answer to[...]

This post has been brought to you by Pro Lighting Rental. Imagine this: You have a big show/service/drama/production coming up,[...]

If you're like many folks doing lighting, and you setup and teardown your lights, cables are gonna break!  It's just[...]

Enttec DMXIS is one of the very best pieces of DMX software for bands wanting to run their own shows.[...]

Pre-wiring has been one of the tricks that professionals have been using for years to cut down setup time. If[...]

The Chauvet Obey 40 is a really popular and basic DMX lighting console. If you've sat down at one, however,[...]

Lasers are cool. I mean, who doesn't want a pencil-thin beam of light scanning across the room to add to[...]

One of the most common questions I get is "Do I Need a DMX Splitter"? And while I'd like to[...]

Recently, I was given the opportunity to review the Stage Light Company Pro Par Hex 12 and Pix Bar Pro Hex[...]

Recently, I took the opportunity to do a full review of the M-Touch lighting console which I recently purchased. I[...]

There's no doubt that moving lights are cool. Really cool.  And a lot of fun to play with. But the[...]

One of the very best ways to begin controlling DMX lighting is with an ENTTEC USB interface and any number[...]

Many entry level DMX consoles, such as the Chauvet Obey 40 and 70, have a curious little switch that is[...]

If you've ever sat down to attempt the purchase of new lights, one of the first questions you have is[...]

When you write a website dedicated to teaching stage lighting, the most common question you get is "Should I buy[...]

Today's post is a guest post written by Lukas Conant of ATI Electrical.   Have you ever had a power[...]

A funny thing is happening as we move forward in time.  Computers are getting faster, cheaper and more reliable, and[...]

Visualizing your lighting on the computer is one of the very best ways to waste a solid afternoon.  🙂 Seriously,[...]

In the past 10 years, lighting consoles have changed and progressed A LOT! Particularly, in the last few years we've[...]

Color is probably the most powerful single tool that we have in our toolbelts as lighting folks. Whether on the[...]

Color is by far my favorite attribute of light. Whether you're a professional lighting designer, or just want a great[...]

It used to be that we just used simple DMX cable out of our console to our lights to control[...]

Over the past few years, using custom LED tape has been all the rage on stages of all sizes. Just[...]

If you've been working with lighting for a while, you might be aware of the term RDM, or remote device management. [...]

It used to be that there was a divide in the lighting world between professional and consumer - between big[...]

I'm a big fan of getting as much hands-on control as possible when I'm programming and running lights. That's why,[...]

Until we get wireless power, running wireless data to our lights is one of the biggest time-savers and problem solvers[...]

ENTTEC has a new way to get control of LED pixels - and it's easier than ever! A few months[...]

DMX, the signal we use to talk to our stage lights, requires the use of DMX cable so that everything[...]

If you’ve played around with controlling LED pixels, you know that getting the infrastructure set up to control your pixels[...]

Whether you like it or not, networking is quickly becoming a necessary part of stage lighting. While you still can[...]

Are you ready to take on your first project of running lights for a live band? It doesn’t have to[...]

Elation's Onyx software is hands-down my very favorite professional-grade software for running lights. Not only is the software freely downloadable,[...]

Whether you've got a simple console or something complex, learning how to lay out your lighting looks into something useful[...]

If you have been following Learn Stage Lighting for a while now you know that at times I will review[...]

I had the opportunity to work with LightShark and created videos on how the LightShark LS-1 and LS-Core work. In[...]

We see posts on a weekly basis in the forums and on Facebook groups where people will ask what lighting[...]

I remember the very first time I stepped up to a large format analog mixing console. It was in Chicago[...]

Here on Learn Stage Lighting, it is my goal to feature and teach the very best in lighting consoles and[...]

Want to learn Onyx, but don't know where to begin?  Here, I've put together my best Onyx video resources in[...]

Every day I try to provide helpful tips when it's come to lighting and the equipment that I use every[...]

When it comes to creating a punch of light on stage or in the audience, professional lighting designers turn to[...]

When looking to set up your first devices, networking can be a challenge when first starting out. In this post,[...]

When it comes to working with individual LED pixels, pixel tape or some other pixel products, the first step is[...]

This one is for the folks who have their lights permanently installed: Do you leave your LED's and moving lights[...]

One of my biggest frustrations in life is when I buy something, and then a year or 2 later, it[...]

Whether you're working with LED's or moving-head lights, at some point you have to decide which mode you're going to[...]

Do you have DMX Lights but don't know how to control them? Sure you can set the lights on Sound[...]

Here is a question that I get all to often here on Learn Stage Lighting - "I've got __________ no-name[...]

Perhaps you have heard of ENTTEC's ELM. What is it exactly? ENTTEC ELM is basically a Media Server. It's a[...]

If you been around for a while it's very obvious that I really like Lighting Consoles. Why is this? The[...]

Today, I am going to share how many colors can an LED really make. There's a lot of myths out[...]

When working with lighting and video you'll find that it can be very tricky to not get everything to look[...]

With DMXIS, Show Buddy Active, and D-PRO, if you don't see your fixture in the patch/fixture library section, you have[...]

If you have a DMX Light that's not working properly or even at all, here are some effective steps to[...]

A very common situation is trying to select which professional grade console you should go with. Now, more than ever[...]

Recently, I had received a challenge from one of our Learn Stage Lighting Labs members wanting to know how much[...]

Here at Learn Stage Lighting I've mentioned and worked with ENTTEC DMXIS very often. It's a great program for those[...]

There are a lot of PC based lighting consoles available. Some are great and others, not so much. But one[...]

Since starting with the LightShark it's become one of my favorite consoles to work with. If you've been following Learn[...]

ONYX has become my favorite professional console. Elation's Onyx was formerly known as Martin M-PC / M-Series and since the[...]

There’s very little info around about the Eurolite Bigfoot DMX controller, so I thought I’d post a few first impressions[...]

In this 2 part video series, we're teaming up with Ballast Media to discuss 5 ways to make your live[...]

The ENTTEC Pixel Octo is a new product that drives pixels. This unit will drive any type of LED pixel[...]

Today I want to help save you some money when you plan to purchase lighting gear. Whether you are looking[...]

In this post, we're going to break it down on how to use timecode with Onyx. Lately, I've seen a[...]

In this video, I walk you through how to use LED pixel tape on your stage. Pixels have come a[...]

In this post I'm going to share with you some simple but effective console setups that you can use with[...]

In these video tutorials, I dive into how to use ONYX for church lighting. I've worked with many students and[...]

Talking with some students from Learn Stage Lighting Labs I've found that there are some situations where you are limited[...]

On Learn Stage Lighting I often have the usual consoles that I like to refer to and work with. However,[...]

One of the questions I often get from people is this: How should you prioritize certain cues over others when[...]

In this video, we will review how to properly set up and get you started with the basics of programming[...]

If you are brand new and just getting started with lighting you have come to the right place. Over the[...]

In this video and post, we're going to help walk you through on how to program a basic moving light[...]

There's always the age-old debate that comes up about whether you should go with a PC-Based or Hardware-Based lighting console.[...]

The ONYX NX-Touch has become one of my favorite PC console wings to work with because it allows you to[...]

In this article, we dive into how to use Elgato Stream Deck with different lighting and other show control software[...]

In this post, we're going to take on the great debate of moving lights. Should you buy moving lights or[...]

When you begin shopping for new light fixtures you generally have the main categories of a spot, wash, beam, and[...]

How do you set up your lighting console for a band? The answer will depend on the band you are[...]

When it comes to lighting in the church, I believe this is the area that has the most potential in[...]

To trigger your church lighting from the stage, we're going to start with two different programs that I like to[...]

Stuck inside? COVID-19 has left many without work, or at least stuck at home with extra free time. On this[...]

When getting started as a DJ, the equipment and the number of options you have can be overwhelming. In this[...]

A question I often receive is: "What program can someone use to trigger lights, play videos, and music?" The truth[...]

When working as a DJ or an EDM artist eventually you're going to want to incorporate graphics or visuals into[...]

LiveTraker is a program I've been using more of lately to output MIDI, audio, and even videos. Up until now,[...]

A couple of questions I hear often are what is a DMX fixture profile? Why do I need one? And[...]

Having lights set up on a network is more common now than ever before. Generally, it used to be where[...]

Keeping your cables and wires organized may seem simple but it also very important especially when it comes to safety[...]

Why is it important to make sure you find the right lighting console for you? Working with others in lighting[...]

When it comes to choosing a basic lighting console there are actually two different types to choose from. You have[...]

Now more than ever, there's a lot more to choose from when it comes to intermediate consoles. As an intermediate[...]

A question that comes up very often is when choosing between lightShark LS Core and LS1 Console, what interface options[...]

LightKey is what I would consider to be an intermediate console and it's definitely made it's way to the lighting[...]

In this post, we're going to cover some basics of what lasers are and if they are right for you.[...]

Unlike working with the usual stage lights such as LEDs or moving lights, setting up and using lasers has more[...]

Learning how to get started with lasers is one thing but trying to decide how to get control of lasers[...]

Once you have lasers to add to your lighting rig, you're going to want them to look great and as[...]

More often than ever before, events are getting cancelled and rescheduled due to Covid-19. This has also presented the opportunity[...]

Just as a console wouldn't program stage lighting on its own, using a visualizer won't build your show on its[...]

3D visualizers are cool, but can your computer run it and how do you know if you have enough computer[...]

If you turn on your TV and watch any live performance, you're going to see video panels and pixel-lights in[...]

In this series, we're going to deeper into the 4 steps of planning your next big event. What would qualify[...]

A question that lighting and stage designers often ask is where and how should you start laying out your lighting?[...]

When working with cables and wires, you may already notice how quickly things can get tangled up. In this post,[...]

How does stage lighting work? If you're new to lighting it's most likely very overwhelming to understand the lingo when[...]

If your new to stage lighting and not sure where to start, how do you get started from nothing? In[...]

In the lighting industry there have never been so many lights offering a wireless control option. One of the most[...]

In this post, we're going to tackle the question of "Should you use a PC based or a stand-alone console?"[...]

So, you want to buy some stage lights? Where, what, and how do you even begin this process? In this[...]

When it comes to budgeting for stage lights, the cost of the individual light or lights is only part of[...]

When purchasing lights, you may have noticed the amount of different options to choose from. What would be considered good[...]

Once you have an idea of what type and which lights you want to purchase, the next step is getting[...]

Some would consider lighting a small space a challenge and at times it can be. However, there are some great[...]

When you work in a small venue, It's critical to light the whole space for the biggest impact. The good[...]

When it comes to working in a small venue or church, you often don't have a space to place a[...]

If you buy lighting for a small venue or church, then you need to know these tips for choosing lights[...]

Often times what you need to really make your stage pop and to make a big impact during your show[...]

There are more houselights on the market than ever before, and today I'm going to look at a mid-sized RGBW[...]

When you're gigging as a small band or run the worship for a small church, choosing to automate some or[...]

Let's discover how to run lights via backing tracks through MIDI or OSC commands. What programs do you need, and[...]

Timecode allows us to automate our lighting in a way that we only have to do setup on the lighting[...]

Syncing automation when you have backing tracks to use along with your show is essentially quite easy, but what about[...]

Let's talk about the basics of lighting your mid sized venue so that you can put on the best show[...]

Creating different spaces with your stage is another great way to make a mid-size venue or church look great. Learn[...]

Using the height of your space can transform the way your stage looks - whether you use it all or[...]

Using what you already have on your stage can be a GREAT way to make a new look. Here's how![...]

When it comes to choosing a lighting console or software for a mid-sized venue, what do you need to look[...]

Most LED tape projects involve a bunch of soldering. Not if you use this approach! https://youtu.be/C2DLhDugteg When it comes to[...]

You need to get great control of LED tape and pixels. What are the best programs and ways to do[...]

Watch this video to learn practical tips for lighting in a larger venue, how you can use different sets of[...]

In larger venues it's more likely that you'll need to accommodate odd sightlines and camera angles - but how do[...]

The last tip I have for larger venues is to leave room for negative space - there are two ways[...]

Are video and lighting the same thing? If they are, how do we combine them together? In this video, David[...]

Today, let's discuss why and how to trigger both your video and lighting together for a seamless live event. https://youtu.be/Se4ZqwStM8U[...]

The camera has been a part of live events for some time, but in the post-2020 world more and more[...]

Balancing stage lighting, video lighting and the camera can be difficult. Let me show you how to optimize all 3[...]

The last step to great hybrid or livestream event lighting is to balance your audience lighting. In this video, I[...]

Lighting for the camera is more common then ever before - even off a stage! In this video, I show[...]

I asked the audience if there was something they would like me to cover in one of my videos and[...]

Lighting the Environment around your stage can be one of the best ways to make an event truly remarkable. Here[...]

Controlling room and lobby lighting out of your console isn't as cut and dry as it may seem. Grab my[...]

When it comes to lobby and entry lighting, there are a couple of things to avoid - and a few[...]

This month, we're talking all about how to streamline your lighting or AV setup, and in this video we begin[...]

Labels - even if you think you don't need them, they will save you SO MUCH time and energy when[...]

How do you keep wiring nice and clean while working with lighting? These are my top tips! https://youtu.be/NFi9zprQcO4 Making your[...]

The MEGA Lite DECO houselights are a really great and simple system that allows anyone to install these low-voltage lights[...]

How do you put together a lighting rig that can go together and be setup QUICK for your band or[...]

How do you put together a lighting rig that can go together and be setup QUICK for your band or[...]

How do you put together a lighting rig that can go together and be setup QUICK for a solo artist?[...]

Lasers are cool. And if you already have a decent-sized rig of lights, they can be a really great next[...]

Lasers don't have to be a show-stopping effect. They do that well, but if you mix them in correctly, they[...]

When it comes time to lay your lighting console out for live music, where do you put various cues? What[...]

Corporate events are their own blend of fun...and I've done a lot of them. Let me show you some ways[...]

When it comes to transporting your lights, what is the best way to keep them protected? In this video, I[...]

When it comes to transporting your lights, what is the best way to keep them protected? In this video, I[...]

ATA style road cases are thought to be the "best" way to transport your gear. Let me show you what[...]

Networking can seem really complicated, but it doesn't have to be. In this video, David shares how to get started[...]

What does it take to get a basic network setup for a stage lighting system? In this video, David shows[...]

Larger events don't have to be more complicated when it comes to networks. In this example, David shows us how[...]

Wire gauge refers to the size of a wire, usually expressed in terms of its diameter or cross-sectional area. It[...]