Light board operator

The light board operator (commonly referred to as the "Light Op" or "Board Op") or lighting console operator, is the electrician who operates the light board. Depending on the scale and type of production, the board op may be responsible for conventional or automated lighting fixtures, as well as practicals and, in some instances, controlling video as well.

Sometimes, most commonly in small productions, the Light board Operator will also be the stage manager. Another variation in smaller productions has the responsibilities of Light board Operator and Sound operator combined into one position. In the smallest productions, all three of these functions are done by one person. For productions where lighting and sound are operated by a single person, as well productions where sound needs to be exactly timed with lighting, it is not unusual to use MIDI Show Control (MSC) or Timecode (SMPTE Time Code) to synchronize the lighting and audio consoles.

The light board operator may, in some cases, also be the lighting designer for a production.

Live event support

Live performance events including theater, music, dance, opera, use production equipment and services such as staging, scenery, mechanicals, sound, lighting, video, special effects, transport, packaging, communications, costume and makeup to convince live audience members that there is no better place that they could be at the moment. This article provides information about many of the possible production support tools and services and how they relate to each other.

Live performance events have a long history of visual scenery, lighting, costume amplification and a shorter history of visual projection and sound amplification reinforcement. This article describes the technologies that have been used to amplify and reinforce live events. The sections of this article together explain how the tools needed to stage, amplify and reinforce live events are interconnected.

Visual support

Live event visual amplification

Introduction

Live event visual amplification is the display of live and pre-recorded images as a part of a live stage event.

Lighting control console

A lighting control console (also called a lightboard, lighting board, or lighting desk) is an electronic device used in theatrical lighting design to control multiple lights at once. They are used throughout the entertainment industry and are normally placed at the Front of House (FOH) position or in a control booth.

All lighting control consoles can control dimmers which control the intensity of the lights. Many modern consoles can control Intelligent lighting (lights that can move, change colors and gobo patterns), fog machines and hazers, and other special effects devices. Some consoles can also interface with other electronic performance hardware (i.e. sound boards, projectors, media servers, automated winches and motors, etc.) to improve synchronization or unify their control.

Lighting consoles communicate with the dimmers and other devices in the lighting system via an electronic control protocol. The most common protocol used in the entertainment industry today is DMX512, although other protocols (e.g. 0-10 V analog lighting control) may still be found in use, and newer protocols such as ACN and DMX-512-A are evolving to meet the demands of ever increasing device sophistication.