Stage Lighting & Video Diploma

What is the business of entertainment? What is the relationship between creating music and art, and earning money from that art? What are the elements that make up this industry, and how do they connect and intersect to create the vast array of entertainment content that we watch, hear, and see? During this course, students will be introduced to the music, broadcast, motion picture, game, and live event industries and their various subsidiaries. Students will examine the nature of intellectual property and copyright, discuss the often conflicting relationship between art and commerce, and examine the relationship between content creators and consumers.

The use of Digital Audio Workstations has become the norm in today’s digital world. It’s vital that today’s music creators understand the nature of Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton, and other popular DAWs. In our Digital Technologies course, students will learn the fundamentals of recording and editing in a digital environment. Students will explore digital audio basics, including hardware, software, and interfaces, via a combination of class lectures and in-class exercises and demos, and learn how to record and edit music like the pros.

Sitting at a live concert, you can see the lights flashing and pulsating in perfect sync with the beat of the band. But such synchronicity doesn’t happen by accident. It’s all a carefully choreographed and calibrated performance, dependant on the skills and expertise of lighting designers and operators. Our Fundamentals of Music & Rhythm course will offer students insight into how that synchronicity is achieved. Students will explore the fundamentals of music and rhythm, examining the basic concepts of music theory, rhythm, time, and melody, as well as the common song structures in various musical genres. That knowledge is then applied to lighting design and operation as students learn how to create dynamic lighting displays for live events.

As the size and scope of concerts and other live events continue to grow, the live events industry faces ongoing challenges in maintaining the health and safety of workers, performers, and fans at these live events. This course will delve into some of the health and safety issues inherent in the live event industry, including crowd management, temporary staging, working at heights, working with electricity, and other important safety elements. We will examine important case studies of past tragic incidents in the performance industry, and look at how such incidents can be avoided in the future.

In the Lighting Design Workshop, students will learn the fundamental principles and techniques of lighting design, and then apply those principles using industry-standard software programs. Students will learn to create their own lighting plots for live shows using CAD (computer-assisted drawing) programs and lighting visualization programs. As a major class project, students will design a complete lighting system and show for presentation.

Resistors, capacitors, inductors, transistors...? The study of electricity and electronics involves a sizeable menu of terms and terminology that can leave many people baffled. Our Principles of Electricity & Electronics course will provide students with a step-by-step introduction to those basic terms and concepts, which are vitally important to anyone working in the live events industry. Students will learn about electric charges, electromagnetic fields, electric currents, circuits and fields, and how electricity is used in the live event industry. Our course will explore analog and digital electronics, including the basic circuits found in most electronic instruments. At the end of the course, students will be well-versed in the meaning and use of resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transistors.

What are the physical properties of colours? What is colourimetry? How do we perceive different colours, and what are the effects of certain colours during a live performance? The Principles of Light & Vision course will explore colour terminology and the science behind colours. Students will examine the frequencies of light as electromagnetic radiation, the electromagnetic radiation spectrum, the use of primary and secondary colours, as well as colour reflect and absorption principles and properties.

The technology involved in the lighting of live events is ever-changing, but the basic principles behind stage lighting have remain unchanged for decades. In Stage Lighting Principles, students will explore the history of theatre and stage technology, and examine the evolution of lighting systems, dimmer systems, truss, and rigging systems. This course will offer students insight into the technologies and techniques utilized for stage lighting in today’s live event industry.

This workshop course builds upon the knowledge gained in the Stage Light Principles course. Using hands- on in-class exercises and projects, students will come to understand the technologies and techniques used in stage lighting for live events. Students will work with different types of lighting fixtures, dimmer systems, cables, connectors, and truss systems, develop techniques for working with various lighting consoles, and learn vital workplace health and safety practices in working with stage lighting.

Video projection technology is now an integral part of any live event production, be it a concert, sporting event, or corporate presentation. The Video Principles course will introduce students to the principles used in video projection for entertainment and stage productions. Students will be introduced to a variety of video projection technologies, including CRT, LCD, DLP, LCOS, D-ILA, SXRD, LED, lensless projection, slide projectors, optical trains, keystoning, digital projection, and projection screen technology.