"The thing is, not just to make it work - not just to make the lights look pretty on stage. That's part of it, of course. But you also have to make it elegant. Clear, easy to follow programming that 'shows your working' (as they used to say in school) so the lighting can be maintained. Precise documentation. A fully thought out rig around the lights to let the show get into a theatre or theatres quickly. Partly because time is money. But mainly because doing it poorly just means waste - wasted effort by the crews, wasted resources, wasted time. Waste annoys me."

Programming Services:

Lighting programming for musicals, plays, opera, dance, events, concerts, exhibitions, fixed installations, television and more.

Fifteen years experience on programming some of the largest shows of their time.

Programming on Strand 500-series, Strand 300-series, ETC Eos/Ion/Element, MA grandMA, Strand Light Palette and others.

Set-up and programming of Hippotizer, Catalyst and other media playback systems.

Working with manufacturers to make their consoles better for all!

Integrated programming of moving lights, conventional lights, LEDs, video and more - one operator, one console.

Setup of complex, multi-user, multi-console control systems if required on larger productions.

Taking care of the practicalities while the lighting designer concentrates on the art (but happy to offer suggestions for the art, too, if asked!)

Tidy showfiles: easy to follow, easy to maintain, easy to understand, less rig maintenance through minimising movement of the lights and scrollers.

Showfile tracking, for rationalising shows for future productions, minimising costs.

Showfile adapatation to suit different rigs, venues or versions of a show.

Showfile translation between console types (including, recently, moving Mary Poppins from Strand 500 to MA, Parade from Strand 500 to Eos).

System specification and set-up, including consoles, networking, specialist interfaces (eg. wireless control, MIDI) and more.

System commissioning and troubleshooting.

Complete show documentation of moving lights, conventional lights, cue structure and more, using a tool created specifically for this purpose - FocusTrack.

Crew training.

Off-line storage and archiving of showfiles and other material.

Full support through the life of a show and beyond.


Associate Lighting Design Services:

Full production support for lighting designers on productions of any scale.

Lighting plan and section drawing, so everyone knows where everything goes.

Specification of rigging positions if they don't exist or need adapting.

Other show paperwork.

Design and specification of supporting elements, including set practicals.

Full software support using tools including VectorWorks, Lightwright, FileMaker and more, and web sharing for secure, reliable interchange of documents and information.

Creation of new tools where suitable ones don't exist - FocusTrack, SpotTrack.

Rig adaptation and rationalisation for new venues or touring, including showfile analysis to see what can be cut!

Show re-creation in new venues or on tour - relights, programming or both.

Experience in getting shows on around the world - even, on one occasion, right on the border line between France and Italy!

Particular experience with moving UK shows to the US.

Experience in venues from theatres to giant tents to aircraft hangers to football stadia.

Finding or sourcing new technology to solve particular lighting challenges (involved with first UK show to use Source Four, VL6, Strand 500 and other technologies that became industry standards, more recently the first show to use EvenLED).

Full consideration of all aspects of putting a rig together, including:
- minimising equipment required
- minimising truck pack space
- integration of lighting, video and more
- rigging design to speed up load-in
- safe access for focus and maintenance
- environmental impact
- budgets, including running costs
- crewing and other logistics

Solutions include considerations for all countries to be visited, if applicable.

Liaison with other team members, particularly Production Managers and Production Electricians, and other departments - rigging, automation, sound.

Commissioning of custom video media, gobos and other material as required.


Taken together, all of which means that Rob can just get your show on, marshalling a team of people and collecting, compiling all of the information they need to get everything on stage, on time and on budget.

If you need help with your show, transfer or tour - with programming or more - why not get in touch?