QUOTE(AFTERSHOCK @ Apr 1 2006, 05:27 PM) [snapback]54227[/snapback]
Run lights in a nightclub.
When I first started, I was pulling in something like, $95 a night. I'd work (if you can call it that) about 4 nights a week and you do the math.
QUOTE(Hewletts Daughter @ Apr 1 2006, 05:59 PM) [snapback]54241[/snapback]
Do you need any background knowledge for this? If not, I am interested and want this job now please.
QUOTE(kalmia @ Apr 1 2006, 07:20 PM) [snapback]54263[/snapback]
yeah, and who is the right person you have to know to get a job like that?
Lighting operator job description - starting out, you must be able to :
- count to 8 in time with the music, and then press a button
- understand the difference between intro / verse 1 / chorus 1 / verse 2 / chorus 2 / bridge / chrous 3 / outro of a song
- like music
- like being in nightclubs
- like making lights blink around the room on beat with music
Chances are all the lighting controllers you'll be using at first will be in small bars, with really simple gear. Usually a box with 16 buttons or so, maybe a few faders, and possibly a joystick. The lights will probably be simple as well, like strobes, pinspots, moonflowers and such. These are basically one-effect lights that only need to be turned on or off with the music. These days, there
might be a chance of finding a bar with "intelligent" lights, but those will also be pretty basic so don't worry. And you can always download manuals for pretty much any gadget to get you up to speed.
My first club, I was both DJ and lighting operator. 'Twas a small bar in Joliet that held, like, 300 people. But it was a lot of fun, and my lightshow was pretty much a row of on/off switches. In fact, the first night we didn't have the switches installed so I had a ton of labeled extension cables that I was plugging in + out of a power strip as the music changed.
Now, as to how to
get the job : yeah, that's tricky. The advice I was given at first was to simply hang out a few places that you liked, that already had cool music and some lights. Hang out a lot, get to know people, get to know the DJ + lighting guy, watch them work, and generally insinuate your way into the club. Go to a lot of clubs, too - just to see what others are doing. Let people know your interests, and the people who become your friends will keep an eye out for opportunites for you.
I got my first club in 2 weeks. It was basically a small place that had maybe 100 people tops on a Saturday. I'd been DJing private parties for years and was looking for a room to have some fun with, so I met some people there (including my wife) and the owner, and the manager - all of whom were really nice, relatively broke people. I knew I could whip their room into something special and profitable, so I approached them with my services + a mix tape that was composed of music they were already playing, just blended together in a much more "club" style. They loved it, and offered me a whopping $50 to DJ Thursdays, and there was no money available to rearrange the room. I took it, and optimized the lighting and sound on my own time to get more oomph out of the system. Within a week I was given all the nights the club was open and all private parties and $75 a night. The club got packed within weeks, that summer I was a minor sensation in Joliet, and after about 3 months a few people from the Chicago club scene (and Wax Trax records - I was mixing industrial among the pop songs back then) came out and offered me some work in the Windy City...