Hair stylist to performance lighting director
A hair stylist already meets 32% of what the performance lighting director role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
71.5/ 100
1 How much of what a performance lighting director is expected to do is already part of a hair stylist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the performance lighting director role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A performance lighting director role treats 8 of its required skills as things a hair stylist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse a script
- analyse the need for technical resources
- consult with production director
- familiarise with personal directing styles
- finish project within budget
- keep up with trends
What stands in the way is 13 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A performance lighting director role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a hair stylist background worth leading with.
- already held familiarise with personal directing styles communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held work with the director of photography communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held consult with production director communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held lighting techniques arts and humanities
- already held finish project within budget management skills
- already held manage technical resources stock management skills
All 12 carried skills, including the 8 the performance lighting director role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 32 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn adapt designers’ work to the performance venue required
- still to learn design an artificial lighting system required
- still to learn design lighting required
- still to learn draw up lighting plan required
- still to learn create solutions to problems required
- optional, not held create storyboards optional
- optional, not held develop drama production process optional
- optional, not held use storyboards optional
- optional, not held work with the camera crew optional
- optional, not held collaborate on costume and make-up for performances optional
- still to learn supervise lighting crew required
- still to learn plan act lighting required
- optional, not held assess power needs optional
- optional, not held check material resources optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- still to learn read lighting plans required
- still to learn use technical documentation required
- still to learn technical drawings required
- optional, not held artificial lighting systems optional
- optional, not held electricity optional
- still to learn cinematography required
- optional, not held film production process optional
- still to learn health and safety regulations required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a performance lighting director role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 supervise lighting crew practise this
- 02 adapt designers’ work to the performance venue practise this
- 03 cinematography study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 12 skills that carry over
- already held analyse a script skill
- already held analyse the need for technical resources skill
- already held consult with production director skill
- already held familiarise with personal directing styles skill
- already held finish project within budget skill
- already held keep up with trends skill
- already held lighting techniques knowledge
- already held translate artistic concepts to technical designs skill
- already held attend rehearsals skill
- already held manage technical resources stock skill
- already held photography knowledge
- already held work with the director of photography skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn use specialised design software required
- optional, not held focus lighting equipment optional
- optional, not held focus stage lights optional
- optional, not held light a show optional
- optional, not held operate a lighting console optional
- optional, not held operate lighting equipment optional
- optional, not held prevent technical problems with lighting equipment optional
- optional, not held rig lights optional
- optional, not held supervise equipment optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held artificial lighting systems optional
- optional, not held create storyboards optional
- optional, not held develop drama production process optional
- optional, not held film production process optional
- optional, not held focus lighting equipment optional
- optional, not held focus stage lights optional
- optional, not held light a show optional
- optional, not held operate a lighting console optional
- optional, not held operate lighting equipment optional
- optional, not held prevent technical problems with lighting equipment optional
- optional, not held use storyboards optional
- optional, not held work with the camera crew optional
- optional, not held assess power needs optional
- optional, not held check material resources optional
- optional, not held collaborate on costume and make-up for performances optional
- optional, not held electricity optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held rig lights optional
- optional, not held supervise equipment optional
18 held skills the performance lighting director role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply hair cutting techniques skill
- not needed by the target role create wigs skill
- not needed by the target role decide on wig making process skill
- not needed by the target role design hair style skill
- not needed by the target role draft styling schedule skill
- not needed by the target role dye hair skill
- not needed by the target role dye wigs skill
- not needed by the target role ensure continuous styling of artists skill
- not needed by the target role follow directions of the artistic director skill
- not needed by the target role follow work schedule skill
- not needed by the target role hairdressing knowledge
- not needed by the target role history of hair styles knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain wigs skill
- not needed by the target role manage consumables stock skill
- not needed by the target role order supplies skill
- not needed by the target role perform quick hair changeovers skill
- not needed by the target role style hair skill
- not needed by the target role work safely with chemicals skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn cinematography required
- still to learn health and safety regulations required
- still to learn technical drawings required
- optional, not held artificial lighting systems optional
- optional, not held film production process optional
- optional, not held electricity optional
Common questions about this move
Can a hair stylist become a performance lighting director?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A hair stylist already covers 32% of what a performance lighting director is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 8 of which the performance lighting director role treats as required.
What skills does a hair stylist need to become a performance lighting director?
13 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is supervise lighting crew.
How hard is the move from hair stylist to performance lighting director?
Its learning distance is 71.5 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.