Set designer to performance lighting designer
A set designer already meets 80% of what the performance lighting designer role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
35.9/ 100
1 How much of what a performance lighting designer is expected to do is already part of a set designer’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 designer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A performance lighting designer role treats 35 of its required skills as things a set designer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt existing designs to changed circumstances
- adapt to artists' creative demands
- analyse a script
- analyse music score
- analyse the artistic concept based on stage actions
- analyse the scenography
What stands in the way is 7 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 54 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A performance lighting designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a set designer background worth leading with.
- already held conduct costume research information skills
- already held research new ideas information skills
- already held verify feasibility information skills
- already held analyse the artistic concept based on stage actions information skills
- already held propose improvements to artistic production communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held analyse the scenography communication, collaboration and creativity
All 54 carried skills, including the 35 the performance lighting designer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 6 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 supervise plotting of stage lights required
- still to learn plan act lighting required
- still to learn assess power needs required
- still to learn design an artificial lighting system required
- still to learn draw up lighting plan required
- optional, not held develop drama production process optional
- still to learn take measurements of performance space required
- still to learn read lighting plans required
- optional, not held focus lighting equipment optional
- optional, not held light a show optional
- optional, not held operate a lighting console optional
- optional, not held plot lighting states optional
- optional, not held plot lighting states with automated lights optional
- optional, not held set up light board optional
- optional, not held rig lights optional
- optional, not held ensure safety of mobile electrical systems optional
- optional, not held artificial lighting systems optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a performance lighting designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 supervise plotting of stage lights practise this
- 02 take measurements of performance space practise this
- 03 design an artificial lighting system practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 54 skills that carry over
- already held adapt existing designs to changed circumstances skill
- already held adapt to artists' creative demands skill
- already held analyse a script skill
- already held analyse music score skill
- already held analyse the artistic concept based on stage actions skill
- already held analyse the scenography skill
- already held attend rehearsals skill
- already held coach staff for running the performance skill
- already held communicate during show skill
- already held conduct costume research skill
- already held contextualise artistic work skill
- already held define artistic approach skill
- already held develop design concept skill
- already held develop design ideas cooperatively skill
- already held follow safety procedures when working at heights skill
- already held keep up with trends skill
- already held meet deadlines skill
- already held monitor developments in technology used for design skill
- already held monitor sociological trends skill
- already held perform quality control of design during a run skill
- already held present artistic design proposals skill
- already held prevent fire in a performance environment skill
- already held propose improvements to artistic production skill
- already held research new ideas skill
- already held safeguard artistic quality of performance skill
- already held understand artistic concepts skill
- already held update design results during rehearsals skill
- already held use communication equipment skill
- already held use specialised design software skill
- already held use technical documentation skill
- already held verify feasibility skill
- already held work ergonomically skill
- already held work safely with chemicals skill
- already held work safely with mobile electrical systems under supervision skill
- already held work with respect for own safety skill
- already held adapt artistic plan to location skill
- already held analyse the need for technical resources skill
- already held calculate design costs skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held document your own practice skill
- already held draw up artistic production skill
- already held keep personal administration skill
- already held labour legislation knowledge
- already held lead a team skill
- already held manage personal professional development skill
- already held organise resources for artistic production skill
- already held prospect new customers skill
- already held provide technical documentation skill
- already held set up equipment in a timely manner skill
- already held translate artistic concepts to technical designs skill
- already held update budget skill
- already held use personal protection equipment skill
- already held work safely with machines skill
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held artificial lighting systems optional
- optional, not held develop drama production process optional
- optional, not held ensure safety of mobile electrical systems optional
- optional, not held focus lighting equipment optional
- optional, not held light a show optional
- optional, not held operate a lighting console optional
- optional, not held plot lighting states optional
- optional, not held plot lighting states with automated lights optional
- optional, not held set up light board optional
- optional, not held rig lights optional
24 held skills the performance lighting designer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt props skill
- not needed by the target role assemble the rehearsal set skill
- not needed by the target role build props skill
- not needed by the target role create set models skill
- not needed by the target role define prop building methods skill
- not needed by the target role define prop materials skill
- not needed by the target role define set building methods skill
- not needed by the target role define set materials skill
- not needed by the target role define set painting methods skill
- not needed by the target role design props skill
- not needed by the target role develop the look of a production skill
- not needed by the target role draw prop sketches skill
- not needed by the target role draw stage layouts skill
- not needed by the target role draw up stage layouts digitally skill
- not needed by the target role ensure visual quality of the set skill
- not needed by the target role gather reference materials for artwork skill
- not needed by the target role make set construction drawings skill
- not needed by the target role mark the stage area skill
- not needed by the target role model sets skill
- not needed by the target role paint sets skill
- not needed by the target role prevent technical problems with scenic elements skill
- not needed by the target role prevent technical problems with stage equipment skill
- not needed by the target role purchase props skill
- not needed by the target role sketch set images skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held artificial lighting systems optional
Common questions about this move
Can a set designer become a performance lighting designer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A set designer already covers 80% of what a performance lighting designer is expected to do: 54 skills carry over, 35 of which the performance lighting designer role treats as required.
What skills does a set designer need to become a performance lighting designer?
7 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is supervise plotting of stage lights.
How hard is the move from set designer to performance lighting designer?
Its learning distance is 35.9 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.