The National's rep system (in which one theatre has several plays swapping in and out of the theatre with ‘changeovers' a couple of times a week), means that automated lights - which can be programmed to change direction, colour, focus and even a projected pattern (‘gobo') automatically are...

A short film about how you get to be a lighting designer

When a show changes round in the rep, there's not enough time for each scene to be laid out exactly as it is in the show to allow the lights to be focused on it. So a grid system is employed, making use of two large canvas tapes, which enables the lighting crew to see where the lights should be...