Lighting tech

Pay in the destination countries

Monthly, in US dollars. Each country is an Imora admission package — open one for that route's fees, language requirement and deadline.

What does the day look like?

Roughly 45% of the day is physical power distribution and loading: dragging 100-foot 4/0 feeder cables, moving distribution boxes from diesel generators, and laying 32A, 63A, and 125A lines across mud, wet grass, or soundstages. Another 30% involves mounting heavy lighting units onto C-stands and cherry pickers, rigging 20 lb and 35 lb sandbags, attaching safety chains, clipping gels with C-47s, and building large diffusion frames. Desk programming and network troubleshooting take about 15% of the day, covering wireless DMX and CRMX addressing, Art-Net/sACN configuration, and iPad app adjustments (ARRI Stellar, Blackout). The final 10% is dedicated to load balancing with Fluke clamp meters, safety checks, coiling hundreds of meters of cable, and packing flight cases.

Standard shifts run 10 to 12 production hours, with an extra 30 to 60 minutes for generator spin-up beforehand and 60 to 90 minutes of wrap afterwards. Night shoots (such as 18:00 to 06:00) and split days (13:00 to 01:00) are routine. Technicians work outdoors in rain, snow, sub-zero cold, and desert heat. While beginners imagine the job involves creative iPad lighting design, 90% to 95% of the actual role is heavy manual labor: hauling 30 kg flight cases, wrestling stiff high-amperage cables, and climbing ladders for 12 hours straight.

Where does this lead?