Books I recommend / see commonly recommended.

• • -
    Show Networks and Control Systems
    
    This is a great book all about how modern lighting networks work using sACN and other protocols. John Huntington is a great speaker if you ever get a chance to see him speak. He should be doing a session or two as USITT this year. He is also a professor at CUNY and has a great program there.
    

• • *
    Electricity for the Entertainment Electrician & Technician
    
    Another great book by another great speaker. I got to see a panel with Richard Cadena a few years ago at USITT. I was very impressed with how he spoke about stage lighting and some of the practical experiments that he has done and shared with us. I haven't read this book, but I've heard great things about it. A big topic of conversation at that panel was inrush current, and he gave some really great and easy to understand answers. I suspect that his book is more of the same.
    

• • -
    Designing with Light
    
    A classic. Very very well respected book. It will probably be the text book for your first lighting class in college, if you choose to study lighting in college.
    
• • -
    [Light Fantastic: The Art and Design of Stage Lighting] (https://www.amazon.com/Light-Fantastic-Design-Stage-Lighting/dp/3791343718)
    
    My favorite lighting book. Covers a huge array of topics, addresses lighting history & color, shows and demonstrates some really really interesting designs.
    
• • -
    A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting
    
    I see this book recommended most often. It's another great book. The title holds true, it is a very practical guide to stage lighting. How to do paperwork. How to write a contract. How to talk to people. Some nuggets of lighting knowledge. I didn't really get as much out of it though, as I am not trying to become a professional lighting designer.

FrostD makes a good point.

There are some standard textbooks that you might look into (with the accompanying knowledge that they will carry textbook-like price tags). I've found them more useful than websites, mostly because I had a lot of trouble finding any websites that did a broad overview of stage lighting.

Shelley's A Practical Guide to Lighting the Stage is a pretty well known one.

Personally, I learned a lot from Gillette's Designing with Light. But I also encountered it after I'd had some experience with the actual lighting instruments. So I remember it as a great introduction to "how do I design," but I can't remember if it covers any of the "this is a fresnel, this is a par" things.

If you want to learn how to program cues, I'd look into tutorials (or at least manuals) relating to whichever board you are likely to work with. If you don't know which board you're most likely to work with, there's a decent chance you'll end up behind an ETC Express [citation needed].

While I'm recommending texts, if you want to figure out how to draft a light plot (likely a further-down-the-line thing in your education), Hillmar's Light Plot Deconstructed is a pretty good way of learning how to make a plot in Vectorworks.

But really, the best way to learn is to do, or at least to be around people who do. If you're going to school, check out if the theatre program (if it exists) would like an extra set of hands on the next load-in/strike. Or if they need a board op (which was one of my favorite ways to pick up on lighting design without needing a lot of prior knowledge or experience).

If you're not going to school atm, see if there are theatres nearby who might want help. Often, even small places (high schools, churches, restaurants that host live acts) will have their normal "lighting guy/gal" they could put you in touch with. Most should be willing to at least point you in the right direction, even if they don't end up wanting/needing a hand with things.

This isn't by any stretch a complete guide, but hopefully it's enough to get you started in some direction or other.

To add to everything here, talk with your director. This seems really obvious but ideally there aren't surprises during tech.

Its also a great way to get your ideas out there; the director may have a better idea for this, he may have never thought about that idea and needs to think about it. Does the director want a realistic courtroom? Or does he want an idea of a courtroom? Is there a scenic designer? What do they think about your idea for this scene?

It always depends on the show. Compared to others i'm approaching it very organically and artsy.

Couple books that are very helpful

Steve Shelley's Guide to stage lighting - Great book that discusses an overall picture

Richard Pilbrow's Stage Lighting Design - A more technical look, been awhile since i've read it but it does include the McCandless plot.

PM if you wanna talk extensively, i'm starting to do this for a living and talking about lighting design is really what wakes me up in the morning

Are you referring to concert or broadway or theatrical lighting? Or something else?

For concerts, I have a huge folder on my laptop that I've amassed over the years from manufacturer's websites (Martin, Vari-Lite, Clay-Paky, etc) and doing searches for "%band_name% concert" on Flickr. VL makes it hard to save photos from their website, but it's possible with Firebug.

For theatrical lighting, I have a great book called Light Fantastic that has lots of wonderful pictures of theatrical lighting, and I've also found tons of good stuff in trade magazine, especially PLSN and Live Design, both of which also have good websites.

First things first, different areas are going to call different things different names. Never be ashamed about asking what people mean by a term, as clear communication is critical in this industry.

Next, three books that will help you.

1. Backstage Handbook while a little outdated, this is the stagehands bible.
   
   
2. Electricity for the Entertainment Electrician and Technician this is a good reference for how electricity works. Less of a what things are and more of a how things are. Good book regardless.
   
   
3. A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting also more of a how things are, this details more of the design and communication side of lighting. Also a very good read, as it details out paperwork for shows.
   
   As far as what equipment and systems you should be familiar with? ETC EOS family is a good starting point. It’ll get your mind familiar with how to program lights and is a pretty universal starting point. ETC Sensor Racks are also fairly standard for dimming. For moving lights, that’s really going to depend on what you’re able to get your hands on. If there’s a production shop nearby to you, call them up and see if they’re willing to take you on as an intern so you can learn things, or just ask them to spend a couple days showing you how everything works. Or see if there’s an IATSE chapter that’s nearby to you, they’ll also be able to help point you in the right direction.

I second /u/wrightde's suggestion of seeing as many shows as you can. You'll start to build a vocabulary that you like, discover how other people make it happen, and just as importantly, you'll see what doesn't work.

Lighting Design is a mix of the artistic and the engineered. /u/wrightde is correct that you shouldn't get bogged down in the technical - the artistic should come first - but the artistic still has to be translated to the technical, so you need that knowledge as well.

My go-to recommendation is Steve Shelley's book: A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting. It covers a lot of great craft - from design meetings, to how to calculate coverage, to how to use/draw a plot and section, and a host of other subjects.

Good luck!

This. Investing in your future productions is awesome. Giving your designers more tools is awesome. But moving lights can continue to suck of time and resources for repairs and maintenance, especially if you're looking at a used one. I trust you're weighing this in your calculations, but let me though a (small) vote in the pile of "it's probably not worth it."

For $5000, I'd get:

• 2 Rosco I-Cues (w/ Broadway Bracket)
  
• 6 7.5" Wybron Forerunners
  
• 2 Apollo EZ Irises
  
• 1 24V Power Supply
  
• A bundle of 4-pin cable.
  
  A 19-degree S4 with I-Cue, iris, and scroller isn't quite a moving light, but it's a useful stand-in for a lot of individual conventional specials. Four extra scrollers is (hopefully) enough for one idea/system depending on your space; again, replacing a couple systems with one system of lights, allowing you to spread your conventionals out somewhere else.
  
  Another thought: LED tape is popular these days. How about a 96-channel LED Driver and a DMX to SPI conveter to drive it, and a power supply? About $200 for all three together, and RGB tape can be had for about a dollar a foot these days.

Unfortunately it's rather difficult to simply 'pick up' lighting design, especially when you're thinking of a larger scope including renovations and retrofits. Even something as simple as finding a website that explains the beginnings of stage lighting to send people to has been a challenge for me in the past.

The Steve Shelley book mentioned by /u/loansindi is a very robust choice, but is aimed more specifically at theatrical lighting and is likely to have far more information than you'd ever want or need, and will make you crazy.

I'd recommend this Pilbrow book, which is a little more readable. It is a tad bit dated, however; not that what he says is wrong but that it's a bit old-fashioned.

The reality is the best way to learn about it is to have conversations with someone who understands lighting in the context of your space. That way you can not only understand concepts, but concepts as they apply to your context. I understand why you would want to do prep work so as not to be caught off-guard by the process or taken advantage of, but there are people--trustworthy people--who are paid to do just that. No need to put undue pressure on yourself to be an expert.

Anyway, hope that's helpful to some degree. Please feel free to PM or get in touch with me via email (john @ johndelfino [dot] com) if you have more questions.

Source:: Lighting Designer, Independent and with Visual Terrain

It all depends on what kind of design you want to get into? Concert/music design is totally different than theatrical, even within theatre musicals and plays often have different design principals.
I'd check out Steve Shelly's book https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Stage-Lighting-Third/dp/0415812003/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0415812003&pd_rd_r=QMEV3MMX5JMSDAZPBNNT&pd_rd_w=uh8vJ&pd_rd_wg=jKgB8&psc=1&refRID=QMEV3MMX5JMSDAZPBNNT
as well as this one. https://www.amazon.com/Stage-Lighting-Handbook-Francis-Reid/dp/087830147X/ref=pd_sim_14_6?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=087830147X&pd_rd_r=YG5RCJMEPDWJ7E98CBCZ&pd_rd_w=QJmxz&pd_rd_wg=ZQ1Dr&psc=1&refRID=YG5RCJMEPDWJ7E98CBCZ

My biggest suggestion for someone who's just getting started is to not buy any equipment. Equipment is mostly cheap to rent, a PAR can is $3 or $4 a unit, and it's someone else's problem to fix it and buy lamps for it. You're not going to be able to afford quality gear, so you'll end up with cheap Chinese crap that's just going to disappoint you. The other thing to remember is that intelligent lighting is relatively new to lighting, lots of fantastic shows were lit without anything fancy. It's far better to master your color and angle work then get in to using movers than it is to just start throwing strobes everywhere and pray that it works. Learning to make choices and which choices are stronger than others will get you a lot further in life than being able to spit out flash and trash like everyone else can.

I just did this setup this season. It works fine, but the edges will be slightly brighter than the middle. It will be plenty bright enough see under stage light. If uniform brightness is a concern, follow the other advice given.

As for control, I use this DMX controller run from the light board. The LED tape wires right into it. It doesn't come with a power supply, but you can use any 12V DC power supply (edit: of sufficient amperage).

This is one of those cheap investments that pays off so well. I've used these setups in over half of my shows this season.

I'm not sure what line of work you're in, but from an event work standpoint, and I suppose a film standpoint, more and more manufacturers are moving towards LED-source fixtures. So if you're actually looking to build a distro and are looking towards future use, 120v may be the direction to head it. It's hard, though, to pigeon-hole yourself into 120v or 208v exclusively. You're better off having a variety and having that flexibility. A good reference for understanding these concepts can be found here

The suggestions below are great, let me throw in one more Designing With Light by J. Michael Gillette The amazon price is high see if you can find a cheaper version or older version. To me its a great intro to stage lighting.

I would recommend QLC+ for free DMX software if you decide to go that route. It can be somewhat difficult to learn and it's certainly not pretty to look at. But it is very capable and once you get the hang of it it's fairly easy to use. And once you set it up it you can train just about anyone how to operate it, you can make a set of simple buttons on the "virtual console" that can recall different scenes.

Of course you will need a DMX adapter - one I've seen recommended a lot is DMXking UltraDMX Micro but I've never used it personally. And then you'll need some DMX cables to connect the lights together - something like this. The length you need will depend on how far apart you want to place the lights. They can be daisy-chained together - so "DMX out" port of light 1 connects to "DMX in" port of light 2 etc. There's also wireless DMX systems if you don't want to run cables.

If it's protocol and how the actual signals work in the industry, I would recommend "Show Networks and Control Systems: Formerly 'Control Systems for Live Entertainment'" by John Huntington.

It'll cover how all of our main protocols work and how the might be connected. It also was just released as a new volume. So information is more up to date.

Show Networks and Control Systems: Formerly "Control Systems for Live Entertainment" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692958738/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_-fUFAbZY9S31S

I realise that this may be much further in depth than you would need. However the book is structured so that you can bounce around topics as you need. (also a photographer you might learn how to sync your camera up to things you could control in the studio for some extra fun projects )

Light Fantastic by Max Keller.

Light Fantastic: The Art and Design of Stage Lighting https://www.amazon.com/dp/3791343718/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_qPJ4Ab43PYNV6

Color theory wise: Light Fantastic by Max Keller. The book is also gorgeous.

Your best bet would be to LEARN about lighting design, including fixtures, control and capabilities. It takes more than a semester to be a lighting designer, but I encourage you to pursue it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0240812220/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_pdJvCbP8S5PVA

You might mean 'cube tap' instead of 'cub tap'. It's a small cube-like plug that allows you to make 1 Edison receptacle into 3.

I'd recommend picking up a copy of Set Lighting Technician's Handbook…), best $40 you can spend for this sort of info.

Separate three channel controllers is the way to go for a "touring" set. Then you can run DMX and 120V power however is convenient. Or a lot of decoders will have Ethernet ports that do DMX over Ethernet. And Cat5 is cheaper than DMX. You can either build or buy a DMX to Ethernet adapter.

For your power issue, most of those "decoders" come with a 120VAC > 12VDC power supply either built in or as a separate module. Them to the backside where the audience won't see, or even inside of the scenic piece had a frosted front and run your wires through a hole in the back.

I'll pull up a driver/PSU combo in a minute. I don't guarantee the PSU I linked will have the right plug to go into the Decoder, I'm searching fast.

EDIT:

But those 5m 5050 strips only need like 60W of power to run at full intensity, despite the Decoder being rated for more. Again, I'm doing fast math and dredging up old memories of my own projects. Make sure to buy extra of that flat 4 conductor wire to get back to your decoder from the tape.

Soldering that stuff sucks, I recommend getting some liquid E-tape to seal things up since you're putting four solder connections next to each other in like 1/2 an inch.

Decoder: Lixada DC 12V-24V 3 Channel DMX Decorder LED Controller for RGB 5050 3528 LED Strip Light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B42M3RG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_0UhLBbZ3NVFRP

PSU: LEDwholesalers 12V 20A 240W AC/DC Power Adapter with 5.5x2.5mm DC Plug and 2.1mm Adapter, Black, 3262-12V https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074GGMD5J/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_CYhLBb662YCTC

Edit_2:

You definitely don't want to try putting power down pins 4 and 5. DMX cable isn't made for it, it will end in cooked cables, which can be a fire hazard.

Also, you didn't say what these boxes are doing, are they scenic elements?

Here's a great resource. Available as an e-book and at many libraries as well: https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Stage-Lighting-Third/dp/0415812003

The Set Lighting Technician's Handbook is the more updated version (I'm assuming) of "The Gaffer's Handbook". Definitely a good read OP.

http://www.amazon.com/American-Supply-Mega-Bar-Remote/dp/B0045EP4WG

DMXable, can run in auto or program modes, 7 channel light. Nothing too terribly crazy but bars can be used to good effect if you've got an eye for placement.

Show Networks & Control Systems was the biggest help for me. Its been awhile since I read it and it may be slightly dated but it was very well put together. I still put it on the "must read" list for our interns.

Are you on a PC or a Mac?

I use the full version of this https://lightning-dmxcontrol.com/ w/ TouchOSC and an iPad + several midi controllers, works well and was super simple to learn.

I would advise against the knock off USB dongle, I've had shaky experiences with those. I have one of these and it's been solid: https://www.amazon.com/DMXking-ultraDMX-Micro-adapter-dongle/dp/B00T8OKM98

I have also used an ENTTEC OpenDMX USB box, but for whatever reason I get an intermittent flicker when I use it with my mac. It's been solid for PC though.

Show Networks and Control Systems

The Automated Lighting Programmer’s Handbook

These are two of the good ones for breaking down the basics and going through the whole process. Both are available on Amazon.

also this http://www.amazon.com/Electricity-Entertainment-Electrician-Technician-Richard/dp/0415714834 is a very good book. without electricity none of this works.

This book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/024081553X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1370445799&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

It covers the basics, and some good practices while programming.

Show Networks and Control Systems: Formerly "Control Systems for Live Entertainment" Second Edition

Correct, I just can’t justify the $50 at this time

Introduction to what, exactly? Stage lighting in general?

In my lighting design class in college, we used Lighting and the Design Idea by Linda Essig.

Steve Shelley is also well regarded.

https://www.amazon.com/DMXking-ultraDMX-Micro-adapter-dongle/dp/B00T8OKM98/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519036444&sr=8-1&keywords=dmxking+ultradmx+micro+usb+dmx+adapter%2Fdongle&dpID=413Yc-eLYJL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch Looks like it has doubled in price in two years.
The Enttec DMX Pro Mk2 is also a good candidate, I am in the process of upgrading my rig to use that. The Mk2 provides 2 universes and the DMXKing dongle only one, but less than half the cost.

QLC+ and any DMX dongle can do this, you'll have to learn how to use QLC though. You'd essentially be setting the speed of a chaser with the tap widget, and you'd have a couple of buttons in a solo frame to choose which chaser function to activate. Chasers 'chase' between two 'scenes', or sets of DMX values (i.e. going between red and blue).

You can map any MIDI input to these buttons, I've done it with the Behringer FCB1010 w/ EurekaPROM upgrade.

Altogether, this setup costs $72 for the DMX adapter + $149 for the Behringer + $35 for the EurekaPROM upgrade, $256 total. This setup gives you far more flexibility than the Chauvet controller.

IMO those sorts of controllers that don't include a PC are a waste of money unless you're never ever going to add any more lights to a system. They make sense if you're running a tiny venue that will never need more lights, but as soon as you start experimenting with your own setup, you're going to want to be able to add lights at some point that the Chauvet controller can't manage.

There's a lot of ways you can go here. You can get by with the cheap eBay LED lights if you really want, or you can at least go with Chauvet or ADJ LED pars so you've got warranty. Keep in mind you need to get power to all these, and data if you want anything other than static colour.

Or, if you need quick setup times and/or not having any cables to worry about, you could go something like this. Uses an internal battery and D-fi (Chauvet's wireless DMX) to not need any cables. I expect other companies have made similar fixtures, I'm not a shill.

Beyond that you could go for LED bars like this, if that fits with what you tend to be uplighting.

Anyway, my point is you've got a lot of options, the higher price you go you're likely to get far higher reliability and longer lasting, proper warranty, more than just RGB (amber, white, and UV being added), battery and wireless DMX capabilities, so on.

Going with a legit, albeit fairly low end brand like Chauvet, expect to get no more than four no-frills RGB lights for your few hundred $. At that feature-set, expect about $100 per.

Here is the mobile version of your link

The Stage Lighting Handbook

Show Networks and Control Systems: Formerly "Control Systems for Live Entertainment"

Read this book

Did some digging, found an even cheaper unit that covers both 3-Pin XLR and Ethernet DMX signalling, with 3-Channel output.

[Here's a similar product with 4-channel output](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WG3HV4W/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl? _encoding=UTF8&colid=1LAKMIFZWNGDX&coliid=I281MYLGP6ZB3N&psc=1) and Ethernet input.

Here’s one book:
Show Networks and Control Systems

Bulletproof: The Lighting & Stage Design of Andi Watson

I can say that anything you'd learn in a crash course would be a start in the wrong direction.

If all you're looking for are ways to light a stage, and some basic techniques, start by learning about the McCandless technique.

Visit the other links here to get a sense of how to plan it all out.

If you ever want to get into more advanced stuff, I recommend you start with Richard Pilbrow's book if you are going to be self-taught.

It’s being down voted because almost all LED strips require a specific voltage to run on and any AC dimmer will only fuck up your transformer, or (if you plug the strip into the dimmer,) fry the strip.

Its way cheaper to buy a $20 driver:

Lixada DC 12V-24V 3 Channel DMX Decorder LED Controller for RGB 5050 3528 LED Strip Light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B42M3RG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.DpGDbCRT3N3G