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Watch: Lighting

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Career ladder

From first job to head of department

Rigging is a parallel crew that works ahead of the floor crew, not a step between best boy and gaffer.

Floor crew

  1. Entry grade Lighting trainee Carrying cable and lamps, the truck, learning the kit.
  2. Step 2 ElectricianAlso: spark; lighting technician Rigging, cabling, operating and focusing lamps.Read the role
  3. Step 3 Best boyAlso: chargehand Crew, kit, power distribution and paperwork for the gaffer.Watch and read
  4. Top of the ladder Gaffer Head of department: lighting with the DoP, crew and kit.Watch and read

Specialists branch off the ladder at the grade shown; they aren't steps on it

  • Desk operatorbeside ElectricianRuns the lighting console and wireless control.
  • Generator operatorbeside ElectricianRuns and fuels the generator; power on location.
  • Practical electricianbeside ElectricianWires and dims the lamps you see in shot.

Rigging crew

Parallel ladder
  1. Entry grade Rigging electrician Pre-rigs lamps and power ahead of the shooting crew.Watch and read
  2. Step 2 Rigging chargehandAlso: rigging best boy Runs the rigging crew's kit and people.
  3. Top of the ladder Rigging gaffer Plans and leads the pre-rig with the gaffer.
Grade by grade: what you need before moving up
Floor crew
GradeWhat you doBefore moving up
Lighting traineeCarrying cable and lamps, the truck, learning the kit.Credits, safe handling and basic electrical knowledge.
ElectricianAlso: spark; lighting technicianRigging, cabling, operating and focusing lamps.Electrical training and credits as a spark.
Best boyAlso: chargehandCrew, kit, power distribution and paperwork for the gaffer.Credits as a senior spark and a gaffer who trusts you.
GafferHead of department: lighting with the DoP, crew and kit.Credits as best boy and a DoP who wants you.
Rigging crew
GradeWhat you do
Rigging electricianPre-rigs lamps and power ahead of the shooting crew.
Rigging chargehandAlso: rigging best boyRuns the rigging crew's kit and people.
Rigging gafferPlans and leads the pre-rig with the gaffer.

Bectu lighting technicians card · Route in: Screen Lighting Technician apprenticeship option · Every department's ladder: Careers A–Z · Getting work · Working freelance

Learn it, step by step

4 paths
See all: Learn it, step by step

Safety first

Power, heat and the department

The electrical department handles mains power, hot lamps, heavy kit and height. The gaffer runs it and the best boy runs the power. A trainee spark learns the rules before touching a plug.

Start the safety module Take the safety check

Watch first

Module 1 of Lighting (gaffer and sparks). Mark them done there to track your progress.

The hazards

7

What hurts people in this department on UK sets, and what keeps them safe.

  1. ElectricityGenerators and distribution carry power that kills. Only competent sparks connect, patch and distro. Cables are run tidy, ramped where people walk and kept out of water.
  2. HeatTungsten and HMI lamps get hot enough to burn skin and scorch a set. Gloves on, lamps off before you move or re-gel them, and keep diffusion and dressing back from the lens.
  3. HMI and bulbsNever open an HMI head that's on or hot. Damaged bulbs and lenses are dangerous; report a cracked lens or a flickering lamp.
  4. Height and riggingLamps over people are rigged with safety bonds and checked. Towers, scaffold and platforms need training. Nobody stands under a lamp being raised.
  5. Wet locationsWater and mains power is the classic killer. On rain days and near water, the best boy decides what runs and how it's protected.
  6. Manual handlingLamps, stands and cable are heavy. Two people on big heads, roll the cable, use the trolleys.
  7. Bright light and UVDon't stare into lamps, lasers or LED panels at full. Some sources need eye protection, and cast and crew need warning.

Who is responsible

  • The gaffer runs the department and its safety.
  • The best boy runs the power: generator, distro and who may connect.
  • The rigging gaffer signs off rigs at height.
  • The 1st AD briefs the unit and calls stop.

As a trainee, never

  • Never connect, disconnect or patch power you haven't been told to.
  • Never touch a hot lamp without gloves, or open a lamp that's on.
  • Never leave a cable across a walkway without a ramp or a mat.

Anyone can say stop. If something feels wrong, say so to your head of department or the 1st AD.

Where this comes from

Checked 13 November 2026. This is awareness, not a safety qualification: follow your production's risk assessment and your head of department.

Check yourself

4 situations. Get them all right.

Pass the safety check before the rest of the path. One wrong safety answer means try again. It's practice, and your answers stay on this device.

Question 1: A lamp in the rig goes out mid-take. The gaffer's across the stage. A spark next to you says just swap the plug over.

Question 2: You're asked to move a 2K that's been on all morning.

Question 3: It starts raining on an exterior. A cable joint is sitting in a puddle.

Question 4: A cable runs across the main walkway to set. There's no ramp.

AI in film and TV

How AI fits this department

Previs and virtual production tools let gaffers test light before the shoot, and LED volumes change how scenes are lit. Light on set still sets the look a model has to match.

Learning path: AI for camera departments The AI channel Consent and credit

Lighting, in detail

What lighting does

Lighting (or the electrical department) lights the set and powers the unit.

  • Gaffer: designs the lighting with the DoP and leads the crew.
  • Best boy: logistics, crew and power distribution.
  • Sparks (lighting technicians): rig and operate the lamps.

Bigger shows add a rigging crew who pre-rig sets, and a desk op running the lamps from a console.

Who lighting works with

The DoP above all. Grip, on shared rigs and flags. Camera, on exposure and what's in shot. The art department on practical lamps and set rigging. Locations on power access. The 1st AD on timings, and SFX on electrical effects.

Kit and vocabulary

  • LED fixtures, HMIs and tungsten: the main light sources.
  • Distribution: cables, boxes and the power plan from generator or mains to lamps.
  • Generator ("genny"): mobile power for location work.
  • DMX and the lighting desk: control of lamps from a console.
  • Flags, nets and diffusion: shaping and softening light.
  • Pre-rig: rigging done before the shooting crew arrives.
  • Practical: a lamp that appears in shot and is part of the set.

How to get in

Many sparks start as trainees after electrical training or a theatre or events background. In England the Screen Lighting Technician apprenticeship option is a formal route. ScreenSkills publishes skills checklists for each grade.

Pay: Bectu lighting technicians card.

Where Futures in Film helps

Our lighting and electrical course (dates soon: register interest) covers load calculations, cable runs and rigging, working to a gaffer and a best boy. On a production simulation week you hold a lighting grade on a crewed unit.

Who to know: Lighting

A crew rehearses on a lit stage set while camera and lighting kit waits on carts in the foreground.Kit to own · Lighting trainee (spark)What to bring on day one, and what not to buy.Safety boots with toe protection. Don't buy: testers or electrical tools until your gaffer or best boy says which. only qualified...See the kit list

Other departments

17 departments
See all: Other departments

Where we come in

Distribution, fixtures and rigging.

ApplyTrain in Lighting

Read for lighting

8

The magazines and books people in lighting read. Borrow the books free from a library.

All resources and reading: trade press, directories, libraries and more

Events for lighting

7

Shows, festivals and careers days where lighting crew go to learn and meet people. Dates checked on each organiser's site.

All events and expos, with a month-by-month calendar

Next for Lighting

Last reviewed 9 November 2026