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Learning path · Camera and lighting

Lighting (gaffer and sparks)

Safety first: power, heat and the department. Then how light behaves, the units sparks use, and how to shape and motivate it on a UK set.

Free films in teaching order, for one craft. Watch, tick them off and test yourself. It's practice that prepares you for an Academy course. This one prepares you for the lighting course (coming).

18 lessons · About 3.5 hours · New to set to working crew · Not started

Lesson 1

Electrical Safety in Film & TV + 18th Edition

Phil Crawley · 45:53 · original on YouTube

You will learn: Apply UK electrical safety to film and TV lighting: BS 7671:2018 (as amended; Amendment 4, 2026).

Note: UK-specific: 230V single phase, 16A/32A/63A Ceeform and RCD protection. Recorded before Amendment 4: the current edition is BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, published 15 April 2026 (IET, checked 11 November 2026). Trainees never work on distribution: qualified electricians and the gaffer do. Long; watch in two sittings.

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.

The hazards

  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.

By the end you will be able to

  • Explain how power and electrical safety work on a UK set (BS 7671:2018 as amended), and why trainees never work on distribution
  • Build and explain a key, fill and back light set-up and light any skin tone well
  • Choose and safely set up tungsten, HMI and LED units, and correct colour with gels
  • Shape light with bounce, diffusion, flags and negative fill, and motivate it for day and night interiors

Test yourself

Could you do it on a set?

4 real situations, one for each thing this path teaches. It's optional practice, not pass or fail, and your answers stay on this device.

A trainee spark sees a distro box with its cover off and a cable loose. What do they do?

A two-shot has two actors with very different skin tones. What's the best approach?

An HMI needs to match warm tungsten practicals in a night interior. What gel goes on the HMI?

A daylight interior looks flat because white walls bounce light everywhere. What do you reach for?

Next: do it for real

Lighting course: coming.

There isn't an Academy course for lighting yet. Register interest and we'll tell you when it opens. Meanwhile, Day One covers safety and how a set runs for every department, and experienced crew can book a competency check directly.

Register interestStart Day One

How learning with FIF works

Learning path. Free films in teaching order, for one craft. Watch, tick them off and test yourself. It's practice that prepares you for an Academy course.

  1. Learn onlineFree films, paths and Academy coursesYou are here
  2. Competency checkA short check with us, online or in person
  3. In-person practicalOn our unit at Pinewood or 3 Mills
  4. FIF CertificateFrom the practical only

The FIF Certificate comes only from the practical. How it works · Book a competency check

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