The light jockey (LJ) is a specialist in lighting who can be responsible for equipment setup, sometimes acting as an audiovisual technician. However, their primary focus is on programming and operating lighting controllers and robotics.
Throughout an event, the LJ often goes unnoticed, particularly during the setup phase and when focusing on other aspects of the event before the dynamic dance floor phase. It is common for the audiovisual technician to handle various equipment before taking on the role of LJ. Yet, the LJ’s creative potential is most evident during the party’s peak moments, when the audience is on the dance floor, and lighting becomes a secondary but crucial component of the fun.
Lighting plays a vital role in creating the ambiance and defining the behaviors of guests as they begin to engage with the music. During the dance floor dynamics, the LJ evolves the variety of colors, beam speeds, and lighting effects, blending their artistry with the DJ’s work and adapting the lighting to the musical progression.
A true LJ is more than just someone who turns lights on and off! They are a professional whose training is often underappreciated and whose work is primarily recognized by the more observant audience members during the dance floor’s dynamic moments and in the memories captured by photography and video teams. Intense moments at a party, such as clapping, smiling, laughing, jumping, shouting, and euphoria, are significantly influenced by the LJ’s work.
The LJ controls the lighting effects, creating blackout moments, strobes with rapidly flashing white lights before a song’s chorus, and illuminating the entire party space with a single color for dramatic suspense. The LJ should be seen as a “master of lights,” especially when they manage not only the dance floor robotics but also additional equipment.
The LJ can control multiple DMX signal sources, managing various equipment and robotics simultaneously. The dance floor’s robotic equipment, known as moving heads, feature movable heads that create distinct light beams based on their functions. These can be spotlights or washes, creating multidirectional light beams or painting light spots, respectively.
Additionally, the LJ may control wireless projectors distributed throughout the venue or party space, often used for decorative lighting or as part of the dance floor dynamics. They might also use complementary equipment during other event phases to add colors and light architectural details like facades, trees, sculptures, or other elements using professional robotics such as city colors or archipainters.
Therefore, it’s increasingly essential to recognize the LJ as a key element in the entertainment and audiovisual team. They possess unique technical skills and must also have social competencies, maintaining a friendly and courteous demeanor toward the audience. It’s common for the LJ to filter some musical requests from guests, protecting the DJ from potential distractions. While a party might go on without lighting, it is the lighting that transforms and enhances the audiovisual experience for participants.
In conclusion, educating the public about lighting, helping them understand its possibilities and concepts, is crucial. The event is a holistic experience, and lighting is an integral part. Guests’ memories are preserved in their minds, but photographic memories capture only the lighting.
Videos become more vivid and dynamic with variations in light, color, shapes, and visual effects, requiring decorative and dynamic lighting to create unique and special memories. Thus, lighting is fundamental to the entire experience, and the credit often belongs to the work of the LJ.
