Training Days

[djsam3000]

I've tried a search but haven't found a lot. I want to know if anyone can recommend companies that do training days. Like stage electrics do training for all different things. Can anyone recommend anywhere, preferably not too far away from Essex. Looking to cover sound, lighting and rigging, so another stage electrics type thing would be great.

[brainwave-generator]

Crewclass - http://www.crewclass.co.uk/

 

Is not so much a 'teach you to do sound' 'teach you to do lights' etc course, as an 'awareness' course, but it's aimed at preparing people for working in a local crew environment and being able to work on sound, light, rigging by being able to identify things and use them.

 

If you are looking for just yourself, you'd have to go into London where Simon holds classes at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington. If you are trying to get a crew trained up, I'm sure he'd be happy to come to a venue of your choice. All his contact details are on the site.

 

I think you will struggle to find valuable 1-day training sessions specialising in stuff though. The NRC-orientated rigging courses are typically 2 or 3 days long, sound and lighting generally even longer as it's just impossible to cover all the ground in a day. I would say Crewclass is about as valuable as you are likely to get from 1 day, where you will get a good awareness of everything you need from a single days training, as well as networking opportunities and a push into the local crew world.

[Joe Bleasdale]

What would you like to cover Lighting wise? I do custom console specific and generic programming training.

 

PM me if you would like to know more :)

 

Thanks.

[paulears]

Training comes in many forms. I think you mean you want somebody to come to you and train you how to do something, but it's not clear what. There are many people on the BR who could easily do this. Some of us do it quite often, and are 'trained' trainers, other people are very knowledgeable, but may not always understand how training works, essentially being demonstrators, not trainers?

 

Price wise between £250 and 500 a day is quite normal, plus they will charge you for travel to and from the venue and probably hotels and food. They will probably want to make up info packs and target exactly what you need.

 

So what exactly do you want?

[djsam3000]

No I don't want people to come to me. I'm not looking for one-one training. As stated I am looking for other options to what stage electrics offer. So courses that are put on for a day for 8-10 people to go on to learn about specific things in the industry - Just like crew class as suggested above. I don't want to be specifically trained on a Whole Hog console for instance as not every venue will have one, a general introduction to moving lights or something would be more appropriate. I'm not being clear on being trained in one thing in particular because I want to get a broad range of skills not just one.

[paulears]

Have a look at the ABTT summer school programme. I'm a tad confused because you are already in business in sound and lighting hire, so I assumed you wanted people to come and train your staff - sorry, missed it.

[willdart666]

Personally I pick what I want to train in based on what I problems I foresee in the next 2-3 years. For example, I already had a basic grasp of programming and operating on a Jands Vista but I know it's not the "standard", so in addition to Vista training at ACET, I've also done most of the courses available at Avolites and Chamsys. They're normally free so no excuse not to! Hopefully soon I'll go to GrandMa and Hippo, but I don't see it as totally essential right now.

I also know that if I want to progress as a lighting tech then certain skills will be expected of me as time goes on. So I've been to Total Training in Birmingham for working at height training and am planning to go to (forgotten the name...) in Liverpool that does training in motors and motor control.

 

Obviously this is no substitute for experience but you've got to be prepared to travel and stay over night, sometimes for several nights, to do the best training. Unfortunately not everything can be expected to be down the road.

 

With regards to your comment about not training on one specific thing, how else are you planning on training? There is no one single lighting or sound desk that will prepare you for what you'll come up against so the best thing you can do is learn different things. You won't be a master of them but you'll at least have a chance at getting a good show out of it.

[Trev.Fairclough]

... FYI: its worth a try at looking at White Lightand the Backstage Academy. They both offer rather good courses, you might find something there that would be of help.

[Mrmovinghead]

hi can u help me

 

I am looking for places in the aberdeenshire area for a lighting course. all the other courses I have found are in edinburgh

 

can anyone please help me find somewhere

 

much appreciated

[crewclass]

Crewclass is happenning on 5th Sept at Pleasance, London, with a discounted fee plus one months free membership to StageJobsPro. Visit www.crewclass.co.uk for further details.

[erroneousblack]

It seems to me some people are charging a lot of money, in exchange for what can be very little learning. I'm with the Russians who believe that "repetition is the mother of learning!"

[bigclive]

It's unfortunate that in a business perceived as glamorous there are always people who want to exploit those who are desperate to get their foot in the door. There's absolutely no point in paying 300 quid a day to sit in a 10 person (that's three thousand pounds per shift) class and get shown what you could have learned on the job by just asking questions as you went along. The whole exploitation thing also covers the minimum-wage-for-longer-than-the-quoted-hours (and therefore LESS than minimum wage) nonsense that goes on with a lot of British event companies who rely on cheap and expendable labour to ensure higher profits for the management. The chances of training actually improving your possibility of getting work is low unless the trainers put you on their "people willing to work for nothing until they realise they're being exploited" list.

 

Now add a formal training requirement into the equation and BINGO you can charge whatever you like for training. Think IPAF access unit training. You pay the money and then sit at a table watching someone pound the spacebar on a laptop to mince their way through a slideshow presentation, while reading directly off the screen. Most IPAF trainers have never had a job where they actually worked from cherry pickers or scissor lifts. Better still, your certificate lasts for just a few years and then you're forced to do it all again or risk losing work. It's what's technically referred to as a racket. Are you expected to sit your driving test every three years? No. Despite the fact that a car is infinitely more complex and dangerous than a cherry picker to drive.

 

It's strange. The less glamorous jobs like sewer cleaning seem to lack the glut of Mickey Mouse training courses tha the entertainment industry has. Perhaps that's because not many people wish to pay for pointless training in the use of sh1t shovels.

 

 

 

AAAAH YES! There's my weekend rant out the way in one hit. :** laughs out loud **:

[cooldc1]

It's unfortunate that in a business perceived as glamorous there are always people who want to exploit those who are desperate to get their foot in the door. There's absolutely no point in paying 300 quid a day to sit in a 10 person (that's three thousand pounds per shift) class and get shown what you could have learned on the job by just asking questions as you went along. The whole exploitation thing also covers the minimum-wage-for-longer-than-the-quoted-hours (and therefore LESS than minimum wage) nonsense that goes on with a lot of British event companies who rely on cheap and expendable labour to ensure higher profits for the management. The chances of training actually improving your possibility of getting work is low unless the trainers put you on their "people willing to work for nothing until they realise they're being exploited" list.

 

Now add a formal training requirement into the equation and BINGO you can charge whatever you like for training. Think IPAF access unit training. You pay the money and then sit at a table watching someone pound the spacebar on a laptop to mince their way through a slideshow presentation, while reading directly off the screen. Most IPAF trainers have never had a job where they actually worked from cherry pickers or scissor lifts. Better still, your certificate lasts for just a few years and then you're forced to do it all again or risk losing work. It's what's technically referred to as a racket. Are you expected to sit your driving test every three years? No. Despite the fact that a car is infinitely more complex and dangerous than a cherry picker to drive.

 

It's strange. The less glamorous jobs like sewer cleaning seem to lack the glut of Mickey Mouse training courses tha the entertainment industry has. Perhaps that's because not many people wish to pay for pointless training in the use of sh1t shovels.

 

 

 

AAAAH YES! There's my weekend rant out the way in one hit. :** laughs out loud **:

 

 

Well said!

[EmmaThompson]

Feel like I should put in a word to defend training courses! I'm not saying they're for everyone, or that they're essential to work in the industry, but there's definitely a place for them. Something like an introduction to moving lights I agree might be a little less useful, but console specific courses (lighting and sound), and things like IPAF are in my view. I know a lot of people I wouldn't want to be onsite with driving a picker without at least some form of training!

 

Console training especially (and yes I know I get paid to train people to use desks) is useful, and I've never had anyone who hasn't learnt something, even the most seasoned of users! Also software is continally evolving, so it's good to keep up to date.

 

And my Titan courses are free, so I'm not exploiting anyone, they can come and exploit us!