Electricity for the Entertainment Electrician & Technician

by Richard Cadena

There's a television show called "King of Quee​ns" and the main character is a package delivery truck driver named Doug Hefernan. I love the episode where he goes to work on Monday morning and the boss calls a meeting. All the drivers gather in the office and the boss passes out a pamphlet. He says, "I want you to take these home and read them because on Friday there's going to be a test." And Doug says, "Oh, man, I got this job so I would have to read!"

I know so many people in live event production who are a lot like Doug Hefernan. They went out on the road pushing boxes, unloading trucks, and eventually programming lighting consoles, switching video, or mixing audio, and many of them did it because they didn't want to go to college or sit behind a desk doing paperwork. They like working with their hands and they're good at it.

 

But live event production has changed over the years. Rigs are much bigger and more complex than they used to be. Technology is now to the point where it requires more knowledge than the average person can pick up on the street. If you're going to exel at your craft, you might have to read a pamphlet or two. You might even have to read an entire book.

 

This book is for those of you who want to learn and advance your knowledge of all things technical but want to do it on your own terms. Whether it's in a classroom setting, a study group, or just for private, individual consumption, this book will take you where you want to go. It's written with the live event production professional in mind, meaning someone who doesn't necessarily want to be an electical engineer but needs the right knowledge in order to do their job of live event production safely and efficiently. It's all about the important things you need to know with the least amount of math. Yes, there is some math, but it's not difficult. If you can figure out how to run a digital mixing console or program an automated lighting console, then you can do the math. Even you, Doug Hefernan.