Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

performance lighting directortoproduction designer

A performance lighting director already meets 33% of what the production designer role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.

From performance lighting director
33%
Overlap1
To production designer
13 Skills carried over
11 Required, not held
67.6 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

33%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

67.6/ 100

1 Share of the production designer role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the performance lighting director profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A production designer role treats 5 of its required skills as things a performance lighting director already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • adapt designers’ work to the performance venue
  • analyse a script
  • consult with production director
  • film production process
  • manage budgets

What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A production designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a performance lighting director background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held use storyboards communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held design lighting communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held collaborate on costume and make-up for performances communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held adapt designers’ work to the performance venue communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held work with the camera crew communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held work with the director of photography communication, collaboration and creativity

All 13 carried skills, including the 5 the production designer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 25 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 8 supplementary
  • required, not held develop design concept required
  • required, not held develop the look of a production required
  • required, not held provide input to collaborators to guide their work required
  • optional, not held design props optional
  • optional, not held develop a specific interior design optional
  • optional, not held ensure visual quality of the set optional
  • optional, not held make photographic storyboards optional
  • optional, not held make set construction drawings optional
  • optional, not held select costumes optional
  • optional, not held draw design sketches optional
  • optional, not held work with the lighting crew optional
02 management skills 3 required, 3 supplementary
  • required, not held supervise costume workers required
  • required, not held create production schedules required
  • required, not held manage staff required
  • optional, not held assess production needs to plan a production schedule optional
  • optional, not held make film shooting schedule optional
  • optional, not held recruit employees optional
03 information skills 3 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held analyse logistic needs required
  • required, not held conduct research on trends in design required
  • required, not held estimate duration of work required
  • optional, not held arrange permits optional
  • optional, not held search for a suitable filming location optional
04 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 required
  • required, not held CAD software required
05 working with computers 1 required
  • required, not held use CAD software required
06 handling and moving 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held create set models optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a production designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 13 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held adapt designers’ work to the performance venue skill
  • already held analyse a script skill
  • already held consult with production director skill
  • already held film production process knowledge
  • already held manage budgets skill
  • already held attend rehearsals skill
  • already held collaborate on costume and make-up for performances skill
  • already held design lighting skill
  • already held lighting techniques knowledge
  • already held photography knowledge
  • already held use storyboards skill
  • already held work with the camera crew skill
  • already held work with the director of photography skill
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held arrange permits optional
  • optional, not held assess production needs to plan a production schedule optional
  • optional, not held create set models optional
  • optional, not held design props optional
  • optional, not held develop a specific interior design optional
  • optional, not held ensure visual quality of the set optional
  • optional, not held make film shooting schedule optional
  • optional, not held make photographic storyboards optional
  • optional, not held make set construction drawings optional
  • optional, not held search for a suitable filming location optional
  • optional, not held select costumes optional
  • optional, not held draw design sketches optional
  • optional, not held recruit employees optional
  • optional, not held work with the lighting crew optional
31 held skills the production designer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role analyse the need for technical resources skill
  • not needed by the target role artificial lighting systems knowledge
  • not needed by the target role assess power needs skill
  • not needed by the target role check material resources skill
  • not needed by the target role cinematography knowledge
  • not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
  • not needed by the target role create storyboards skill
  • not needed by the target role design an artificial lighting system skill
  • not needed by the target role develop drama production process skill
  • not needed by the target role draw up lighting plan skill
  • not needed by the target role electricity knowledge
  • not needed by the target role familiarise with personal directing styles skill
  • not needed by the target role finish project within budget skill
  • not needed by the target role focus lighting equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role focus stage lights skill
  • not needed by the target role health and safety regulations knowledge
  • not needed by the target role keep up with trends skill
  • not needed by the target role light a show skill
  • not needed by the target role manage technical resources stock skill
  • not needed by the target role operate a lighting console skill
  • not needed by the target role operate lighting equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role plan act lighting skill
  • not needed by the target role prevent technical problems with lighting equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role read lighting plans skill
  • not needed by the target role rig lights skill
  • not needed by the target role supervise equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role supervise lighting crew skill
  • not needed by the target role technical drawings knowledge
  • not needed by the target role translate artistic concepts to technical designs skill
  • not needed by the target role use specialised design software skill
  • not needed by the target role use technical documentation skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held CAD software required
Index

Other moves recorded from performance lighting director

Full index of moves from performance lighting director

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.