EnTech Lighting Certificate

This certificate provides students with practical and hands on opportunities to learn the skills necessary to gain employment as a lighting technician in the live entertainment industry. Students train on industry standard lighting equipment in classroom and lab situations, as well as gain experience working as lighting technicians for the set up, take down, and running of live events.

The EnTech Lighting Certificate is a new program being built according to the workforce need for additional technicians and stagehands in the Live Entertainment industry. The program is being built in partnership with IATSE Local 33, whose members work in variety of theatrical and live event venues in the Los Angeles area.

The goal of the EnTech Lighting Certificate is to have 25 to 30 students complete a year. Based on current enrollment trends, and as the program begins, we project 10 students to complete in a year (5 students completing their certificates a semester).

The Entertainment Technology Academy (EnTech) will ultimately have five certificates in Lighting, Audio, Staging and Rigging, Video Projection, and a General certificate. A student can specialize in one area or complete more than one certificate to prepare them for the Live Entertainment field. The EnTech Lighting certificate focuses on industry standard equipment that students will interact with as technicians in the workforce. This equipment training includes instruction on multiple types of lighting consoles, moving lights, intelligent lights, hanging and focusing of equipment, networking and powering equipment, troubleshooting and safety, as well as learning the basic skills of loading and unloading equipment (road cases) on and off a truck. All of these skills will be something a lighting technician will be presented with while out in the industry. The goal is to train a complete lighting technician, who will have all the skills necessary to become a desired hire in the Live Entertainment industry.

Program Learning Outcomes:

Demonstrate the skills to become an all around lighting technician within the field of live events. 

Develop an understanding of intelligent lighting fixtures and moving lights. 

Analyze a light plot by successfully hanging and focusing lighting equipment. 

Determine the proper method to power and network lighting instruments.

The Entertainment Technology Academy is designed so that a student can pursue certificates in multiple areas if they desired. A student who has completed the EnTech Lighting certificate may wish to pursue a certificate in another specialized area, such as audio, staging and rigging, or video projection. Certificates will be offered in all of these areas. A student may also wish to become an all around live event technician and complete the EnTech General certificate.

Students who have completed or are completing the Technical Theatre certificate have been interested in entering the workforce as a technician. They are learning that to be gainfully employed it is key to be able to technically support all live events. From speaking with local high schools and their CTE programs in the Burbank and Glendale districts, there is an interest for their students to carry on their training at GCC.

The Entertainment Technology Academy, and the EnTech Lighting Certificate, will be housed within the Theatre Arts Department. Glendale Community College currently offers a Technical Theatre certificate within the Theatre Arts department, training technicians and designers specifically in the field of Theatre. The EnTech program will train technicians in multiple areas of the Live Entertainment industry, including specializing in lighting.

Cerritos Cerritos College (Entertainment Technology Certificate)

Citrus College (Emerging Theatre Technologies Certificates)

East Los Angeles College (Technical Theatre and Entertainment Technology Certificate)

Initially, we project 10 students to complete the certificate a year, and 20 students to enroll in the certificate program.

This is a new program.