Lighting prep checklist, before the shoot

Between the first read and load-out, a lighting prep comes down to about fifteen decisions and a hundred lines of gear. Here is the order I take them in, and what I check at each stage.

A prep that goes wrong rarely shows during prep. It shows on day one, when there is no stand for the fixture that was meant to hold the background, or when the line you thought was enough trips on the third unit.

This checklist follows the real order of the work: you do not pick fixtures before seeing the set, and you do not order cable before knowing what plugs into it. Every line carries the reason it exists, because a checklist you do not understand is one you tick without reading.

The first two stages cost nothing but time and drive everything else. Going back to them after ordering means redoing the order.

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Tick as you go: your progress stays on this device, even if you close the page. Nothing is sent to a server.

1. Read and understand the project

Before any gear. What gets decided here drives everything else.

Read the whole script, not only the scenes with lighting in themAn apparently plain day scene may end up shot on a stage, so lit from scratch.
Map out day / night / interior / exterior per locationThat table tells you how many fixtures travel and how many stay rigged.
Note the effect scenes: fire, TV, neon, storm, carEach brings specific gear that nobody orders at the last minute.
Get the cinematographer's intention and referencesOne visual reference beats ten exchanges about which fixture to use.
Ask for the shooting format and the rated sensitivityA sensor at 3200 ISO and one at 800 do not call for the same power.
Know the number of days per location and the shooting orderThat decides what stays rigged and what comes down each night.

The trap. The schedule is still moving during prep. Date your version and note where it came from: half of all wrong orders come from an out-of-date schedule.

2. Recce

You only order well for a location you have seen, or failing that, measured.

Measure ceiling heights in every locationIt decides between stand, mafer, autopole and rigging.
Photograph each location wide, with something for scaleA photo with no scale is useless for sizing a stand.
Find the existing power supplies and their ratingKnowing whether you draw 16 A, 32 A or need a generator changes the whole budget.
Check truck access and the carrying distanceFifty metres of carry changes how the gear is packed.
Find the possible rigging points and how solid they areA false ceiling holds nothing. Learn that on the recce, not on the day.
Note which way the windows face and the path of the sunOn a day interior, that is half the lighting work.
Ask whether the set is available the day beforeA possible pre-rig changes the size of the crew.

3. Choose the fixtures

The visible part of the order. It is sized from the two previous stages, never from habit.

List the main fixtures per location, not per dayA fixture that stays in one location is only counted once.
Decide what is doubled up to shoot two units at onceThe second unit is the number one cause of an undersized order.
Choose background and backlight fixtures separately from key lightThey share neither the wattage nor the accessories.
Plan the small fill and continuity fixturesThey are what save a day, and the ones everybody forgets.
Check colour temperature consistency across the packageMixing LED generations gets paid for in the grade.
Plan the practicals and how they are poweredA set lamp needs a dimmer and a supply, not just a bulb.

In Cinecyclop, the compatible items window offers the accessories made for each fixture as soon as you add it: grid, softbox, honeycomb, barndoors, chimera. It is the step that catches the most forgotten lines, because you know an accessory too well to think of writing it down.

4. Rigging, grip and support

Every fixture placed somewhere needs something to place it on. This is the most consistently underestimated position.

Pair a support with every fixture on the list, one by oneThe exercise is tedious and that is exactly why it has to be done.
Plan stands by height, not only by countThree short stands do not replace one tall one.
Count mafers, magic arms and clamps for the small fixturesA fill light with no clamp ends up balanced on an apple box.
Plan rigging hardware for everything hung overheadBarrel clamp, safety cable and a clamp per head, no exceptions.
Count weights for every tall or extended standA stand loaded high with no weight is an accident waiting.
Plan control: frames, flags, negative fillControlling light takes as much gear as making it.
Check the platforms or ladders the rig will needWith no access, the finest rigging point stays on the floor.

5. Power and distribution

The invisible part, the one that decides whether the day starts on time.

Add up the real wattage of every fixture in one locationThe sum is done location by location, not across the whole package.
Check the available supply covers the peak, not the averageThe peak arrives when everything is on for a look, not during the take.
Decide generator or mains, and note it per locationThat decision drives the budget, the crew and the noise on set.
Plan cable runs from the real supply point, not from the planThe actual path of a cable is always longer than you think.
Count distro boxes and extensionsA line with nothing to split it only feeds one fixture.
Plan the dimmers and how they are controlledAn uncontrolled dimmer is an expensive switch.
Plan residual current protection suited to the locationRequired, and rarely provided by the set.
Check cable cross sections against the run lengthsOn a long run, voltage drop makes the light drop with it.

Rule of thumb. Add up the wattage, add thirty per cent, and compare with what the location can genuinely supply. If the two numbers are close, you need a generator.

6. Control and DMX

Handled during prep, not on the morning of the shoot.

List the controllable fixtures and their DMX modeThe mode decides the channel count, so the entire patch.
Decide on the desk or the control deviceAnd check it actually talks to the whole package.
Prepare the patch before you get to setPatching while the crew waits is the worst possible moment.
Plan DMX cable, terminators and splittersAn unterminated DMX line behaves at random.
Plan wireless control if the location demands itA transmitter, receivers, and a way to power them.
Check address clashes on doubled fixturesTwo fixtures on the same address do the same thing at the same time.

Cinecyclop finds the controllable fixtures on the list, suggests a mode, packs them into 512-channel universes without ever splitting a unit across two universes, and exports a CSV that Blackout reads.

7. Consumables and small gear

The cheapest position on the order, and the one that wastes the most time when it is missing.

Correction and diffusion gels, by family and by sizeOne sheet for a two-metre fixture is no use at all.
Gaffer tape, at least one roll per crew per weekThat is not a generous estimate.
Batteries for everything that eats them, with marginCount the remotes, the receivers and the meters.
Safety cables, carabiners and straps in quantityCounted per rigging point, not by guesswork.
Window correction filter if exteriors are in frameThe size gets measured on the recce, not from the truck.
Small tools: spanners, pliers, multimeter, testerA line that will not work is either diagnosed or endured.
Sandbags or stage weights in sufficient numberCounted against tall stands, not against the number of fixtures.

8. Before you send the list

The final pass. Ten minutes here is worth half a day on set.

Read the list back position by position, out loud if you canThe ear catches what the eye skips over.
Check every fixture has its support, its cable and its accessoriesThe triangle that goes missing most often.
Cross-check the list against the schedule one last timeA location added yesterday may not be in the order.
Check the rental dates, out and backA day out gets invoiced, a day missed stops a shoot.
Have someone on the crew read the listA fresh eye on a list you wrote yourself cannot be replaced.
Export the PDF in the template that suits the readerThe warehouse and the production office do not read the same document.
Save a revision before sendingWhen the production asks what changed, the answer will be on screen.

In Cinecyclop, the Check & export step reads the list back and shows the missing essentials, the set rules, the abnormally low quantities and the compatibility pairs worth a second look. The report runs locally on the device.

This list is not gospel. A two-person documentary and a stage-based fiction do not tick the same lines, and that is fine. What matters is going through every position once, in this order, before sending anything.

The full process inside the app, from an empty project to the PDF you send, is described in the equipment list guide.

Frequently asked questions

When should a lighting prep start?

As soon as the schedule is stable and the locations are known. The first two stages, reading and the recce, involve ordering nothing at all: they set up everything else and mostly cost time.

How do I know whether I need a generator?

Add up the wattage of every fixture in the same location, add roughly thirty per cent of margin, and compare with what the location can genuinely supply. If the two numbers are close, plan for a generator: the peak draw always lands at the wrong moment.

How much gaffer tape should I order?

At least one roll per crew per week, more on exteriors or on sets that need a lot of fixing. It is the cheapest position on the order and one of the biggest time sinks when it runs out.

Does this checklist work for grip?

The rigging, support and consumables positions do. For a full grip order the logic stays the same: start from the location, pair a support with every item, then check access and weights.