Introduction

Welcome to The Nerdy Professor. Our goal and mission is to provide you with easy to understand, easy to follow training videos to help you bridge that gap that lies between technology and art. I hope that by the end of this course, technology becomes an extension of your creativity.

I love designing lights for the theatre, for dance, for live events, and more. I love the way you can paint light across a blank canvas. I love the way you can use light to expand a beautiful vista on stage or to pull an audience’s focus down to a single actor and a single moment. I love the artistry it takes to inspire and evoke the imagination of an audience.

The craft of Lighting Design has been around for centuries, but the last several decades have been particularly exciting with the advancement of light boards, intelligent fixtures, and LEDs. And for you, stepping through this course, it’s especially fun because everything being easier and more approachable – well – at least on the surface. So … because any technology can have a steep learning curve, and you really don’t want the technology to be a hindrance between you and your vision, we’ve created this course, specifically geared towards ETC’s EOS lighting system so that you can begin playing with lights both virtually on your own computer and in your physical venue … assuming you have a multi-million dollar lighting system that someone already setup for you …

All of our courses are segmented into smaller pieces. Once you’re finished with a lesson, hit the complete button near the bottom of this page. After watching the video or reading the text (they’re basically the same – different ways to consume the same content), simply scroll down to find a corresponding assignment, quiz, or challenge. Finish all the lessons and quizzes and I’ll even give you a nerdy certificate.

But all of this is meant to be done at your pace and for your pleasure. If you’re already familiar with a lesson or a chapter doesn’t pertain to you, feel free to skip ahead. If you find a concept or topic difficult, feel free to stop and review that portion of the course. Either way, I hope that these lessons and activities are in invaluable in your journey.