Last Updated: 9/1/20
The Event Technology industry is really pulling together during this downtime, and one of the brightest beacons during all of this is the efforts being made to help those in our industry learn as much as they can while being isolated.
We figured the best way to keep track of all the courses being offered was to create an updating list that we can add to. We’ll be scouring the web for new classes, but we’ll need the help of our readers, too! We will update this list daily! And if you know of anything missing, let us know!
Here are all the classes being offered for free right now:
Lighting Courses
Vectorworks Spotlight Essentials Seminars (Code: MAGNUM) – 100% Discount on Vectorworks Training.
ETC Connect Courses – Temporarily free to the community
ETC EOS Training and Workbooks – More free training material from ETC
ETC & High End Systems Study Hall – ETC and High End Systems launch live events on Study Hall featuring webinars, Q&As, and round tables led by both our employee experts and our friends around the industry.
Vista by ChromaQ – (New Content just announced!) Intro class to Vista 3 as well as an advanced programming class
on Vista
Vista by ChromaQ Webinars – FREE Vista 3 lighting and media control training webinars
Obsidian Onyx Classes – ONYX & NETRON weekly online training classes
Chamsys MagicQ Training – Video classes
Chamsys Live Webinars – You can sign up for the live training on Tuesday mornings
Chamsys “Stuck at Home” Programmers Challenge – Provides lighting pros with more than a creative outlet during slow times, it also offers a chance to win a new MagicQ MQ70 console
Astera Academy Webinars – Astera is holding several webinars (4) over the next few weeks. They are free and open to all.
High End – Learn Hog4
Strand Console Training – Free
Chauvet Live Tech Talks – Tune in at 2pm (est) every Thursday for a “LIVE” stream Tech Talk series hosted by CHAUVET Professional Product Managers!
Avixa CTS Certification Courses – Free through June 12
USITT Teaching Archive – FREE online resource for teachers in areas of technical theatre and live entertainment
Avolites Online Learning – hosting live learning sessions on their Facebook page for both their Titan and Ai platforms
Gaffer Systems 3D Modeling – Free training for their 3D Modeling/Visualization software
LightWright6 – Free through June 1, 2020 – Helps designers and electricians record and keep track of the vast amount of data needed to install and maintain a lighting installation.
Capture Student Edition and Demos – Great for creating small rigs that lighting designers can play with, will link with Nomad offline relatively easily
Drafty App – CAD Tool with a few tutorials
Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) – Light & Color Courses
LightWright – Temporary license for students who do not have access to their institution’s labs or licenses
ARRI Academy’s Lighting Systems Control – Goes over the basics of digital lighting control technologies
Zero88 – Free video training
TAIT IQ Training Video Series – free online training courses for iQ Powered by NAVIGATOR
grandMA Training
MA University – Intensive training for all MA products. We are working with MA Lighting to offer a limited number of readers access to the full MA University training for free
grandMA2 Tutorial Series – Youtube videos created by MA Lighting
grandMA3 Tutorial Series – Youtube videos created by MA Lighting
Christian Jackson’s MA2 Console Resource – Great tutorials on programming a show on grandMA2
Audio Training
HARMAN Professional University – Audio, control, and networked AV certification courses
JBL CBT Calculator Training – Video tutorial
Crown Amplifier Training – Video Tutorials
QSC QSYS level 1 – Always free. Great certification for an Audio Tech
Dante level 1 and 2 (maybe 3) – Always free. Great certification for an Audio Tech
AVID – 90-day Temporary Licenses for students attending institutions which use AVID products (Pro-Tools, Media Composer)
QLab4 – FREE Temporary license to teachers and students. (educational email address required)
Mic Pool’s QLab Cook Book – Templates and clever programming guides
Shure Online Audio Institute – Wired systems, wireless system, Networking basics
Stage Research – FREE access to their library of applications (SFX, ShowBuilder, RF Guru, RF Scanner) with “SUPPORTARTS” discount code
Waves Soundgrid Certification – Online Courses
Yamaha – Pro Audio Training
Rational Acoustics Webinar series – developers of Smaart, the industry leading system measurement and acoustical analysis platform
Neumann Webinars – Basics of microphone technology
DAS Audio Webinars – Topics include EASE Focus 3 – Acoustic Prediction and System Design; DASnet – System Monitoring and Control; DASaim Workflow; Introduction to Software and Systems, Level 1; and Advanced Software and Systems, Level 2.
L-Acoustics Daily Webinars – Free – L-Acoustics demos, trade shows and events around the world.
D&b Audio Webinars – The d&b team would like to create space for open conversation, to listen to technical questions and comments, exchange thoughts and ideas, and ultimately fill as many knowledge gaps as possible. You have to sign up and unfortunately, space is limited.
RCF Audio Academy – Free training
Sennheiser Professional Audio Webinars – covers many topics, from beginner to advanced levels, on subjects in both our Business Communications sector as well as our Pro Audio sector.
Filmmaking Resources and Training
Moviola Filmmaker Video Courses – designed to equip you for professional filmmaking as quickly as possible.
LiteGear Live – hosting panel discussions, educate, and discuss all things related to Set Lighting.
Websites With Tools and Training
Chauvet Lighting Insights – Lighting Designers share insight into their work
USITT Teaching Archive – a publication of teaching resources for theatre technology
Learn Stage Lighting – David Henry’s site dedicated to teaching stage lighting
Dante Certification – Learn how to network Dante for audio and get certified – for free
Lighting Trainer – Posts geared towards learning lighting
ARRI Master Classes – Watch all Master Classes on MZed for free, and 25% discount for our certified online courses on MZed (for a limited time)
Production Training – Brand new Peer-to-Peer training website. This looks VERY promising
The Rigging World – Helpful articles about rigging safety
The X-Laser Website – Educational content for laser work
Gear it First – Tutorial videos geared for the mobile entertainer, completely free
Online Lightlab tools – Lightlab and Education Tutorials
Creative Conners Resource Page – Free resources and training for Conners products
A4I.tv | Rigging Trussing Television – Engineering & safety practices
RF venue – Wireless training
LightConverse Tools 2020 – FREE – a new specialized 3D design program focused on stage design of all types and sizes
Disguise – giving everyone 6 months FREE access to Designer software until the end of September
Doug Fleenor Design – White Papers and Best Practices
Actsafe Certification – Live Performance Electrical Certificate
Actsafe Motion Picture Safety 101 – General Safety Awareness
Arch Toolbox – Architectural drawing standards and references
LiveDesign Webinars – On-demand presentations from industry leaders on a WIDE variety of topics
Control Geek – Online video lectures designed to be supplemental material for “Show Networks and Control Systems” presented by the author, John Huntington
Crestron Technical Institute – moved several courses to online interactive classes so you may continue your pursuit of knowledge
Powersoft E-Training Courses – free webinars that focus on Powersoft products
Practical Show Tech – hosting a webinar or two per day with some big names in RF Coordination and some other topics.
ControlBooth Event Calendar – adding scheduled webinars as fast as we can from all the resources below.
ControlBooth Resources – adding prerecorded videos and material that you can access anytime
USITT Webinars – Lots of new theatrical design & tech webinars every week.
Chicago Flyhouse – A ton of free rigging training
ETC “On Headset” – Practice your programming skills in real time as you listen to award-winning Lighting Designer Ken Billington direct his lighting team for the production of New York City Center Encores’ Me and My Girl.
Lighting Designers Sharing Helpful Information
Christian Jackson – Some of the best tutorial videos you’ll find on Youtube. Plus, his photography is AMAZING!
Mike Wood – Love this guy. He’s been busy hosting weekly webinars and doing weekly hangouts every Wednesday at 8pm EDT on ZOOM
Educational YouTube Channels, Videos, and Playlists
Lighting Challenges – From the guys at LearnStageLighting.com – A playlist of different lighting challenges and how to solve them
Blackout Lighting Console – Developer of the Blackout Lighting Console App for Film/TV/Commercials. Very informative videos.
DMX 101 Tutorial – Great playlist with DMX tips
Dance Lighting Designer Round Table – A round table discussion about lighting for Dance
Jennifer Tipton on Edward Hopper – Theatrical lighting designer Jennifer Tipton discusses the use of light in three paintings
Jennifer Tipton working with Jerome Robbins – One in a series of video interviews with people who were touched by Jerome Robbins’ life
Paule Constable on Lighting the Matthew Bourne Swan Lake – Paule Constable, New Adventures Associate Artist and Lighting Designer for Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake 2018/19 tour, discusses the ideas behind her designs.
Al Crawford, Alvin Ailey Lighting Designer: Breaking Barriers – provide a discussion of the art of lighting design as it is relates to hybrid design
TEDx-Science and Magic Illuminating the Stage with Lighting Design – Learn about the hidden art of theatrical lighting design and the ways that light affects our everyday lives.
The Role of Lighting In Theatre: Don Holder – Mr. Holder discusses his work as a lighting designer in theatre, opera, and dance.
American Theatre Wing: lighting design – A technician, an artist, a magician… What does a Lighting Designer do in the theatre?
Lex Products Cable Coiling Video Series – Become an expert at coiling cable in your down time
L-Acoustic Webinars – A collection of their past daily webinars. Lots of great info here.
Arduino programming – Great Youtube playlist with Arduino programming training
FB Groups with Helpful Information
Everything Stage Lighting – Group created by the people from https://lightingtrainer.com/
Rigging Math Made Simple – Post questions or comments about Rigging
AV Educate – Training and collaboration
Twitter Hashtags to Follow
#AVintheAM
#AVHappyHour
#AVTweeps
Subreddits with Great Information
/r/lightingdesign – This isn’t specifically training, but there is a LOT of helpful and interesting information in this subreddit.
/r/TechTheatre – A community for all production designers and technicians
/r/livesound – Dedicated to those who work in the live sound profession
/r/filmmakers – Filmmakers, directors, cinematographers, editors, vfx gurus, composers, sound people, grips, electrics, and more meet to share their work, tips, tutorials, and experiences.
Twitch Streamers with Helpful Lighting Content
Riksolo – Live streaming MA2 busking showfile programming work
Podcasts
Lighting Talk with the Lumen Brothers – Lighting designers discuss lighting education and the art of stage lighting design
Lighting Nerds – Design, lighting, production, technology, and sarcasm
LD at Large – Stage and Theatrical Lighting in the modern world
General Learning
Duolingo – Language Learning – Highly recommended
Code Academy – General coding tutorials
Khan Academy – General Education from Preschool to College level classes
Fusion 360 – Tool for 3D modeling, design and manufacturing. Tutorials to Follow
DaVinci Resolve Training – Video editing and color correction software. Completely Free to use.
Coursera – Many college courses listed for free through September
Wrapping Up
As you can see, there are a lot of useful learning tools for our industry, and they’re all free right now. Let’s all use this downtime to start learning as many new skills as we can, and when the gigs come back, we’ll be more prepared and valuable than ever!
And if you haven’t seen our Social Distancing Gig Guide: Tips for the COVID19 Downtime, you won’t want to miss it. We’re combing all the tips and useful resources we can into one place to help everyone in our industry get through these challenging times.
RECOMMENDED READING:
