From the CX Newsroom:

We’re joined at the expanding CX by Andy Stewart, former editor of Audio Technology Magazine. Also new this month is Clinton Hughey-Trueman who writes on lighting matters.

Sad news this month as Australian Musican mag was binned after 18 years.

CX will be the last magazine standing after the media Armageddon is all over!

Speaking of lighting, what do you think about THIS?

Lighting guy has passion eruption
White-out on set blinds crew

There’s something in the water. CX enjoys some biff but prefers it remains on the football field or outside our designated pub. We fielded an unsolicited email recently, from a well-regarded younger lighting dude working professionally.

He was incensed with an older more senior and even better regarded lighting director with whom he works on a TV show. Young guy claimed some credit for LD on the show on his web site, and older guy said ‘hey, I am the LD’.

“He seems to think every show he has worked on he has been the only Lighting Director. (TV show example) has had numerous Lighting Directors. He can rightly and safely claim the most credit as Series Lighting Designer & Lighting Director.”

Note we redacted the names here, because this is highly slanderous. If we named the crew CX could be joined in a costly legal fight. We haven’t planned for one of those in the budget this year. Our lawyer is still recovering from the last saga.

This following is untested, and unlikely to be true but we share because it exposes the angst. “When (he) turns up for every single day for every single shot then he has validity. His attitude just highlights the fact that he does not work well as a team, is being arrogant and is insecure.”

The author and the target sit together, each operating a console, several days a week, as part of a larger lighting crew.

CX spoke to the senior guy, who is a household name in the LX community. He was relaxed about the email, which had been forwarded to others. Had he been upset, the email would have been perfect fuel for a defamation case with a damages award in the Supreme Court.

Another damaging extract: “On (another TV show) he didn’t even turn up one day, what does that tell you?”

“If he wants to beat (another leading TV LD) at his own game then he needs a good team, needs to show up, and needs to show the Producers and Technical Directors ‘THE LOVE’ (and) say YES more often and not to F-OFF”.

CX doesn’t usually get emails like this from other departments, but can report serious trash emails in the past from younger lighting guys. It must be the creative passions at work.