# Do me a favor, and critique my portfolio? [Lighting]



## teejmya (Aug 19, 2011)

I'm fresh out of high school, trying to land gigs. I don't have a traditional resume yet, that's in the works. Meanwhile, I give everyone the address of my small portfolio.

Please look at mine, tell me all that's right with it, all that's wrong with it, and what you would do in my shoes. You won't hurt my feelings. If you think it will, then I probably need to hear it.

Specifically if you have a better photo gallery hosting suite (or portfolio host altogether,) let me know.

You can find it at tylermolamphy.com.


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## cpf (Aug 19, 2011)

A more descriptive <title> tag wouldn't go wrong.
I've got mixed feelings about imgur as an image gallery. Not quite professional enough for me, but it will probably do for you.
Some descriptions to go with each show, and the occasional caption on the individual images would be good. Right now I can't even tell which show the images are from.
The list thing you've got going on the left could use some additional formatting to delineate the different groups, and the header on it might do with some bolding (and it should be a colon at the end, not a period, it's not a complete sentence anyways).
Is there any particular reason why all the external links are going through bit.ly? Are you using that to track clicks?
Those "pictures of..." links should be in a real <ul>, instead of faking it with &bull; characters?
What's the search box for? Is there more content to see?
I googled your name, and the second result is your tumblr site that hasn't seen a new humorous Photoshop in over a year (might want to do something about that, at least update it).


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## Pie4Weebl (Aug 19, 2011)

I think your page comes across as kind of arrogant.... 

""Footloose, a 1998 musical based on the 1984 film of the same name. " [more info]" Does anyone NOT know what footloose is? We don't need a more info link to wikipedia....

"Every show will be my best yet" I think this line shows that you aren't very experienced. Yeah its easy to have every show be your best, when you've designed like three shows....

/dittoing cpf's comments about the actual site, it looks very HTML 1.0. You might want to look into a free page builder website.


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## cpf (Aug 19, 2011)

Oh, forgot. My recommendation for a better coding-free system would be SquareSpace. It's $13/month, but it's also slick, professional, powerful, upgradeable, and has all the features you'd ever need. If that's too pricey, Weebly websites can look quite nice and have most of the same features for $free.


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## jglodeklights (Aug 19, 2011)

Unfortunately, you seem to have backed yourself into a very very deep corner. Most of your photos were taken with flash. If you are looking to present yourself as a lighting designer, then just throw them out. Also, the basic white site you also have does not look like a design choice. Set and costume designer David Zinn's site, for example, is white but is based on a design choice. If one is presenting their person as a designer, then everything they present as proof of their work should be done so in a designed manner (even if you hire someone to design the website for you).

And yes, you don't need the silly quip or the wiki links.


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## josh88 (Aug 19, 2011)

pages on the site are your friend. Linking out to things becomes difficult. I clicked onto the eurydice gallery and had no way to get back to your page and had to back button to find it again. My Weebly site (in my sig) is something that was completely free and that I threw together in an afternoon, is it perfect? by no means, but it helped me land the job I currently have. Right now with how little lighting you've done if you've got other tech stuff include it, have a separate page for your resume. I also agree on the wiki links, if I don't know eurydice or aida or some such play, you give the title and author and if I see your pictures and want to know more about the show I can google quick and find out.


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## teejmya (Aug 19, 2011)

Thank you very much for the criticism, clearly I needed it. 
Here's take two, with a little more common sense to go with it.

- Tyler "TJ" Molamphy, Lighting Designer

It will go live on my domain later tonight. 


Unfortunately, as far as the photos go, it's all I have. My copies went down with a bad camera, and these are the only other pictures that exist of the show. So these are here to stay, and I can't do much about it. Would it be worth it to remove? How does one go about getting lighting positions with no previous work proof?


Also, I will be adding a larger "Bio" type text to the front. Maybe a professional resume? Thoughts?


Please, please. *please* keep the comments coming. I have to be as good as I can be.


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## FACTplayers (Aug 19, 2011)

Just quickly looking through, I found two huge errors (easily fixable). 

#1

> I recently graduated Overland High School Class of 2011, and am now looking for chances to participate in shows, to exercise my ability, and to amaze audiences yet again.


 is grammatically incorrect. It should read

> I _am a recent graduate of_ Overland High School Class of 2011_. I _am _currently seeking_ chances to participate in _productions_ _which_ exercise my _abilities_ and to amaze audiences yet again.



I suggest revising the entire second sentence.

#2 Go through and rotate all of your pictures. IMHO I will skip right past a page where I have to tilt my laptop/head to see a picture.'

#3 The link from your header is incorrect. It links to your old url.


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## josh88 (Aug 19, 2011)

a bio is good, it never hurts to know a bit about you, what you do outside of theatre, what you're looking to do, things like that. It gives me more to relate to. That said don't go into stupid detail about how you like to go birding at some tiny local park every third sunday when the moon is in a certain position, just use common sense. Bad pictures are better than no pictures, you've at least got something to show rather than just trying to tell people you've done it but have no real evidence to back that up. The new design is very nice in my opinion at least; front page is a little sparse but you already said you were going to be adding more to it, so it is a nice clean opening. 

I like the pages for the shows, that's a good start. As you do more I would transition those pages to encompass more? if that makes sense? IE don't just keep adding page after page after page of shows, you can eventually boil it down to showing a sample and your best stuff. For now though the individual pages works fine. I would throw in a resume page and include stuff that is even kind of related. Granted I'm a person who does a little bit of everything, but since you don't have a lot for just lighting showing that you've got some experience doing some other related jobs shows you have an understanding of how things work. 

as far as getting work without experience... my first lighting gig came from a guy who knew a high school director and they needed someone to do lights for Children of Eden so my friend asked if I wanted to do it. Some easy ways are to work up, start out as a cabling monkey for someone, or get a gig as and master electrician to get established somewhere and just keep an ear out for design gigs and network. I don't know if you're actually in Denver or in the area around, but last time I was over there I saw an ad saying the Lake Dillon Theatre company was looking for designers. So if that is a relatively do able drive for you who knows. Look around for smaller regional or community theatres. I mean no offense to anybody by this but sometimes their standards are a little lower (meaning they don't just hire well established people) just because they have less to work with, money/materials/what have you, so that's a good place to get your feet wet and get some experience. 

All in all, version two is certainly a step up from where you were. Still some room for improvement but part of that will just come with doing more work.

edit: seeing the high school name, I see lake dillon is a bit of a drive for you, but you get the point, that was just one theatre that stuck out in my mind.


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## DuckJordan (Aug 20, 2011)

One thing that hasn't come up yet is, your gonna have a hard time getting any Lighting Design work straight out of high school, and the work you do get probably wont care if you have a resume or not. That said never ever use flash in the photo's of your designs. It actually makes you seem amateur and not professional. Flash just completely throws off any color of set, costumes and the subtleties that make a Lighting Design great. 

I'm not sure if at this point with only two shows under your belt that you should be marketing yourself as a Lighting Designer... while not Lighting myself, I have about 12 shows under my belt as the FOH mixer and Sound designer but still market myself as someone who can plug cables and be a board monkey... It just doesn't come that easy in any kind of metro area to be able to get the design work... (at least in the area I am located).

I guess my post is trying to say to market yourself as a Stagehand that specializes in Lighting Design and not strictly as a Lighting Designer for now.


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## DrPinto (Aug 20, 2011)

I would get rid of the 14th Eurydice picture (eurydice029.jpg). The face of the actor on the right is blurred and the actor on the left has a spot on his pants that makes it look like he had an accident.

- Eurydice, Fall 2010, Overland High School Theatre - eurydice 029.jpg


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## shiben (Aug 20, 2011)

DuckJordan said:


> One thing that hasn't come up yet is, your gonna have a hard time getting any Lighting Design work straight out of high school, and the work you do get probably wont care if you have a resume or not. That said never ever use flash in the photo's of your designs. It actually makes you seem amateur and not professional. Flash just completely throws off any color of set, costumes and the subtleties that make a Lighting Design great.
> 
> I'm not sure if at this point with only two shows under your belt that you should be marketing yourself as a Lighting Designer... while not Lighting myself, I have about 12 shows under my belt as the FOH mixer and Sound designer but still market myself as someone who can plug cables and be a board monkey... It just doesn't come that easy in any kind of metro area to be able to get the design work... (at least in the area I am located).
> 
> I guess my post is trying to say to market yourself as a Stagehand that specializes in Lighting Design and not strictly as a Lighting Designer for now.


 
I agree on this one. The website Im currently building and my resume both specify "Stage Hand, Electrician and Lighting Designer", and I have designed 8 shows for lights, 1 for projection. The lighting designer part is going to be pretty tough to swallow for your average theater company out there, especially with no college training. Have you considered going to college for lighting design? You will get a lot of experience there...


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## Grog12 (Aug 20, 2011)

I'd suggest removing your phone number from the sight. Generally you'll get a cold email in this day and age befor a cold call.


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## Pie4Weebl (Aug 20, 2011)

Grog12 said:


> I'd suggest removing your phone number from the sight. Generally you'll get a cold email in thus day and age befor a cold call.


 
I actually got a cold call once to LD a festival! So there are a few people who still use phones!


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## Footer (Aug 20, 2011)

Pie4Weebl said:


> I actually got a cold call once to LD a festival! So there are a few people who still use phones!


 
If you need someone day of or a day out, calling is the only way to go. When I'm filling a call on short notice, if you don't pick up on the first call, I move on and call someone else. Email is too slow for that. So, answer your phones people! 

And back to the OP... 
What do you _actually_ want to do with your career? Lets face it. The shows you have done are very small scale high school productions. From the looks of it your changed cyc colors, had a few specials, and a few systems of front and/or top light. This does not make you a lighting designer where you will get paid to do it. It might get you into the community theatre circuit in your area where you can play a bit more. Depending on what the community theatre scene is in your area, it might just get you into a board op position. Right now there is nothing on your site that would want me or really anyone to actually hire you. At your point, a portfolio is useless. However, a good resume' is not. 

If someone wants to hire you right now, they are going to want to hire your for your body first and mind second. Market yourself that way. Get a good resume', list your shows, list what you did, and list your special skills. Your website tells me you can run subs and light a stage. What are you doing now? Are you going to college or tech school?


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## teejmya (Aug 20, 2011)

Again, thanks for the great criticism. And everyone is totally right, I don't fit into the design world just yet. I thought it was a catch all term, and was wrong, thanks.

Now I'm having trouble figuring out what title exactly to market myself with. At the current moment, I can write up basic blueprints, hang lights, make general washes and specials, do most mid-level electrician duties, program most ETC consoles, and run them for a show. 

What's the word for that?

And also, how about a simple one page site? You type tylermolamphy.com, and you get my (small) resume? That's it? 


Again, thanks for the help.


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## themuzicman (Aug 20, 2011)

What do you do? Your website doesn't do a very good job of telling me this...


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## Footer (Aug 20, 2011)

teejmya said:


> Now I'm having trouble figuring out what title exactly to market myself with. At the current moment, I can write up basic blueprints, hang lights, make general washes and specials, do most mid-level electrician duties, program most ETC consoles, and run them for a show.
> 
> What's the word for that?
> 
> And also, how about a simple one page site? You type tylermolamphy.com, and you get my (small) resume? That's it?


 
Right now, market yourself as someone that wants work. Once again though, I ask, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO? Are you going to go to school or do you just want to start working? Do you want to do this on the side or as a career? You don't have enough experience to be any more then a box pusher in any professional environment. There is nothing wrong with that though. Being 18 or 19 and not having a ton of experience is the way it is supposed to be. So, give us some examples of what you want to do and what you are doing now to get there and we can help. You have more to learn then you know. However, if you are open to learning there are plenty of people in the industry that will teach on the job. A good work ethic and common sense go a long way.

As far as what to do with the site, leave the photos up. However, put your resume' central.


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## josh88 (Aug 20, 2011)

from what you've got experience doing if you really want to label yourself just go with technician or something simple like that. I'm currently a tech director and teacher, my resume says tech director and technician or something along those lines. But I have been scenic/lighting/sound designer, master electrician, painter, carp, what have you, I leave my resume to speak to those aspects because most of what I've done are multiple duty type gigs so they see I can also do these things but I am the first to admit I have tons to learn about a lot of subjects still.


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## teejmya (Aug 21, 2011)

Sorry for the lack of information, that last post was done in a hurry.

Right now I have part time work. The plan was to get out of high school, find a means of income, and then once stable, find "internships" or other learning type jobs backstage of the theatre.

My high school was known for some pretty good shows, though yes, they're high school shows, and no more. It was definitely an everyone do everything type thing, so that previous list of my expertise is much shorter than true. 

I have experience in running sound specifically finding, cueing, and running sound effects, as well as live-mixing voices, and some instruments. 

I have a decent skill set in woodwork and set construction, though not much. 

I also have a very small amount ofSorry for the lack of information, that last post was done in a hurry.

Right now I have part time work. The plan was to get out of high school, find a means of income, and then once stable, find "internships" or other learning type jobs backstage of the theatre.

My high school was known for some pretty good shows, though yes, they're high school shows, and no more. It was definitely an everyone do everything type thing, so that previous list of my expertise is much shorter than true. 

I have experience in running sound specifically finding, cueing, and running sound effects, as well as live-mixing voices, and some instruments. 

I have a decent skill set in woodwork and set construction, though not much. 

I also have a very small amount of experience as a stage manager, but
in highschool, that doesn't include much.


I will be going to school for technical theatre next year, but that
wasn't an option this year. For right now, I have to make enough money
to live, but I would also like to get some sort of on the job
experience.

Eventually I want to turn this into a career, once I have enough skills
and a good sense of networking, but I know that's not possible in the
beggining. 

And I'm also not very sure how to go about creating a resume. Does
anyone have any good examples of one? Josh has a wonderful example, but
at that rate, I won't have much of anything to show.


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## Footer (Aug 21, 2011)

Having nothing to show is exactly what most people have at your age. So, your goal is to get some gigs before hitting college in 2012? That is doable. Your not going to make any real cash, so keep that part time job going. 

Call your local rental houses. Google "theatre jobs denver". Call your local community theatres and get on their volunteer list. Call your local theatres and ask if they need anyone to sweep the floor or sort screws. Do anything you can. With no real education or contacts, its the only way to go. My wife got her current job with a cold resume'. Send them out. 

I have a resume' on my site. Search around here to see others.


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## DuckJordan (Aug 21, 2011)

Also, while some have been able to be adequate at all trades of this industry, none have been masters of all. Its early on to figure out exactly what you want to do on every show. I supposidly always wanted to be a sound designer, then a lighting designer, then a rental house owner, and now am figuring out the wonders of doing actual Production Electrician work. This all happened within a year, and I'm only about 2 years older than you. Work any gig find out exactly what you like and start specializing until then keep as much info about yourself on that website. Any kind of work you've done not strictly theater, put the summer job of cashiering for a local fireworks shop. Put that large name grocery store on their you worked with for however long. 

The point is with as few shows that you can claim as being the sole designer or lead designer (I'm in the same boat), Put anything and everything on your website. I got my latest gig (working with the local union, but not being a card holder) by cold calling several production companies in the area, while the owner didn't need anyone for his own business the union called him asking if he knew anyone looking for work, He gave my name and number to them and $300 and 20 hours later, Ive got some more experience.

I could email you my resume to show you what I am talking about as far as putting as much as possible on it to land the jobs and gigs. PM me if you'd like a copy (no website yet, too expensive for how much I'd be able to use it)


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## josh88 (Aug 21, 2011)

Footer beat me to it, I was going to suggest see if you can get in at a rental house. If you can work with a company repairing lights or systems it would be a good way to make the cash you need and you're learning intricacies of different fixtures and such. If it is the type of company that also does set up and delivery and the whole nine yards you could get the experience of load ins, corporate stuff, a bunch of variety. Had a friend who worked for a large rental house in Ohio which managed to get her an internship with cirque and then a job with them after the internship was up.

As far as a resume goes, the nice thing about a site is, in my case since I am so varied I've got a master resume that just lists everything I do in a year and then offers my real resume that I hand out to people. I'd say since you don't have a ton of specific work yet just start working backwards and listing the stuff you've done and at the bottom include various skills that make you more marketable. If you can read music or program certain boards, or have experience running a forklift, those little aspects might be just enough to make you a better pick than someone who doesn't have the same skill. As you get more credits under your belt then you can split the resume up into the LD section or the deck crew section etc. 

it's funny because I just recently found a copy of Footer's resume on my laptop from a year or so ago when I was reworking some of my stuff, I had downloaded it just to compare and see what other people were doing with theirs how they laid things out. I think it had been labeled something like tech resume and it was in with 3 or 4 outdated versions of my own so it wasn't till I opened it again that I realized it wasn't even mine.


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## derekleffew (Aug 21, 2011)

josh88 said:


> ...I think it had been labeled something like tech resume and it was in with 3 or 4 outdated versions of my own so it wasn't till I opened it again that I realized it wasn't even mine.


Just change the name at the top and send it out. No one will ever know.


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## Pie4Weebl (Aug 21, 2011)

derekleffew said:


> Just change the name at the top and send it out. No one will ever know.


 
Why would anyone ever want to pretend to be Footer?


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