Lighting Technician Services

Here is how this works in practice. We place lighting technicians, the electricians who build and run a production's lighting setup under the gaffer's direction. Our network is centred on Cape Town and Johannesburg, where a deep, top-tier lighting community serves global features, series and the country's high-volume commercial sector. The lighting technicians we supply rig and operate fixtures, run cable and power distribution, manage dimmer and console work, and keep lighting setups safe and efficient through demanding shooting days.

Here is the short of it. We match each technician to your production's scale and genre, whether that means a studio drama at Cape Town Film Studios or a location shoot far from mains power, and they work in close coordination with the gaffer, the director of photography and the grip department. South Africa's well-stocked rental houses give lighting crews access to today's LED and tungsten fixtures. The favourable South African rand exchange rate means a fully resourced electrical team costs well below European or North American equivalents. English is the working language of the South African industry, so technicians communicate clearly with visiting crews.

Here is the breakdown. South Africa places different needs on a lighting technician. Mains power runs at 230V and 50Hz. Remote shoots in the Kruger bushveld, the Karoo and the Drakensberg often depend on generator supply, so technicians plan and manage power carefully for safety and trust. The controlled stages of Cape Town Film Studios allow precise rigging, while location work across Table Mountain, the Cape Peninsula and the Cape Winelands brings its own challenges in shaping and supplementing the clear, strong Southern Hemisphere light.

Here is what that looks like on the ground. South Africa is one of the world's top destinations for servicing global features and series, supported by the DTIC rebates, and productions such as the Starz series 'Black Sails' and Ridley Scott's 'Raised by Wolves' at CTFS have drawn on local lighting crews. A long-established industry and a network of film schools keep feeding skilled electricians into the pool. The convenient UTC+2 time zone keeps productions in step with European partners.