This month, we’re talking all about how to streamline your lighting or AV setup, and in this video we begin with your cables!

Let’s talk about getting organized! When you are organized it makes a big difference in a lot of ways when it comes to making your life easier with lighting.

Getting Organized

When we talk about streamlining your lighting the first tip to staying organized is really taking care of your cables. These are super necessary for any set up and when you keep them neat and organized in storage they will be much easier to access when the time comes to use them.

Cables

One of the biggest things you want to keep organized is your cables and the best way to do this is to ensure that everything has a cable tie. This keeps your cables separated from tangling up with all of your other cables and saves a tons of effort de-tangling when you go to use them.

One form of cable ties that you can use is called tie line. Tie line is black theatrical rope that comes in a spool. You can easily cut this into a bunch of short to mid-sized length ties which can be used to secure your small to mid-sized cables.

Velcro Ties

Along with tie line, another great option for ties to keep your cables together are Velcro ties. They come wrapped in a spool and can be found on Amazon or in your local hardware store. They are quite simple to use as they are already sectioned off. You only have to unwind them from the spool and they are ready to use.

The only downside to the Velcro tie is that when they get dirty from doing your shows and events they begin to lose their ability to stick together. Because of this you will eventually have to replace them, likely more often than you would your basic tie line.

Storage

When it comes to storage it’s all about keeping “like” things together. You may choose to keep separate bins to keep things as simple as possible and store things in said bins for easy access. You may have a section for DMX, audio, power, etc. and keep these all together so that when you go to use them they are easily found.

Sorting

It is recommended to sort your cables with ties towards you so that you may grab them quickly and easily. You might choose to sort them by length depending on the number of cables in your collection.

In the long run it doesn’t really matter what your storage method is or how you choose to take cables from your chosen storage, it’s all about what works best for you and makes the most sense to keep you moving during your setup and takedown with ease.

Conclusion

No matter method of storage you choose the most helpful tip you will find is that organization is your best friend. As you lay out your cables you will have a neat and tidy setup. It gives the entire look of your setup a clean crisp ease and helps keep everything much simpler in the long run for you.