Light Talk with The Lumen Brothers

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview Broadway lighting designer Kat Morrill. As part of Light Talk's Young Designers Series, and to begin our 10th Season of LIGHT TALK,  join Kat, Ellen, Dennis, and Steve, as they discuss: Playing in the Pit; What is easy and what is difficult; Pretty Big on Punctuation; Getting started at Brooklyn College; How music came into Kat...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from The Bupkis Awards, to "Kaye is Yiddish for Trebek". Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, David, Stan, Brackley, and Zac, as they celebrate and discuss all the insanity from the 9th Season of Light Talk. They comment about the past year, the future years, and finish off with a hilarious game of "Light Talk Jeopardy".   No...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from "And the winner is..." to Girl Scout Cookies. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and Zac, as they discuss: The Academy Awards Show; The Penultimate Episode of Season 9; Recomended texts about Broadcast Lighting; What is the best way to prepare to show your video projection portfolio; Zac and Wendel on "Artistic Finance...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister welcome Creative Director Melody Tsang and Lighting Designer/Programmer Caleb Franke to the show! Join Caleb, Melody, Ellen, Zac, Steve, and David, as they discuss: The creative and production process for the Elation Lighting Booth show at LDI 2025; Winning the LDI Award; Learning and Programming the Obsidian lighting console; Preparing...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister "Breaks Out the Bucket" to answer unanswered questions from the 2025 Light Talk at LDI Show, and discusses the Merger of Tait and Silent House. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, Zac, and David as they discuss: Rolling or folding light plots; What are the most common mistakes young designers make; What the differences are between your relationsh...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister welcome acclaimed lighting designer Ben Stanton to the show! Join Ben, Ellen, Zac, Steve, and David, as they discuss: Shoverling snow; Early days at UMASS as a jazz drummer; Teaching at Brooklyn College; Early inspirations; Beyond Synergy; Discovering lighting from music; How drumming connects with the creative process of lighting design...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister welcome Award Winning Director and Production Designer Eric Siegel to the show! Join Eric, Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David, as they discuss: Nautical navigation; Getting started in TV Direction and Production Design; Studying at NYU; Focusing on story and concept; Professional Internships; Discovering directing; Working at "Good Morning...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister review the 2026 Grammy Awards Show, Super Bowl Halftime Show, and The Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies. Join Dennis, Steve, Zac, David, and Guest Lumen Sister Hannah Kerman, as they discuss these three epic events and their lighting and stage designs. Backstage during the lighting process of the Grammys; The incredible New Artists sequ...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister continue their interview with Legend of Light, Bob Dickinson. Join Bob, Ellen, Dennis, Steve and David as they discuss: The future of AI in broadcast lighting; The development of broadcast lighting following camera technology; Lighting Elizabeth Taylor; Using multiple angles to build in flexibility; Considering color temperature in light...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview Legend of Light, Bob Dickinson. Join Bob, Ellen, Dennis, Steve and David as they discuss: Yacht and other small boat ownership; Going with your instinct; Getting started in Broadcast Lighting; Solid Gold; Working on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert; Discovering moving lights and moving them to broadcast; Bob's first (and almost last...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Sisters interview lighting designers/programmers, Aria Hailey and Erica D. Hayes.   Join Aria, Erica, Kelsey, and Ellen as they discuss: The challenges of being a woman in the industry; What its like to be the only woman on the bus; Opening doors; Great women designers working in theatre and the concert industries; New pathways; How to get the courage to st...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview renowned lighting designer, Jeff Nellis.   In this episode, Jeff, Ellen, Steve, and Dennis discuss: Getting into the business; Early High School lighting connections; Working in the Sphere; Using Virtual Lighting; Williamstown Theatre Festival; Working with "Screamers"; Working in Ken Billington's studio; Aqua-Marine and Salmon...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, as part of our Young Designers Series, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview USITT PAT MacKay Diversity in Design Scholarship Winners Darius Knight Evans and Elena Hewett.   In this episode, Elena, Darius, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: How young designers find the right education; Different paths in discovering lighting design careers; Connecting with th...

In this 2026 New Years Extravaganza, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: What we did last night; Swag Complaints; Comfy Socks; Lighting "Rockin' New Years Eve with Dick Clark"; Where broadcast lighting designers dock their yachts; Video quality in movie theaters; Outstanding art direction on Apple TV; The future of projections; Fake theatrical lights in projectipon content; "Maybe Happy Endin...

In this episode of THE BEST OF LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister celebrate the holidays with this 2020 recording of that year's Lumen Holiday Extravaganza! Join Ellen, Steve, Brackley, Stan, and David as they pontificate about: Favorite Holiday Songs; Lighting devices for our stockings; Stan's new eyeballs; Brackley's drug store glasses; Rudolph's gender identity; What do Jews do for Chris...

In this 2025 LDI Review Episode, Kelsey, Steve, Dennis, Brackley and David discuss: Our Light Talk live show;  Impressive new products; What we wanted to see but didn't; Our favorite booths; Our favorite demos/shows; Our favorite circle bar drinks; Battle of the busk; Our favorite swag; LDI Awards; and Our favorite Viva Las Vegas moments! Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Makes...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister present their LIVE AT LDI IN LAS VEGAS show presented on December 7, 2025. In this episode, Ellen, Zac, Steve, Dennis, Brackley, David, and Snoot answer live audience questions about: Why we hate and love Followspots, What are the next big advances in lighting fixtures; The most fun lighting jobs we have done; Why the A-Frame ladder...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers pontificate about everything from What We Hope to See at LDI, to 1960's Flashbacks. In this episode, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: LDI Excitement!; Transferring a production from a proscenium stage to an arena stage; Site Surveys; Feeling the "Vive of the Space"; Finding a path out of the womb; Dancing Mirror Balls; Honey Badgers; New produ...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, as part of our Young Designers Series, interviews lighting designer and Programmer, Rane Renshaw. In this episode, Rane, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: Brackley's Legendary X-Rated Pool Party; Light Talk at LDI Surprise SWAG; The Village People; Designing at the huge nightclubs in Vegas; Rane's beginning his career at the...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, as part of our Young Designers Series, the Lumen family interviews lighting designer and Emmy Award winner, Hannah Kerman. In this episode, Hannah, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and Brackly discuss: Early days in Dallas;  Hannah's early years at Carnegie Mellon; Skipping grad school for real-world training in the industry; Cold-Emailing des...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, From "The Best of Light Talk", we revisit last year's 7th Annual LIGHT TALK LIVE show from LDI!  The Lumen Family talks about everything from AI Madness to Our Favorite Sandwiches. Join Anne, Steve, Brackley, Zak, Stan, Snoot, and David as they pontificate about: The future of AI in our industry; What will be the relationshop of lighting and video sources in the futu...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, the Lumen family interviews lighting designers Leo Lei and Sam Molitoriss. In this episode, Leo, Sam, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: The future of integrating the various lighting CAD and database programs to an all-in-one software; Consolidation vs. Fragmentation; When will AI make all this moot?; Should academic institut...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Lighting challenging faces on television to Unfortunate news about your design fee. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: Recapping our interview with Justin Townsend; The Daytime Emmy Awards for Lighting; Gobo sizing; Clever uplight solutions; Chin and Catch Lights; What happens when...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, the Lumen family interviews Broadway lighting designer Justin Townsend. In this episode, Justin, Ellen, Steve, and Dennis discuss: Justin's journey as a lighting designer; Teaching hand drafting; Working with Jonathan Groff and Alex Timbers; A trip to Home Depot for Mini 10's; "Bat Boy"; Teaching at NYU; "Here Lies Love"; Collaborat...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister present their annual Halloween Spectacular! Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: What to feed the kiddies; Annoying your neighbors; Planning your display with the right design apporach; What to do when kids start  talking to inflatables; Halloween ghosts projections; Bats in the Belfry; Using haze, smoke, and s...