Meet the LD

Edgar Gonzalez

We’re mixing things up a little this month, re-naming our regular ‘Meet the DJ’ feature as ‘Meet the LD’. Earlier this month we posted a video on Facebook of the new lightshow in the showroom at our headquarters in LA and the response was phenomenal. In just 7 days the video clocked up over 50,000 views and 2,000 likes, and we weren’t surprised, as the lightshow is pretty epic! So for this month’s NewsWave we thought we’d introduce you to the man behind the show, lighting designer – and also our Showroom Manager – Edgar Gonzalez.

Born and raised in Lynwood, CA and a graduate of Paramount High School, Edgar started out as a DJ but then developed a strong passion for lighting design after attending an Open House event at ADJ back in 2012. “I saw the showroom lightshow and immediately went out and bought MYDMX and a handful of lights the following week and created my first light show.”

Once bitten by the lighting bug, Edgar worked hard to learn the art of lighting design and the technicalities of DMX programming and was soon able to start putting these new skills into practice out at events. At first this meant adding lightshows to his DJ gigs, but soon Edgar was able to branch out into events where his sole role was to provide lighting services.

These days he works as a lighting designer and programmer for a diverse range of events and projects. “My past three lighting-only events were a Soul Train Honor Award show for MC Lyte at CBS Studios, a high-end wedding at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica and a commercial shoot for Glendale Infinity,” Edgar tells us.

The world of professional lighting can be challenging and competitive, a successful lighting designer needs not only good technical knowledge and programming skills, but also plenty of creative flair. We asked Edgar where he finds his inspiration, “Literally from everywhere. I’m always looking around, wherever I go, and tend to put ideas in my head and then think about how I would use them, or adapt them, or change them to be part of one of my designs. Not every idea is a great one, but it’s good to have a pool of ideas to pick from and bring to life in my future designs.”

When asked to choose a favorite gig, Edgar finds it hard to pick, “All my events have been my favorite! Although my goal is to have my lighting design and programming be seen around the world, so if I had to actually pick one, it would be the ADJ showroom lightshow since it was viewed from a couple of cool places around the world!”

As well as designing lightshows for a wide range of different projects, Edgar also now has a ‘day job’ working here at ADJ as the Show Room Manager at our headquarters in LA. We asked how he transitioned from an avid ADJ user to becoming a valued part of ADJ’s staff team, “I started to get ADJ’s attention with the work at my events by posting pictures on social media. I then decided to start reviewing some of the products that I was buying online, which meant that I made some connections with people at the company. I was actually offered another position at first, but that didn’t work out. I was later contacted by the ADJ team about the Showroom Manager position, which we all agreed is where I would be able to excel the most!”

There’s no doubt that Edgar has indeed excelled in his role at ADJ, as it evident from the new lightshow he has created for the showroom. What’s the key to this success? Well, when it comes to his lighting design work, both out at events and in-house here at ADJ, Edgar is a true perfectionist. In fact, he let us into a secret about the new lightshow, “The video you see was actually a second take. I totally scrapped the original show and put together the show you see now. Sometimes inspiration goes a totally different way and you have to adjust accordingly. After that, the ideas just seemed to flow and the end result came together. Of course two weeks of work, on and off, also went into the programming!”

A large part of getting a lighting design from the planning stage to actually being part of an event is programming, so the control software/hardware used is crucially important. We asked Edgar what tools he likes to use at his gigs, “Being as I run the ADJ showroom, I have to be familiarized with all of our software. As far as my current choice for my own lighting events, it is Elation Compu Show with an SDE dongle. I’ve put together a compact rig with an Elation MIDIcon and Akai APC20 controller in a case together with a touch screen monitor for extra control - I like live programming!”

Although he has enjoyed great success as a Lighting Designer, Edgar is actually relatively new to the business, so we asked if there are any other LDs that he admires. “My favorites are the cool ones, like Steve Lieberman, but I’m also a fan of our very own Esteban De La Torre. We work together from time to time in the showroom and I’ve always liked his style of programming. We both seem to have the same passion and can totally geek out when we talk about lighting!”

Having found his passion for lighting, Edgar is running with it. Challenging himself to constantly improve and deliver evermore stunning shows, whether it is at concerts, corporate events, private parties or right here at ADJ HQ. His advice for aspiring new Lighting Designers? “Have a vision, focus on it, and excel!”

For more information on Edgar Gonzalez or to connect with him on social media, follow the links below.

Website: http://www.designsbylighting.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djaccess1

Instagram:@djaccessLD

ADJ Showroom Lightshow

Interested in appearing in Meet The DJ / Meet The LD?
Send your story to our editor, ADJ NewsWave editor (marketing@americandj.com).