40 AT 40: Jeff Wilkin
Job Title: Lighting Director

The people are what sets Bandit Lites apart from the rest of the industry. Once a week, for 40 weeks, Bandit will showcase an employee that has made a substantial contribution to the company, whether it be in an office, on the road or somewhere in between. Bandit would not be celebrating its 40th Anniversary without the hard work and dedication of every one these employees.*

*Employee Spotlights are released in no particular order.

Jeff Wilkin has spent the last eleven years working for Bandit Lites. Starting out as a lighting technician, Wilkin quickly realized that he enjoyed operating lights much more than just setting them up because as a director, he was able to create things. Today he is a lighting director with World Wrestling Entertainment. Below are a few questions we asked to get to know him a little better.

Q. How did you get involved in this industry and then with Bandit?
A. I went to college to get my degree in music education and wanted to become a band teacher. My work-study job was at the theater and that’s how I first got involved in production. After college, I moved to Nashville and was working for Opryland productions. I was doing some business with Bandit as a client. I later was working for the band, Alabama and they were taking some time off so I needed to find a real job. I called up Mike Golden, we talked a few times, and he said he had an opening for me.

Q. In your opinion, what is the most significant technological advancement since you started working in the entertainment industry?
A. Since I’ve started, definitely the consoles- the way the control platforms have changed. They started from single scene or two scene pre-set consoles with a bunch of faders to all the computerized control boards we use today.

Q. How is working for World Wrestling Entertainment different than concert touring?
A. Well, we light for television. We do provide a visual experience for people that come to the show but our main focus is what actually makes it on TV. I guess the difference is, we can be in the middle of a show and when a commercial break comes up, we’ll stop and fix a cue for the next segment because we know something has changed or maybe something needs to be done a little differently. You have time in the middle of the show, with people in the arena, to fix things. Where as in rock & roll or country, once you start the show it’s a constant run until the end of the show. You can’t just stop in the middle and fix some focuses or change the color of a cue to blue. I would say that’s the biggest difference. Thinking about most rock concerts, you tend to light from one perspective- from the audience’s perspective. Where as when we’re lighting for TV, we’re lighting for different perspectives (for the cameras). It doesn’t matter if it looks great at front of house if there is a camera shooting way out from one side and it’s dark.

Q. What has been your favorite concert experience and why?
A. I would probably say it was the years I toured with Neil Young. We did a lot of different things. One year we did a tour called Greendale- it was like Community Theater meets Rock & Roll. It was just a great organization and they took really good care of us.