In his role of developing resources for training designers in the use of Vectorworks Spotlight software, Frank Brault has personally trained more than 2,000 Vectorworks users through seminars, onsite training, and one-on-one webinars. In his more than 30 years of experience in theatre and lighting design, software development, and training, he created the Theatrical Lighting Toolkit, which was the precursor to Vectorworks Spotlight, and he designed and coded the first version of the Vectorworks Landmark application. He is currently a faculty member of the Towson University Theatre Department where he teaches an independent study studio course. He has also taught Vectorworks courses at LDI for as long as he can remember, and will do so again at LDI2018. And be sure to read his blogs, as linked below, which feature lots of good insights.
1. How did you get involved in the software side of the entertainment design and technology industry?
I wrote the first version of Spotlight in 1996 when I came to work for Diehl Graphsoft, Inc., the former name of Vectorworks, Inc, after 11 years working in New York City as a facilities planner associate with Imero Fiorentino Associates.
2. What are the latest innovations in the software you will be teaching at LDI?
We will be highlighting the feature sets of the newest release of our software product line.
- Vectorworks For Technical Production: Beginner (Monday)
- Vectorworks For Technical Production: Beginner (Tuesday)
- Vectorworks For Technical Production: Advanced (Wednesday)
Use Promo code INST10 for 10% off of any of Frank’s classes!
3. What software do you have in your personal toolkit, and how do you use it?
OmniFocus for task organization and Ulysses for text editing.
4. What is the best advice you ever got professionally?
I actually shared some of my design lessons in an article for the Vectorworks “For the Love of Design” newsletter. You can find it here: Frankly Speaking:
7 Design Lessons For A Lifetime Of Success.
5. What advice would you give to young designers/technicians entering the field today?
You can find my thoughts on this in an article I wrote about balancing creative inspiration and design execution: Frankly Speaking: Balancing Creative Inspiration And Design Execution.