No javascript ETIC | Technical Arts Course Technical Arts – Lighting, Video & Creative Technical Direction

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    Technical Arts Course

    Technical Arts

    British International Certification Years 1-2

    Duration:: 2 years

    Level: 5

    Dates:: September 2026 - July 2028

    Schedule:: Mon-Friday 2:00am – 6:00pm

    Language:: English

    Classes:: In person/Max. of 16 students

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    OVERVIEW

    Modern productions demand versatile professionals who can merge lighting, video, and automation into seamless experiences. In a market of compact, multidisciplinary teams, success comes from mastering multiple technologies and creatively integrating them to transform events into immersive spectacles.

    This pioneering course trains Technical and Creative Directors to lead productions across concerts, tours, projection mapping, theatre, cinema, dance, museums, live streaming, television, corporate events, nightclubs, and immersive installations.

    The focus is on creativity, emotion, and intuition, turning tools into mediums and concepts into high-impact sensory experiences. Students gain hands-on expertise in light, video, automation, and networked systems, preparing them to design, coordinate, and direct productions with precision and confidence.

    We don’t just train operators—we prepare versatile professionals, ready to design and coordinate productions across various sectors:

    Visual Design: Concerts, tours and projection mapping;
    Culture & Arts: Theatre, cinema, dance, museums and immersive installations;
    Digital & Broadcast: Live streaming, television and corporate events;
    Leisure & Entertainment: Nightclubs, entertainment venues and fixed installations.

    LEARNING METHODOLOGY

    The School’s teaching is based on a project-based learning (PBL) approach, delivered in small classes of up to 18 students, ensuring close student-teacher interaction. Students learn by seeking solutions to real-world challenges, often working in teams, fostering their creative, critical, and personal development.

    TEACHERS

    The teaching staff is composed of active industry professionals, and students are encouraged to participate regularly in workshops, conferences, and study visits to enhance their knowledge and gain exposure to real-world professional environments.

    PROGRAMME

    YEAR 1: CONCEPT & DEVELOPMENT + CREATIVE PROJECT
    Infrastructure for Show Design

    You will learn to master the energy that moves the stage, ensuring that light and video shine with total safety. You will learn to handle equipment with confidence and protect your art from technical failures. At the same time, you will create the show’s invisible network: learning to organize state-of-the-art cables and connections (video and data) to design fast, robust, and professional systems ready for any scenario.

    Light and Movement

    You will learn to paint the stage, using everything from fixed spotlights to intelligent lights that move on their own, mastering the way light transforms any space. We will teach you how to program and care for this advanced technology so you can make the most of every effect. Learn to control the color and energy of the setting, gaining the necessary know-how to create unforgettable moments in any show.

    Visual Architecture and Projection

    You will learn to create giant visual experiences, from assembling LED screens to large-scale projection. We will teach you to master the path the image travels, ensuring the video reaches its destination with maximum quality and brightness. Learn to connect, convert, and distribute video signals professionally, gaining the confidence to manage any visual system and transform your ideas into immersive scenarios

    Stage Engineering and Rigging

    You will learn to elevate the show, mastering the suspension and assembly techniques for structures that support all the stage magic. We will teach you to calculate weights and fix equipment with maximum precision, ensuring that everything floating is safe. Focus on practical know-how: from choosing the right materials to high-altitude safety standards, gain the necessary confidence to erect scenery and technology with total reliability and professional rigor.

    Multimedia Programming and Show Automation

    You will learn to make all equipment speak the same language, mastering the consoles and systems that control light and sound. The focus is to teach you how to program and automate the show intelligently, ensuring everything happens at the right time and without delays. You will discover how to connect advanced networks and use top-tier software to create automatic and integrated shows, gaining the power to command all stage technology from a single place.

    Digital experiences and new realities

    You will learn to take the audience beyond the real world, mastering image servers and Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies on stage. The focus is on technological “know-how”: you will learn to mix images in real-time, manage complex content, and create visual effects that engage viewers. Gain the skills to operate state-of-the-art equipment and compose living digital scenarios, transforming any event into a unique, interactive, and fully immersive experience.

    Visual Installations and Streaming

    You will learn to take video everywhere, from screens in museums and exhibitions to live streaming for thousands of people on the internet. The focus is on practical mastery: you will learn to configure and distribute online content via Live Streaming, ensuring the signal reaches any medium with quality. Gain the ability to set up video systems for live events or permanent spaces, mastering the entire transmission flow so that your images always connect with the audience.

    Audio Fundamentals and wireless

    You will deep dive into Introduction to Sound, covering the essential Signal Chain and Cabling required for professional setups. You will master Microphones and advanced Wireless & Frequency Management to ensure interference-free performances. The focus is on technical “know-how”: from understanding signal flow to deploying complex radio frequency systems in the field. Gain the expertise to manage hardware and troubleshoot signal paths, consolidating your technical skills into a solid foundation for a successful career in the live audio industry.

    Technical Production Leadership

    You will learn to be the conductor who coordinates everything happens on stage, from team leadership to managing every moment of the show. The focus is on the “know-how” of technical direction: you will learn to organize processes, ensure everyone’s safety, and take responsibility so that the artistic vision becomes a reality. Gain the tools to be a respected leader, capable of managing complex productions with excellence and ensuring every detail of the show works in perfect harmony.

    ETIC LAB

    This Laboratory aims to unify connections within the community. It serves as a meeting point and exchange of experiences, a space dedicated to creativity where interdisciplinary practices are explored and developed, both inside and outside the school environment. Communication is the main key to this process. The lab seeks to identify and mobilize trends, experiment with new ways of thinking and conceptualizing, and facilitate synergies among students. This is a laboratory presented as a learning tool.

    ENGLISH

    Our courses share content and present challenges with an international perspective. We prepare and support our students with best practices in mind, regardless of geography or nationality. For this reason, knowing English is a fundamental tool for breaking down barriers: gaining access to more references, discovering more professional contexts, and developing a portfolio aligned with the best work being produced, without borders.

    YEAR 2: PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT + PROFESSIONAL PROJECT
    Architectural Light Design

    You will learn to use light to enhance spaces, from prestigious conferences and brand events to the sensitive world of museums and exhibitions. The focus is on creating visual concepts that highlight what is important, learning to illuminate artworks and corporate settings with elegance and technical care. You will gain the “know-how” to transform environments, mastering accent lighting techniques that respect each location and elevate the experience for those observing every detail.

    Light Dramaturgy

    You will learn to tell stories through light, from the vivid emotion of theater and dance to the technical rigor of a film set. The focus is on creating powerful visual aesthetics, teaching you to master the scenic environment and how light is captured by lenses. You will discover how to integrate video and light to create unique scenarios, gaining the “know-how” to unite art and technique, ensuring your creative vision has the same impact whether live on stage or through a camera.

    Advanced Projection Design

    You will learn to project images anywhere, from building facades to irregular objects and LED panels. The focus is on technological “know-how”: you will master tools that allow you to bend and adjust the image so it fits perfectly on complex surfaces. Learn to use state-of-the-art servers to align multiple projectors and create giant visual illusions, gaining the ability to transform monuments and scenery into immersive experiences where light and architecture merge.

    Sound Engineering and Live Integration

    You will learn to assemble and master a concert’s sound systems, from the systems the audience hears to what the artist hears on stage. The focus is on practical “know-how”: you will learn to spread sound perfectly across the venue and use high-fidelity in-ear monitors for musicians. Gain the skills to connect sound to light intelligently, ensuring technique and art work together to create a powerful, balanced show with incredible performance.

    Real-Time Virtual Production

    You will learn to mix the real world with the digital, mastering the technologies that allow creating and tracking movements in virtual scenarios in real-time. The focus is on technological “know-how”: you will learn to build complex digital environments and synchronize everything happening on stage with computer-generated imagery. Master innovative extended reality tools to transform any space into an immersive experience where physics and imagination unite to create the future of shows.

    Light Scenography for Musical Events

    You will learn to create the visual impact of major concerts and tours, mastering the logistics and energy of taking a show on the road. The focus is on creative “know-how”: you will learn to synchronize light with music, creating immersive atmospheres in both large stages and nightclubs. Gain the skills to design dynamic visual concepts that enhance the musical experience, learning to react to the emotion of the live show and transform every beat into an unforgettable visual moment.

    Show Logistics and Assembly

    You will learn to transform a list of technical requests into a real show, mastering resource organization and the coordination of everything happening on stage. The focus is on management “know-how”: you will learn to read and execute complex plans, ensuring logistics and the team operate efficiently and safely. Gain the ability to interpret the demands of artists and productions, ensuring the transition from project to practice is perfect and faithful to the creative vision, with total control over every detail.

    Digital Transmission Management

    You will learn to take your show to the whole world via the internet, mastering live streaming platforms and networks. The focus is on technical “know-how”: you will learn to configure streaming channels and ensure the image reaches the audience with maximum quality and without interruptions. Gain the skills to monitor data in real-time and solve technical problems on the spot, ensuring professional and stable transmissions that guarantee a continuous and perfect viewing experience on any screen.

    Integrated final project Professional practice & career launch

    You will develop your Integrated Final Project while mastering professional practice and portfolio development. You will learn to create a complete technical dossier, from initial concept to final production. The focus is on self-promotion and social media strategies to build a powerful personal brand. By learning how to find workand navigate the market, you will gain the confidence to sell your ideas and defend your creative choices before juries. This project consolidates your talent into a real-world tool, serving as the ultimate gateway to a successful career in the entertainment industry.

    ETIC IDEA

    The objective is to prepare students for the project-driven dynamics of the creative industries, encourage teamwork, promote interdisciplinarity, foster a sense of responsibility and goal achievement, and also develop personal presentation and self-promotion skills. In this way, the school environment is brought closer to the reality of the professional world and its demands.

    CERTIFICATION

    At the end of the second year, students receive the Pearson BTEC Level 5 Professional Certification (240 CATS*).
    Certification follows the British education system; ETIC is not a higher education institution.

    *CATS: Credit Accreditation Transfer System

    TEACHING STAFF

    Coordinator

    PAULO ABELHO

    Programme Manager

    André Prista

    Teacher

    Tupac Martir

    Teacher

    Pedro Leston

    Teacher

    Miguel Sotto Mayor

    Teacher

    Rui Lisboa

    Teacher

    Rui Fonseca

    Teacher

    Ricardo Rodrigues

    Teacher

    Rui Seabra

    Teacher

    Frederico Gracias

    Teacher

    Edgar Alberto

    Teacher

    Francisco Leston

    Teacher

    José Avelino Castro Pinto

    CAREER PATHS

    Performing Arts & Culture
    – Technical Director (Theatres & Auditoriums)
    – Lighting & Video Designer for Stage
    – Digital Scenography Technician

    Entertainment & Live Events
    – Stage Manager
    – Media Server Operator / Programmer
    – Light Jockey (Club Lighting Designer)

    Broadcast & Digital Media
    – Live Streaming Engineer
    – XR (AR/VR) Systems Specialist

    Corporate & Commercial Spaces
    – Corporate Events Technical Coordinator
    – AV Integration Consultant
    – Immersive Experience Designer

    Technical Production & Management
    – Project Manager (Rental Companies)
    – Systems Maintenance & Configuration Technician

    ERASMUS + & Internships

    At the end of the programme, and subject to academic performance, students may apply for:

    • an international internship through the Erasmus+ Programme;
    • a national/international internship or job opportunities for industry placements with partner companies;

    Applications are submitted through the Professional Integration Department (estagios@etic.pt).
    ETIC provides a digital platform to communicate job offers and employment opportunities from partner companies.

    Facilities

    Lighting Equipment

    – A range of professional lighting equipment combining dynamic fixtures (Moving Heads such as Profile, Wash, and Beam) for motion effects, alongside Fresnel and Profile Spot fixtures that ensure perfect illumination of faces and stage settings. The system also includes light panels (Space Light) and background lighting (Cyclorama), all managed through an advanced control console (Vista EX Software). This complete technological solution allows full control over colours and atmospheres, creating a memorable and versatile visual experience for any event.

    Sound Equipment

    – This high-fidelity professional sound system uses high-performance suspended speakers (RCF Line Array) to ensure uniform sound coverage throughout the venue, complemented by deep bass (Subwoofers) and front-fill and surround speakers (Front Fill and Surround). The stage is equipped with dedicated monitors (Floor Monitors), while all sound management is handled through industry-standard digital mixing consoles (Midas and Behringer) and intelligent control processors (RDNet). It is a complete solution that guarantees power, clarity, and precise digital control for any type of show or conference.

    Video Equipment – Mapping System

    – This professional video solution uses high-brightness projectors (Sony and Christie) equipped with precision lenses (Zoom Lenses) to deliver sharp, large-scale imagery. The system is powered by a high-performance workstation (Resolume 7 Server) and professional video capture cards (AJA Kona), enabling seamless and high-quality visual content management. It is a structure designed for projection mapping and high-definition visual support, perfectly integrated to complement any performance.

    Structural Equipment

    – The venue setup includes a robust and secure support infrastructure composed of aluminium towers and beams (Truss Structures). The system includes motorised rigging (Motors and Motion Control) that allows lighting, sound, and video equipment to be lifted and positioned with total precision and safety. It is a modular and durable solution designed to support heavy loads and ensure the stability required for the entire technical setup of the event.

    APPLICATION

    The programme is delivered in English. Recommended english entry level:  B1*

    Requirements
    – Submit a motivation letter, outlining reasons for applying and professional goals;
    – Submit portfolio or showreel (not mandatory);
    – Attend an interview.

    How do I start my application?
    – Fill in the form by clicking the APPLY button.
    – You will receive an email with dates options for your interview.

    *According to CEFR Levels . If you would like to take a free online test , please click English Test

    TUITION FEES

    There are several financing programs in different banking institutions:  Caixa Geral de DepósitosSantanderBanco CTTBPI, among others.

    TERMS AND CONDITIONS

    The opening of each course/class/schedule is subject to a minimum number of registrations. Registration at the desired time is limited to the number of places available.
    Teaching is face-to-face and project based. The course program includes classes without a teacher to develop autonomous exercises and design practices. Autonomous or project work is important for the student’s progress in their learning. Teachers can request the development of work outside the established class hours. Classes may occasionally be scheduled outside of established times, for example to respond to projects that require this flexibility, to meet project-specific equipment needs, to respond to exercises carried out in a real context with partners, or for any other reason that supports the better achievement of the programme.
    Specific technical classes and/or workshops can take place on Saturdays.
    The duration of each class may vary depending on its theoretical or practical nature.
    The class can be divided into groups for better learning and intensification of the development of projects and subjects.
    The curriculum and the list of course teachers may be changed for reasons of pedagogical suitability or for reasons of force majeure.

    For more information contact us.

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