Ausstattungsleiter/Ausstattungsleiterin - Bühne/Film/Fernsehen

Media sources related to this profession include: Berufe am TheaterBTR - Bühnentechnische RundschauDie Deutsche BühneInitiative Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaft der Bundesregierungjunge bühneTheater heuteTOI TOI TOI-Magazinvierundzwanzig - Das Wissensportal der Deutschen Filmakademie.

Industry trends include virtual real-time film sets and high-resolution LED displays. These displays create a digital film environment during studio shoots, reducing the need for green screens. Sceneries previously recorded in outdoor shoots are projected onto the displays, and backgrounds change perspectively correct with camera movement. This technology lowers production costs by reducing complex outdoor shoots. Professionals in the film business will need to engage with these developments. In digital theater, actors may perform alongside avatars or robots, stage designs can be created using holograms, and masks via 3D printing. Performances can be live-streamed, and audiences can control the plot via smartphones or Virtual Reality.

Equipment managers for stage, film, and television usually work in office and meeting rooms, in workshops and production halls, on stages, outdoors, and in storage rooms. They may also work from home or remotely if necessary.

Core competencies generally required in this profession include: Supervision, management, equipment (film, television, stage), scenography, applying CAD (Computer Aided Design) systems, film architecture, calculation, set construction (film, television, theater), organization, production (stage, film, television, video, audiovisual), spatial design, and props. Further competencies that may be significant for practicing this profession are: Assembly, rearrangement (stage, film), tendering, awarding contracts, performance specification, image and sound technology, fire protection, stage and theater technology, purchasing, procurement, color design, television technology, form design, costume design, managing costumes and inventory, costume history, cultural history, lighting technology, pyrotechnics, knowledge of styles, theater studies, and drawing.

Equipment managers for stage, film, and television require creativity for planning and realizing stage designs, costumes, and makeup, but also a sense for what is technically and economically feasible. Knowledge of art and cultural history, as well as expertise in style and costume history, are also necessary. With drawing skills, they create design sketches and drawings, from which they eventually develop floor plans and construction blueprints. The construction of scale models requires manual dexterity. In elaborating the construction blueprints, which form the basis for the workshops' work, equipment managers proceed very carefully and responsibly. They incorporate their knowledge of statics, architecture, material science, as well as their understanding of accident prevention and fire safety regulations into the planning and construction of sets. Collaboration with the director and production management requires good communication skills.

Equipment managers for stage, film, and television can become self-employed, for example, as freelancers for film studios.

Example collective bargaining minimum salary (monthly): 3,310 €. Salaries exceeding this must be freely negotiated. Source: Tariff Collection of the Bavarian State Ministry for Family, Labor and Social Affairs. This information is for orientation purposes. No claims can be derived from it.

Art, culture, museums; venues for drama and musical theater; concert organizers; variety shows and cabaret stages; theater, spoken word, and literature event organizers; other entertainment organizers. Film, video, audio production; production of other video films, films, and television programs. Radio, television, other media distribution; television broadcasters and distribution of video content.

Employers often expect further training (Weiterbildung), for example in set design, or a corresponding university degree (Studium).

Set Design (undergraduate), Set Design (postgraduate), Costume Design (undergraduate), Costume Design (postgraduate), Scenography (undergraduate), Scenography (postgraduate).

Equipment managers for stage, film, and television find employment in theaters, opera houses, and drama theaters, with theater and concert organizers, with film and television production companies, and with television broadcasters.

Equipment managers for stage, film, and television direct and coordinate work in the planning and implementation of stage and set designs, props, costumes, and makeup.

According to BERUFENET, job and application exchanges for this profession include: Bühnenjobs.de, crew united, Der Theaterverlag, DTHG Stellenmarkt, kulturjobs.net, mandy.com, StagePool, VioWorld.

According to BERUFENET, relevant associations and organizations for this profession include: Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste e.V., Deutscher Bühnenverein Bundesverband der Theater und Orchester, Deutsche Theatertechnische Gesellschaft e.V. (DTHG), Genossenschaft Deutscher Bühnen-Angehöriger (GDBA), Künstlervermittlung der Zentralen Auslands- und Fachvermittlung (ZAV), ver.di - Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, Verband der Berufsgruppen Szenenbild und Kostümbild e.V. (VSK).

This profession involves responsibility for people (e.g., guiding and leading employees) and material assets (e.g., economic aspects of stage equipment). Adherence to various regulations and legal requirements, such as accident prevention and fire safety regulations, is necessary. Tasks and work situations frequently change due to varying theater, film, or television productions. The work involves manual tasks (e.g., creating design sketches and drawings, building scale models), screen work (e.g., preparing calculations), and working on stages, in offices (e.g., creating script excerpts), and in workshops (supervising the construction of decorations and props). Work outdoors is also possible for open-air stages or outdoor filming locations. Working hours are irregular.

Key working materials include documents such as scripts, shooting schedules, equipment concepts, sketches, designs, time and budget plans, calculations, construction plans, and accident prevention and fire safety regulations. Office equipment and software, including PCs, internet access, telephones, CAD programs, and warehouse management programs, are also used.

Equipment managers for stage, film, and television have overall supervision of stage/set and costume design, props, makeup, and lighting design. They conduct style research based on scripts or director's books. They also create sketches and designs, taking into account spatial conditions, among other factors. They coordinate equipment concepts and commission workshop managers or technical production managers with their implementation. Furthermore, they delegate responsibility for costumes, makeup, props, and lighting to the relevant departments while maintaining overall management.

Access professions for this role include 'Staatlich geprüfter Gewandmeister/Staatlich geprüfte Gewandmeisterin/Bachelor Professional in Gestaltung' (State-certified Costume Master/Bachelor Professional in Design) and 'Geprüfter Requisiteur/Geprüfte Requisiteurin' (Certified Prop Master).

Continuing vocational training helps to keep professional knowledge up-to-date and adapt it to new developments (e.g., in the areas of set design, scriptwriting, cultural management, or calculation). Furthermore, the trend towards digitalization in theatre can become an important continuing education topic for equipment managers for stage, film, and television.

Depending on one's professional background, further career opportunities open up through a bachelor's (Studium) or master's degree (e.g., in scenography or stage design). Under certain conditions, it is also possible to study without a general higher education entrance qualification. For more information: Access to higher education in the individual federal states (Bundesland) of Germany.

Develop the equipment concept; review the script/theatre text with regard to scenic/stage design aspects and, in consultation with the director, develop the visual concept of the production; conduct research, for example, to accurately reflect the clothing or furnishing style of an era; ascertain the director's ideas regarding stage/set design, costume, make-up, and props; consider static and safety aspects as well as spatial conditions of the production site; create sketches, designs, and models, also using CAD; lead and coordinate the realization of the equipment concept; commission workshops or technical production management with tasks; delegate responsibility for costumes, make-up, props, and lighting; monitor work progress, solve time or budget problems; perform administrative tasks; manage the set storage and prop inventory; organize and supervise the transport of equipment for guest performances or multiple filming locations.

The following lists professions or activities that show similarities to the original profession. These professions represent a possible alternative for applicants. Furthermore, employers can consider individuals from these professions as alternatives for filling a position in the original profession. Some alternative professions only encompass partial activities of the original profession, while others require an induction period, which can vary in length depending on the individual case. The following immediate employment and staffing alternatives are available for the profession of equipment manager for stage, film, and television: Job and staffing alternatives for the overall activity (usually short induction): Stage designer, Costume designer, Set designer. A list of all possible degrees of relatedness can be found here: Explanations of the individual degrees of relatedness.