“如果有我想要的东西，而我没有办法实现它, I find another way to do it," says Show Production grad Kristopher Clemson. 他的坚韧为2017年毕业后的迅速成功奠定了基础:他创办了自己的公司, Bifröst Lighting LLC, 很快就参加了苹果开发者大会和warp Tour这样的大型活动, and won this year's Vectorworks Design Scholarship contest.

Kris's career story begins at a Tool concert when he was 14. “我看到了他们的灯光秀，以及他们为现场表演所做的一切. It was inspiring," he says. 在一位家庭朋友建议他接受高等教育后，克里斯开始了Full Sail的课程.

但他并没有等到进入校园后才开始从事灯光设计. 他说:“在玩《十大菠菜台子》之前，我就已经完成了Vectorworks软件教程. 业界领先的软件帮助设计师创建他们的项目的2D和3D模型, and Kris quickly took to figuring out how to best use it. 他还联系了其他照明设计师，了解他们使用的是什么设备. The common thread? A sleek lighting console called grandMA2.

Full Sail的声光设备舰队是克里斯一直在等待的游乐场. "They have something like eight grandMA2 [consoles] in their lab. 当我还在Full Sail的时候，我花了尽可能多的时间在这上面。. "People tried to kick me out of the grandMA2 room."

Full Sail的灯光编程课程和实验室教会了他如何在现场表演中操作重要的软件和硬件. He also worked on extra projects during his free time. “我独自一人尝试着挑战极限，并投入大量精力去设计其他关卡，这真的很有帮助," he says.

Kris went beyond the classroom in other ways, too. He entered an essay contest during Full Sail's annual Hall of Fame 活动，试图赢得一些时间与来访的灯光设计师后台. 他的文章没有击中目标，但克里斯仍然看到了联系的价值. 他说:“他(名人堂)的每一场演讲我都去听，而且总是坐在前排。. “在第三次或第四次之后，他说，‘你一直跟着我.' He gave me his card."

After graduation, Kris headed west to Silicon Valley. 他立即开始在该地区的Live nation拥有的场地做自由职业者, 这要归功于他是IATSE(国际戏剧舞台员工联盟)工会的成员. He also founded his company, Bifröst Lighting LLC.

“我帮助设计音乐会的灯光秀，并促进整个设计过程," says Kris about the work he does at Bifröst. “我也是grandMA2照明控制台的程序员和操作员, 我还制作视频内容，在直播期间在媒体服务器上运行."

While working during the Audiotistic music festival, Kris found a new opportunity — in a trash can.

“在一场演出中，我试图在舞台上拍照，结果被骂了一顿,他谈到了自己为记录一个特别鼓舞人心的设计所做的努力. 但克里斯睁大了眼睛，因为船员们正在收拾行李，发现了一个被技术人员扔进垃圾桶的照明图. "It was rained on and stepped on and half-destroyed. 我把它打包，然后回家，在Vectorworks中重新制作了我看到的所有东西."

By the time the 2019 Vectorworks contest was announced, 克里斯已经做好了充分的准备，将他在《十大菠菜台子》中所学到的东西付诸实践.

"I'd designed three or four stages at that point, 我觉得这是一个机会，我可以做一个比以前更好的舞台，并因此获得报酬," he says. Kris also saw the value in getting endorsed by Vectorworks, noting that it could lead to more interesting work in drafting, pre-visualization, and design.

Six months of dedication and focus helped Kris create the Octagon, a massive EDM-style stage with sophisticated lighting, an eight-sided screen, and surrounding side screens. 这种设置将音乐会的音频和视觉组件提升为一种有凝聚力的体验.

尽管他提前四个月完成了他的项目设计, Kris didn't kick back and relax. He taught himself how to use Vectorworks' Vision, 一个预可视化软件，使任何设计在三维生活. Being able to utilize Vision helped improve the project, propelling the Octagon ahead of over 1,600 other applicants to win the top prize.

Kris对想要从事照明设计职业的Full Sail学生有一些智慧的话(也许还有一些vectorworks级别的荣誉). “提高你的技能，学习所有的软件，而不是只学习一小部分. 让自己沉浸在创作艺术的过程中，而不是仅仅期待最终的结果."

与Full Sail和你所在行业的其他人接触是另一件必须做的事情. "Ask people for learning resources, find mentors who will answer your questions, and try to be a sponge. 只要在任何与你的职业有关的地方寻求知识，”他说.