In theatrical productions, an instrument schedule is a listing of all the lighting instruments

Stage lighting instrument

Stage lighting instruments are used in stage lighting to illuminate theatrical productions, concerts, and other performances taking place in live performance venues. They are also used to light television studios and sound stages.Many stagecraft terms vary between the United States and the United...

 and information about them used in a show. The instruments are organized by their position on-stage, and is the distinguishing characteristic between an instrument schedule and a channel hookup

Channel hookup

In theatrical productions, the channel hookup is a printout of a lighting database such as Lightwright that organizes all the lighting information for a stage show by the channel number associated with the lighting equipment and limits the information associated with a particular lighting...

 or similar paperwork. The instrument schedule includes all information about every instrument, including hanging location, instrument number, type, wattage, color, focus area, circuit, dimmer and templates, along with any additional information. The variety of information included in an instrument schedule generally makes this more "complete" than other generated paperwork, and as such the schedule is often considered the "master" sheet. The master electrician

Master electrician

The Master Electrician in a theatre is responsible for implementing the lighting design for a production drawn up by the Lighting designer. This involves overseeing the preparation, hanging, connection and focusing of stage lighting fixtures.This can be done on a show by show basis, or as a...

 uses the information contained in the instrument schedule along with the light plot

Light plot

A light plot, lighting plot or just plot is a document similar to an architectural blueprint used specifically by theatrical lighting designers to illustrate and communicate the lighting design to the director, other designers and finally the Master Electrician and electrics crew...

 to direct the hanging of the instruments.

Conventions

Typically the instrument schedule is organized first by hanging location. Common hanging locations (or lighting positions) in theater include electrics, apron pipes, front of house positions, booms and ladders. Within each position, instruments are numbered in the order they are located on the pipe. The standard practice is to label instruments from stage left to right

Blocking (stage)

Blocking is a theatre term which refers to the precise movement and positioning of actors on a stage in order to facilitate the performance of a play, ballet, film or opera. The term derives from the practice of 19th century theatre directors such as Sir W. S...

 (for batten

Batten

A batten is a thin strip of solid material, typically made from wood, plastic or metal. Battens are used in building construction and various other fields as both structural and purely cosmetic elements...

s, and top to bottom for booms and ladders, although some lighting designers choose to label from stage right to stage left. This is a matter of personal preference; it is only important that numbering is consistent. This instrument number (or unit number) is used to sort the instruments in each lighting position on the instrument schedule.

Software

While instrument schedules have traditionally been made by hand or on spreadsheets, there are now several industry specific software based means to generate them. Lightwright

Lightwright

Lightwright is a spreadsheet/database program created specifically for theatrical lighting applications. The program is used to sort and manage data related to lighting designs and to generate design paperwork...

 is a spreadsheet program that will print nicely formatted instrument schedules. CAD

Computer-aided design

Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...

 software such as VectorWorks and AutoCAD used for creating a light plot

Light plot

A light plot, lighting plot or just plot is a document similar to an architectural blueprint used specifically by theatrical lighting designers to illustrate and communicate the lighting design to the director, other designers and finally the Master Electrician and electrics crew...

 can often export lighting information into forms that other programs can use. This way the lighting designer

Lighting designer

The role of the lighting designer within theatre is to work with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create an overall 'look' for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost...

only needs to draft the light plot and the instrument schedule and other paperwork can be generated automatically.