To a Nail, Every Problem’s a Hammer with Sam Updike

Lighting Controls Podcast

“Architainment”. You might hate the term, but Sam has embraced it as it perfectly describes what he does. Coming from the theatre world, and tiring of tech week and the cue-to-cue’s, Sam moved into the 9 to 5(-ish) world of architectural lighting. He still holds onto that creative theatricality and applies it to theme parks, building facades, and bridges. But that doesn’t mean the work headaches have gone away. Listen to his story about the Manhattan building project that started out great, but devolved into weeks of extra work when the contractor fell behind. Sam is the sole proprietor of At Full Lighting, a company that specializes in large-scale entertainment and architectural lighting installations. Before starting At Full Lighting, he held various positions in many different areas of the lighting industry. He’s sailed the high seas as shipwide show control on cruise ships, spent ten months living in Dubai commissioning & programming a new amusement park, and has volunteered his time at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival two years in a row. Sam has worked for various manufacturers and lighting integrators in the US and abroad, acting in various roles such as Project Manager, Service Technician, and Programmer. He has been an ETC Factory Certified Technician for twelve years and a member of their Advanced Programmers Group for the last eleven. He is also a certified trainer for ETC’s Eos line of consoles. He received a BFA in Theatrical Lighting Design from Virginia Commonwealth University. Sam has been based out of New York for the past thirteen years.