Our History

The ICLS is a 501c6 Non-Profit Membership Organization with offices based in New York and Los Angeles, USA. We came into existence in 2020 by gaffers Mr. Mike Bauman, Mr. Raffi Sanchez, and Mr. Martin Smith.  As the world shut down during the Covid-19 Pandemic, we established this international platform as a way for the lighting community to stay in touch and share knowledge and expertise beyond borders. 

 

We have conducted numerous weekly meetings that served as a great way to stay connected not only to local gaffers, but to hear and monitor what was happening to the entertainment industries globally. Then, the membership was further opened to Rigging Gaffers and Console Programmers, and the meetings began including presentations from various Vendors, Director of Photography, and members of the group with knowledge and expertise to share to this community.

With the creation of the Discord Server, the group began to build an archive of lighting knowledge, help each other find crew members around the world, and build stronger international relationships between the many diverse lighting communities. It was at this point in August of 2020 that the Directors brought on Bea Patten to facilitate building a formal structure for ICLS in order to move towards becoming more than an informal group but an actual international platform for the set lighting community.  

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Today, ICLS has over 200 members from 40 countries from around the world, and we are always looking for new members to join our community. If you are looking to join an international lighting community, check out our Programs page or email us at info@iclsociety.com

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