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About

Hi, I'm Mike—a lighting designer based in the Denver metro area. Welcome to my online portfolio.

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I grew up in Menlo Park, California, then later moved to Colorado to study mechanical engineering at CU Boulder. During my time at CU, I fell in love with live music and event production. In my senior year, I joined a production internship at Z2 Entertainment in Boulder, where I gained hands-on experience as a stagehand and began my journey into the world of lighting design.

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After becoming proficient in programming, operating, and lighting tech, Z2 offered me a position on their team. Since then, I've continued to grow as an LD, constantly learning, refining my craft, and expanding my skill set under the mentorship of the Z2 crew.​

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Beyond my role at Z2, I am a freelance lighting designer and technician. I have collaborated with companies like Another Backline Company LLC, Third Rail Productions, and Centermass Productions, contributing to events like Global Dance Festival 2024, Portal at El Jebel featuring East Forest and Wesley Shultz of The Lumineers, and many more.​​

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I built this site to showcase my work, connect with others in the live event industry, and continue growing as a designer and technician.

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If you're looking for a lighting designer for your next event, feel free to get in touch via the Contact page. You'll also find links to my Instagram and other socials there, where you can see more of what I've been working on.

Resume

Michael Dailey

Denver, CO | MikeDaileyLights@gmail.com | (650) 533-7384

Work Experience

Z2 Entertainment                                                                                                                                                 Boulder, CO

Lighting Designer                                                                                                                                                 2023-Present

  • Program and organize complex lighting cues in GrandMA3 and Avolites

  • Operate lights for bands at the Fox Theater and Boulder Theater

  • Replace, maintain, and hang a variety of intelligent moving head fixtures 

  • Train team members across programming, live operating, and general lighting tech​

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Freelance Lighting                                                                                                                                  Boulder/Denver, CO

Lighting Designer/Tech                                                                                                                                        2024-Present

  • Another Backline Company LLC

    • Global Dance Festival 2024

    • Portal @ El Jebel Shrine

  • Third Rail Productions

  • Centermass Productions​​

  • Crew One Festival Team​​​

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College Student Storage                                                                                                                                      Boulder, CO

Crew Chief/Warehouse Manager                                                                                                                              2022-2024

  • Led moving and storage operations including warehouse organization, scheduling, communications, and box truck driving

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Michael Meyer Fine Woodworking                                                                                                                  Palo Alto, CA

Woodworking/Construction Apprentice                                                                                                                             2021

  • Operated a range of power tools on construction sites and in the company shop

Skills

Technical:

Lighting

  • GrandMA3

  • Avolites

  • Capture

  • MadMapper

  • Resolume

Coding

  • Matlab

  • Python

  • VBA

  • EES

CAD

  • SolidWorks

  • OnShape

  • Blender

  • Adobe Creative Cloud

Hands-On:

Lighting

  • Hanging fixtures

  • Operating distros 

  • Writing patches

  • Maintaining fixtures

Manual

  • Woodworking

  • CNC Machining

  • Painting

  • Truck Driving

Personal

  • Communication

  • Organization

  • Customer Service

Education

University of Colorado Boulder         

B.S. Mechanical Engineering | GPA: 3.2                                                                                                Graduated May 2024

  • Designed, manufactured, and tested ACL-safe ski binding and custom 3D printed orthopedic walking boot

  • Modeled solar-powered greenhouse for Engineers Without Borders

  • Nominated Engineers Without Borders Project Finalist 

  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers Member​

  • Produced creative, original digital art

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