Jason J. Olson

I'm a

Creative Tech Guru

I work in a variety of technically creative roles from theatrical and concert lighting and sound design, web and application software development, business development and some freelance photography. I've worked in both sacred and secular venues from houses of worship, musical theatre and outdoor concerts & festivals.

  • Website: www.jasonjolson.com
  • City: Billings, MT, USA
  • Prior: Greater San Francisco Area
  • College: William Jessup Univ
  • Freelance: Available

Currently I am really enjoying mentoring the next generation in the performing arts, while working as the House LD for a House of Worship venue, as well as code maintenance on a legacy production software.

Mentoring

I have become the person I am today more from the mentoring, training and connections that were given to me, more than just pure tenacity could every achieve. For that reason, it is critical that I not only pass on what I've learned to the next generation, but provide them the opportunities to grow beyond what I could imagine for myself.

Jake

Rachel

Jed

Ben

Experience

With professional experience spanning multiple industries for several decades... knowledge and wisdom combined....

Live Production

Theatrical Lighting Design

1988 - Present

Lighting design for multiple theatrical productions, including local community and school productions of:

  • South Pacific #2
  • MacBeth
  • Godspell
  • A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
  • Dozens of dance recitals
  • Multiple broadway review shows

Live Production Lighting & Sound

1990 - Present

Staff lighting tech for 3B Entertainment in San Jose, California (90s). Initially the conventional light op, and eventually the moving light operator. Worked at major venues including the Arco Arena, Cow Palace, HP Pavilion and many other venues. Additionally provided indepedent lighting contract for-hire work (90's to present).

Live sound reinforcement for hundreds of bands performing at venues large and small throughout Northern California & San Francisco Bay Area. House tech for various nightclubs.

Theatrical Sound Design

1988 - 2000

Sound design for multiple theatrical productions, including local community and school productions of:

  • South Pacific #1
  • Glass Menagerie
  • Guys and Dolls
  • Butterflies are Free
  • Bullshot Crummond

Software Development

Windows Application Programming: C++ & VB

2020 - Present

Took over primary code maintenance for several LOB applications which were written in legacy VB and C++ / .NET 3.5 frameworks.

Tech stack: JetBrains Suite (Rider, CLion), GitHub, and working knowledge of Visual Studio

Web-Dev: html, css, js, php, mysql

1992 - Present

Full stack developer, with an emphesis on back end & business processes; coding websites prior the release of CSS or images on the net. Modern frameworks; equally comfortable in OOP and procedural styles/standards.

Tech stack: PHPStorm (IDE), GitHub, Symfony Framework, Vue.JS

C & C+

1990 - 2000

Primiarly used for creating line of business middleware, custom API, data management and anaylisys.

6502 Assembly, Basic & Pascal

1980's

Programming in basic and assembly for the 6502 processor in the mid-80s; DOS style programs with a focus on memory efficiency.

Other Professional Experience

Photography

Photographic skills used for commercial marketing and promotion. Emphasis on live action & theatrical (low light) environments, but comfortable in a studio environment.

Tech stack: Canon DSLR Full frame, prime lenses, and Adobe Lightroom

Recent Blog Posts

A Pragmatic Perspective on the Role of a Dedicated Broadcast Audio Mix Engineers in Churches

In the current landscape of church technology, the buzz often revolves around the importance of having a dedicated broadcast audio mix engineer, particularly due to the rise of online streaming brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. While countless YouTube videos suggest that churches of all sizes churches should invest in this aspect of their aud... (Read More)

Balancing Spontaneity and Structure: Effective Worship Leadership

I have experienced a wide range of approaches to worship leadership within various church settings, and I believe that the issue raised: worship leaders who follow the Holy Spirit without giving their team direction – is less about a conflict between playing as written and embracing the Spirit and more about effective leadership and theContinue rea... (Read More)

Balancing Act: Two approaches to Equalization in Professional Audio

When I first learned professional audio in the 80s and 90s, while the technology existed to cut and/or boost certain frequencies, the prevailing approach of all of my mentors was to cut only, infact there was several graphic equalizers and parametric equalizers that were cut only. However throughout the 90s we were boosting and cuttingContinue read... (Read More)

BMD ATEM Video Issue [Solved]

A local church just purchased a few PTZ Optic Cameras to expand their current two camera setup. When connecting them via SDI to the ATEM Video Switcher there was no video. This is a common issue encountered when integrating new camera equipment with a video switcher. For example, the very popular BlackMagic Designs range ofContinue reading "BMD ATE... (Read More)

Ensuring Fire Safety During Contempoary Church Services

Every week, churches inquire about how to prevent fire alarms from being triggered during contemporary services. The topic of haze generates considerable discussion in church tech circles, with varying opinions on whether it has a place in a church setting that isn’t a concert. Instead of debating the appropriateness of using haze, this artic... (Read More)

Live Production Artists & Clients

Over the prior 30 years I have enjoyed working with artist of all sizes, including:

Venues

  • Arco Arena, Sacramento
  • HP Pavilion, San Jose
  • Oakland Coliseum Arena
  • Civic Center, Redding
  • Masonic Lodge, Berkley
  • Cow Palace, San Francisco
  • Paramount Studios, Hollywood
  • San Jose & Santa Clara Convention Centers
  • Orpheum Theater & Curran Theater, San Francisco
  • Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco
  • Moscone Center, San Francisco
  • Center for the Performing Arts, San Jose
  • Candlestick Park (49ers Stadium), San Francisco
  • Folsom Street, San Francisco
  • Fairmont Hotel, San Jose
  • Fort Mason, San Francisco
  • Lighting

  • Billings Symfony
  • Billings Night of Worship
  • Faith Chapel Music
  • IndepenDANCE Recitals
  • Fred Vasallo Dance Studio
  • USA Tet Festival (broadcast lighting)
  • Van Halen
  • Nick Bravo
  • San Jose Sharks
  • Many radio variety concerts
  • Extensive number of corporate and trade shows
  • Sound

  • Jesse Charles Band (many venues)
  • The Joe Sharino Band (many venues)
  • Tooth and Nail Records: MxPx, Ghoti Hook, OC Supertones, Plankeye
  • Santa Clara Fairgrounds
  • Tapestry and Talent (San Jose)
  • Phillips, Craig and Dean (Jubilee Christan Center)
  • Smash Mouth
  • Regular sound engineer for various local worship teams
  • House Engineer: The Usual Club, Club Ibex
  • Regular guest engineer: various clubs throughout Northern California
  • Production

  • Theatrical: stage manager, director, assist producer
  • Video: producer, director, technical director, camera op
  • Night of Music (various years, Bethel Church, Redding, CA)
  • Bethel Christian School (various productions)
  • Fred Vasallo Dance Company
  • Spirit West Coast
  • Convention power distro services
  • Production photography
  • AVL Packages for New Years Eve and Corporate Parties
  • Church Integration Work

  • North Valley Christian Fellowship
  • Life Church
  • First Presbyterian Church
  • Faith Chapel
  • Absorkee Foursquare
  • Freedom Church
  • In Collaboration With...

  • Musson Theatrical
  • 3B Productions / Entertianment
  • McCune Audio & John Meyer of Meyer Sound
  • Sound on Stage
  • New Spectrum Productions
  • ShowCo
  • D&V Sound
  • Stages Unlimited
  • Zamara Sound
  • Portfolio

    Click on individual photos for additional details about the event.

    • All
    • Live Events
    • Photography

    Services

    Business Applications

    Consulting with businesses on customized software solutions for their Line of Business Needs.

    Technical Arts Mentoring

    Mentoring people of all ages in the technical theatrical and live event markets.

    Photography

    Professional photography for live events, especially theatrical, low light, or high action events.

    Software Development

    Custom Software Development for line of business applications

    Lighting Design

    Lighting Design, Programming and Operating services - from theatrical, house of worship, or live entertainment.

    Sound Reinforcement

    Live sound reinforcement and recording for live events.

    Testimonials

    Various testimonials from clients, employers, colleagues, etc.

    I have had the privilege of working with Jason for over 5 years. Jason Olson has proven himself to be knowledgeable and extremely technically proficient in all aspects of IT infrastructure design and implementation. Jason has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to manage stressful situations effortlessly and in charge the whole time. Jason has proven himself to be a skilled and patient advisor and mentor.

    Sherry McElroy

    Senior Network Engineer, Apex Technology

    Jason has a great understanding of windows/ Lunix base systems. He worked directly with our engineer staff at MaxSP on bugs that he found demoing our service. Worked with Jason for three years as a ISO independent service organization.

    Tim Wells

    Chief Financial Officer, Backoffice Technology Group

    Jason is the guy that picks things apart, one item at a time. Carefully analyzing them to build a better mousetrap. He pays attention to the details, bringing a level of insight to a problem that most will never see. Beyond that, he is a man of integrity, for obvious reasons. I admire and respect him for what he brings to the table.

    Kelly Nickels

    Senior Systems Engineer, MaxSP

    Jason is an IT professional that speaks in a language that non-IT professionals can understand. We had a complex problem that required a creative solution, and Jason provided it. He is a good person and somebody that I look forward to working with again.

    Richard Aberman

    Co-FounderChief Product Officer, WePay

    Jason is a man of integrity and one of the smartest men I know when it comes to software, hardware and networking. Not only can he relate with machines, but he has a great ability to connect with people - a winning combination that made my job of managing him a pleasure. He is also fun to work with, and I would work with him again in a heartbeat and am pleased to call him my friend.

    Sami Hanna

    Operations Manager, Hillside Church

    Jason is a very detail and organized person, his attention to detail is a value to anyone. His technical skills are some of the best I have seen. I would work with Jason in the future and would hire him if I had my own business.

    Lee Rocklage

    Data Center Director, MaxSP

    Contact

    Location:

    Billings, MT

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