V.A.L. is an abbreviation used by photographers that stands for "
voice activated lightstand." This is
actually a
reference to a human assistant who, in the absence of an actual lightstand, holds a piece of lighting equipment and positions it according to the photographer's needs.
David's invited me to be a V.A.L. on his
next shoot, since he's trying to avoid needing permits from
the city to place lighting equipment on the ground.