Entertainment Lighting Controls and Protocols
Mentor 1
Stephen R. White
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
5-4-2019 1:30 PM
End Date
5-4-2019 3:30 PM
Description
In live entertainment, sometimes there’s more going on than meets the eye. An often over looked subject is how we control lighting and the different ways to send data to lighting equipment in order to create a desired effect. Theatre and live entertainment professionals have used many different methods to control lighting on stage: from the greeks building their theaters to maximize sun light to the Super Bowl using moving fixtures, pyrotechnics and live drone control. The ability we have in the technical theatre community is massive and it grows everyday. But there is also a need to understand where these different protocols came from and how to use them the most effectively. Lighting is a tool to help tell stories and support an atmosphere. Understanding the protocols could help create new equipment and develop fixtures that are even better story telling devices. By experimenting with standard lighting and technical theatre protocols we were able to write articles based on their purposes. Later we applied our new knowledge and created our own lighting control software and wireless controllable lighting fixtures. Our practical research shows how efficient and dynamic these protocols are and the types of controls the industry could create.
Entertainment Lighting Controls and Protocols
Union Wisconsin Room
In live entertainment, sometimes there’s more going on than meets the eye. An often over looked subject is how we control lighting and the different ways to send data to lighting equipment in order to create a desired effect. Theatre and live entertainment professionals have used many different methods to control lighting on stage: from the greeks building their theaters to maximize sun light to the Super Bowl using moving fixtures, pyrotechnics and live drone control. The ability we have in the technical theatre community is massive and it grows everyday. But there is also a need to understand where these different protocols came from and how to use them the most effectively. Lighting is a tool to help tell stories and support an atmosphere. Understanding the protocols could help create new equipment and develop fixtures that are even better story telling devices. By experimenting with standard lighting and technical theatre protocols we were able to write articles based on their purposes. Later we applied our new knowledge and created our own lighting control software and wireless controllable lighting fixtures. Our practical research shows how efficient and dynamic these protocols are and the types of controls the industry could create.
