Networking: Lighting the Way to a Brighter Future in Entertainment Lighting
Mentor 1
Steve White
Start Date
1-5-2020 12:00 AM
Description
A network provides the capability to maintain control over hundreds of lights and multiple sources of control, making it possible to set up and configure lighting for events of all sizes from a theatrical production in UW-Milwaukee’s Mainstage Theatre to the Superbowl halftime show. Networks have been the backbone of the entertainment lighting industry for years, but they are often seen as the most intimidating or unknown component of an entertainment lighting system. With the growing market for networking equipment that caters specifically to entertainment lighting, companies such as Electronic Theatre Controls have developed software to allow for configuration of lighting networks. ETC’s solution is a piece of software called Concert which allows users to manage and configure networking equipment from their personal computers. Over the course of eight months, Concert was integrated into UW-Milwaukee’s Mainstage Theatre. This software was used to explore how a high level of control over the lighting network can positively impact workflow over the course of producing a theatrical production. In exchange for receiving unreleased software from ETC, user feedback was provided. Contact was established directly with the development team for the software and software defects were documented and reported as they arose. It was found that this software not only provided a user-friendly way to monitor and maintain the lighting system, but it also provided users with a better understanding of the capabilities and functionality of the network within the space. As the entertainment lighting industry continues to innovate and grow, lighting systems will only increase in complexity. Having the capability to use software such as ETC’s Concert to configure the network will prove to be invaluable and is paving the way for new and innovative methods of interacting with and configuring lighting.
Networking: Lighting the Way to a Brighter Future in Entertainment Lighting
A network provides the capability to maintain control over hundreds of lights and multiple sources of control, making it possible to set up and configure lighting for events of all sizes from a theatrical production in UW-Milwaukee’s Mainstage Theatre to the Superbowl halftime show. Networks have been the backbone of the entertainment lighting industry for years, but they are often seen as the most intimidating or unknown component of an entertainment lighting system. With the growing market for networking equipment that caters specifically to entertainment lighting, companies such as Electronic Theatre Controls have developed software to allow for configuration of lighting networks. ETC’s solution is a piece of software called Concert which allows users to manage and configure networking equipment from their personal computers. Over the course of eight months, Concert was integrated into UW-Milwaukee’s Mainstage Theatre. This software was used to explore how a high level of control over the lighting network can positively impact workflow over the course of producing a theatrical production. In exchange for receiving unreleased software from ETC, user feedback was provided. Contact was established directly with the development team for the software and software defects were documented and reported as they arose. It was found that this software not only provided a user-friendly way to monitor and maintain the lighting system, but it also provided users with a better understanding of the capabilities and functionality of the network within the space. As the entertainment lighting industry continues to innovate and grow, lighting systems will only increase in complexity. Having the capability to use software such as ETC’s Concert to configure the network will prove to be invaluable and is paving the way for new and innovative methods of interacting with and configuring lighting.
