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PL & P
CONCERT LIGH
PL & P : Thinking back to the last two or three years , which widespread trend - in terms of technology , workflow , or industry relations – has had the most significant impact on your work or the stage lighting industry in general ?
Bartnes : The only trend in the last several years is that I ’ m more expensive than the younger designers . It ’ s a sad twist of fate that production companies will use and abuse your youth , and as soon as you are a “ made man ,” they will replace you with cheaper talent .
Clark : I think it ’ s been the advent of LED technology – not to have the power draws that we once had and to be able to have many lights for the same cost as a few . It makes a small show look so much bigger for the same cost and it ' s not as damaging environmentally .
Gotschel : I ’ ve been getting more and more into creating my own custom video content and have been incorporating that into my designs . LED video walls are not that new to the industry , but they have become a lot more affordable and more shows are starting to use them , even on smaller scale shows . By creating my own content , I have full control in achieving the looks I want . Lighting fixtures can only go so far in recreating what I imagine ; video walls help get me a lot closer to those goals .
Larivée : LED tape . It ’ s now well controlled , has some flicker free options , and pixel mapping . We can design fixtures with LED tape , incorporate them into floors , desks , acrylic tubes to simulate a pixel-mapped LED batten , set pieces , etc . Very versatile and changing the lighting industry . Used to be a “ gag ” but it ’ s now a precise tool .
Smith : The largest trend of the last three years or so would have to be LEDs , hands down . The technology only keeps getting better and better and has allowed rigs to drop down to a fraction of the power draw that they previously would have used , not to mention the amount of cable and power distribution that you can save on . Having the option to run them on 120 V or 208 V is a great tool to have for those last minute-changes , and the colour mixing has vastly improved where you can get a good white out of them now . The one issue that LEDs have caused though , would be the number of channels required for a show to get full utilization . Luckily the console manufacturers are adapting as well and giving more and more available outputs onboard and easier networking methods to expand your show .
PL & P : From your perspective , what do you anticipate will be the next major technological innovation that will have a widespread effect on you and your peers ’ performance and workflow ?
Bartnes : I ’ d like to see RDM [ more widely ] implemented . It ’ s so poorly adopted with most manufacturers that turning on RDM is just like disabling your rig . I get the concept , but its application is a total ass pain .
Clark : The next major change I see will be the way consoles interact with the lights and scenery . You already see a bit of this in RDM , but I think the next thing will be the ability to tell the console what you are using and it will talk to the fixture and know where it is in the rig in a 3D space , then it will automatically download its info to the desk and the programmer won ’ t have to tell the console which lights they have ; the desk will just know when it gets plugged in .
Gotschel : 3D hologram technology would be great . Yes , there have been advancements in a form of this technology , but I ’ m talking about holograms on a much larger scale .
Larivée : Followspot automation is one thing . We are slowly getting multiple suppliers working on a pilot system to run moving lights to lose the spot chair operator . It changes the quality of execution and the result of the show . Also , LED profile fixtures . They ’ ve worked hard on getting LED profile fixtures [ over the years ] but now we are starting to get some powerful and nice options . It will reduce the power consumption and overall maintenance , so it will affect our daily schedule . It will also bring more moving lights into theatres .
Smith : I ’ m not sure what the next major technology will be . It is more important now than ever to understand networking and how to manage and distribute the vast amount of DMX that can be required these days . With a variety of protocols being used today – often a few at the same time on the same network – it is good to know how to deal with the traffic and help keep collisions to a minimum . In the next few years , I believe we will see these networks and the gear used for them better modified to our industry standards , especially for use with LEDs and media servers and the large number of channels that often comes with them .
PL & P : I think it ’ s fair to say that lighting equipment and concepts are more accessible to more people now than they have been in the past . Has this had a tangible effect , positive or negative , on your interactions with clients over the past few years , as far as discussing concepts , getting a clear idea of what they want the show or project to look like , etc .? If so , how has that affected your work , for better or for worse ?
Bartnes : If clients didn ’ t know what they wanted before , they still don ’ t know . I have adopted the strategy of asking artists what they don ’ t want as opposed to what they want . Most don ’ t know what they want , but they sure know what they don ’ t like – for example , no blackouts at the end of songs , no strobes , and no red and green outside of Christmas shows !
Clark : I think that has helped people to a degree to know what lighting concepts are . I also think it ’ s just that people know more now . They see more shows so they get ideas from those and it ’ s very easy to search for anything online , so it ' s very
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