ABSTRACT
The basic function of lighting is illumination, of course, but it can also provide stunning effects, help to set a scene, or focus and direct the audience’s attention. Light without control isn’t much use for most shows, and because of this, control has long been a critical part of lighting design and system functionality. Gaslights offered the first centrally controllable luminaires; they were dimmed using mechanical valves-less gas produced less light. Modern “conventional” lighting fixtures are, of course, powered by electricity and have their intensities controlled by electronic, solid-state valves known as dimmers. And, of course, intensity is now only one part of the lighting control equation; color, angle, focus, video image, and many other parameters now are all part of the designer’s palette.
