ABSTRACT
The good news is that the demand for those who understand stage lighting is growing. Those who master the art of programming—and it truly is an art form—will always be in high demand. By the time Philips bought Color Kinetics the writing was on the wall, yet many in the industry remained dubious about the practicality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in entertainment lighting and whether or not they would ever be bright enough to compete with stage lighting. Lamp sources are still getting better and more efficient, and the rapid advance of LED technology is bringing a new palette of effects like pixel mapping, high-speed strobing, and chasing within a single fixture head. In productions where video is prominent, stage lighting can take on new roles, including being part of the video display. It can be used for beam projection, color wash, lighting a subject or subjects, or to supplement the projection of patterns or images.
