ABSTRACT
A significant amount of lighting innovation can be credited to the concert industry. It was here that the special needs of touring forced developers to look at alternatives to hanging hundreds of conventional luminaires for a show. It also was one of the few areas of the industry where research and development (R&D) money was available. More traditional forms of entertainment had to wait until the price of the technology became more affordable. It’s now quite common to see automated gear on Broadway stages as well as other venues like road houses and nightclubs, regional theatres, and in spectacle productions like arena programs and ice shows. Many university theatres can also afford this gear and use it to introduce their students to the new technologies. Despite this, automated lighting is still unaffordable for many organizations. The majority of the theatres that use this technology rely most heavily on conventional fixtures while making selective use of the advanced equipment. This restricted use isn’t solely attributed to the high costs of the equipment but also to the steep learning curve associated with its use. There are also issues related to the higher color temperature lamps and effects qualities of many of these fixtures, which can bring attention to the units and make them difficult to blend with conventional fixtures.
