ABSTRACT
All the instruments discussed in the last chapter have to be adjusted manually by a technician with physical access to the pan, tilt and focus knobs. The advantages of motorising these movements for remote control has long been recognised, but it is only in recent years that developing technology has been able to provide an acceptable level of repeat accuracy: the instrument must be capable of returning with consistent precision to the pan, tilt and focus data which have been recorded. This remote-control capability may be used for resetting the instrument when it is not alight. Or its moving beam may be used as a dynamic contribution to the stage picture. These instruments are often referred to as ‘intelligent lights’ but I prefer ‘obedient lights’ because they only do what the lighting designer has programmed them to do.
