Lighting Manual
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[edit] Foreword
This article contains a technical description of the lighting resources in the playhouse. It is written for anybody interested in lighting in the playhouse. Lighting designers will find this to be a particularly useful resource for creating a lighting design. This document is an upgraded version of a PDF file written by Jeff Victor, and borrows extensively from it. Also special thanks to Rob Humphreys for collecting instrument count and circuit information. Rob is, in fact, the man.
[edit] Basic Components
- Dimmers and Circuits: The power source for all controllable lights in the playhouse.
- Theatrical Lighting Instruments: All of the lights used to illuminate the stage and other acting areas.
- Architectural Lighting Zones: All of the other controllable lights in the playhouse.
- Unison Architectural Control: The buttons, faders and panels that control the architectural lights.
- Emphasis Theatrical Control: The system that allows us to turn all of the theatrical and architectural lights on and off.
- Express 48/96 Lighting Console: The control surface for emphasis.
- Intelligent Lighting: The Source Four Revolution intelligent lighting fixture, strobes, and future devices.
[edit] Dimming
[edit] General Info
In any modern theatrical lighting system, lighting fixtures must be supplied with power. As designers we need the ability to control the amount of power going to each light at any given time. That is why we use a number of electrical dimmers in the playhouse.
The playhouse has a total of 3 separate dimmer racks. Two of them are used to exclusively control theatrical lighting instruments, and the third half-rack is used to control the many different architectural lighting zones in the playhouse. All racks are ETC Sensor+ racks. Racks 1 and 2 (the theatrical racks) contain 96 2.4kW dimmers each, minus one relay pack. Rack 3 contains a mixture of incandescent dimmers, fluorescent dimmers and relay packs. Each dimmer pack is capable of powering several lighting instrument at a time, as long as you are careful not to overload them! As a rule of thumb, try to only load the dimmer to 80-90% of it's capacity. If the dimmers are loaded to the very limit of their capacity, then any small fluctuations can cause the breaker to pop. Keeping the power below 2kW avoids an embarrassing dash down to the dimmer racks to reset the breaker. The relay pack is generally used to power any particularly inductive or capacitive loads (which might damage the dimmers) or any devices that wont react well to dimmed power.
The dimmers are located inside the electrical closet backstage left. All circuits above the stage and house are labeled above each twist lock connector. For the ones that are not labeled, consult the dimmer guide:
[edit] Dimmer arrangement
| 001-020: | 1st Electrical House Left to Right |
| 021-035: | 2nd Electrical House Left to Right |
| 036-050: | 3rd Electrical House Left to Right |
| 051-065: | 4th Electrical House Left to Right |
| 066-077: | 5th Electrical House Left to Right |
| 078-081: | DSL Drop Box & Sound Loft Drop Box |
| 082-085: | DSR Drop Box & Light Loft Drop Box |
| 086-093: | USR Drop Box |
| 094-101: | USL Drop Box & Fly Loft Drop Box |
| 102-103: | Under Stage |
| 104-127: | 1st Truss House Right to Left |
| 128-139: | 2nd Truss House Right to Left |
| 140-151: | 3rd Truss House Right to Left |
| 152-157: | 1st Tormentor House Right |
| 158-163: | 1st Tormentor House Left |
| 164-167: | 2nd Tormentor House Right* |
| 168-170: | 2nd Tormentor House Left* |
| 171-172: | 2nd Tormentor House Right* |
| 173-175: | 2nd Tormentor House Left* |
| 176-181: | 3rd Tormentor House Right |
| 182-187: | 3rd Tormentor House Left |
| 188-189: | Balcony |
| 190-192: | House Left (Orchestra Pit) |
| 193-221: | Architectural <see unison> |
* The 2nd Torm has some "mixing" of dimmer numbers between the two sides. The order is:
House Right, top to bottom: 171 172 164 165 166 167
House Left, top to bottom: 168 169 173 174 175 170
Dimmer Plot Diagram (large PNG)
[edit] Pipe Locations
[edit] Lighting Instruments
[edit] Theatrical Fixture Inventory (current January 2008)
2 - 10 degree S4 barrels 8 - 19 degree S4 Barrels 14 - 26 degree S4 Barrels 20 - 36 degree S4 Barrels 6 - 50 degree S4 Barrels 42 - ETC Source Four instruments (8 more barrels than instruments) 1 - 20 degree Altman shakespeare (in bat signal) 5 - 30 degree Altman shakespeare 7 - 40 degree Altman shakespeare 14 - 6" Altman 65Q Fresnel 8 - 6" Selecon RAMA Fresnel 6 - 8" Altman Fresnel 8 - ETC PARnel 16 - PAR 64 15 - Altman Cyc light 2 - Altman Comet followspot 4 - 3" Fresnel (Inky) 4 - PAR 16 (Birdie) 1 - ETC Source Four revolution with Shutter and Rotating Gobo modules
Several other instruments are available in storage such as scoops, off-axial lekos and strip lights.
[edit] Lamp Types in Stock
BTN - 6" Fresnel BVT - 8" Fresnel HPL 750/115VX - Source Four Series (PARnel and S4) HPL QXL 750/77 - Source Four Revolution HX-601 - Shakespeare 1000PAR64 (FFN) - VNSP PAR 1000PAR64 (FFP) - NSP PAR 1000PAR64 (FFR) - MFL PAR 1000PAR64 (FFS) - WFL PAR ENX - Comet Spotlights
[edit] Architectural Zones (unison)
| 193: | Air Compressor | Relay |
| 194: | Basement Lights | Relay |
| 195: | House Truss 1 | Dimmer |
| 196: | House Truss 2 | Dimmer |
| 197: | House Truss 3 | Dimmer |
| 198: | House South Sconce | Dimmer |
| 199: | House North Sconce | Dimmer |
| 200: | Lobby Downlight | Dimmer |
| 201: | House Under Balcony | Dimmer |
| 202: | Lobby Wall Light | Dimmer |
| 203: | Men's Bathroom | Dimmer |
| 204: | Women's Bathroom | Dimmer |
| 205: | Stage South Fan | Relay |
| 206: | Stage North Fan | Relay |
| 207: | ---- | ---- |
| 208: | Stage HID 1 | Relay |
| 209: | Stage HID 2 | Relay |
| 210: | Stage HID 3 | Relay |
| 211: | Stage Works 1 | Relay |
| 212: | Stage Firelight | Relay |
| 213: | Stage Works 2 | Relay |
| 214: | Stage Works 3 | Relay |
| 215: | Stage Works 4 | Relay |
| 216: | Set Shop | Relay |
| 217: | House Fluorescent | Relay |
| 218: | Bat Signal | Relay |
| 219: | House Fan North | Relay |
| 220: | House Fan South | Relay |
| 221: | Lobby Fluorescent | Relay |
[edit] Unison Architectural Control
The Unison architectural system was installed to replaced the beloved "Showmode" custom architectural lighting control system. Unison was selected over Showmode for its visually pleasing panels, its digitally programmable configuration, and its widely expandable interface with the rest of the Emphasis system. While certian parts of Showmode will dearly be missed, Unison is a far more expandable and powerful interface with the architectural lighting. In the electrical closet, to the left of the three Sensor+ dimmer racks, the Unison Architectural Control Processor (CME) is the heart of the system. It stores the current configuration and communicates with the dimmer racks in response to changes in any of the buttons, faders, or panels scattered around the building. Most editing of the Unison system is done on the Emphasis computer in the light booth. However, the CME has basic programming abilities, along with some very useful diagnostic information.
<More information on the Unison system and how to program it coming (I think it deserves an article of its own) Theterg 12:31, 20 December 2007 (EST)>
[edit] Emphasis Theatrical Control
[edit] Summary of Theatrical Control
Theatrical control allows designers and operators in the lighting department able to turn lights on and off from afar (in reference to the dimmer racks). In it's most simple configuration, most theatrical control runs consist of a single run of 5-pin XLR cable that goes from the dimmer racks to the console. In this topography, the console is the only device that has a direct control over all of the lights. There are no middlemen and there is no clash between controllers.
The addition of the Emphasis and Unison systems has made our topography more complex, but with several other advantages. First of all, the Unison CME is located right next to the dimmer racks. If any architectural controls are active, then the CME needs access to the dimmers to turn lights on. The CME is wired directly to the dimmer racks through a local connection. Most importantly, however, the CME is connected to the dimmer racks with a 'Highest Takes Precedence' merging policy. If any two devices are trying to turn on a dimmer to a given level, the device with the highest level will override the one with the lowest level. In this way, if the house lights were turned off at the back of the house, the Express console would be able to set a higher level and turn them on.
The next device on the control network is the Emphasis computer itself. The Emphasis computer acts like a middleman for the Express console, and like a coordinator for any other devices on the control network. It is connected directly to the dimmer racks using Cat5 Ethernet cable. The addition of Emphasis allows us to use Ethernet instead of DMX as the primary control run, using the ETCNet2 protocol. Ethernet is significantly cheaper, easier to run, and much easier to network. With DMX, we must connect all controller devices in one long chain unless we buy a DMX splitter (which is somewhat costly) or we use extra DMX ports on the console or dimmer rack. With Ethernet and the ETCNet2 protocol we can use cheap Ethernet switches, allowing us to connect a device anywhere in the playhouse without fussing over the topography.
The next device is the ETC Express 48/96 console. Our Express has been flashed with special firmware that links it with the Emphasis system. This means that the console is not communicating directly with the dimmers! In fact the phrase we have been using to describe the way the Express works is "as a large, expensive keyboard for Emphasis." With the current Express firmware, the Emphasis server MUST be running and the Express must be able to connect to the Emphasis machine. As you press buttons on the Express, you will see the changes reflected in the WYSIWYG software. Despite the reliance on Emphasis, this allows us to move the Express anywhere in the playhouse as long as we can connect it to an Ethernet jack connected to the lighting network.
Finally, the Emphasis system also has provisions for any intelligent lighting devices. This includes any Strobes, Foggers, Color Scrollers, or Intelligent fixtures that use DMX as the sole means of communication. Here, the designer / master electrician has two options. The first option is that these devices can still be controlled over DMX if they are plugged directly into the Express console. As long as the DMX can be run into the lighting booth, it can be plugged into the Express and will be automatically merged with the rest of the channels on the network. The other option involves the use of a special ETCNet2 DMX node. This is essentially a box that has an Ethernet jack for the ETCNet2 connection, and two XLR jacks for DMX connections. Any devices plugged into the DMX ports will be controlled from the rest of the system. The exact channel numbers used with the ETCNet2 DMX node are set by the Emphasis computer. The DMX node can be programmed across the network to change the channel assignment of any devices plugged into the node.
[edit] Emphasis in Particular
The Emphasis machine is physically located in the lighting booth, mounted underneath the desk. It is a rather unassuming Dell PC, with an LCD monitor on the left side of the desk. As discussed above, the computer must be on and the Emphasis software running in order for the Express or any other Lighting console to work. The Emphasis system is broken down into several useful programs:
- The Emphasis Server The server application typically runs silently in the background. It accepts connections from Live instances of the WYSIWYG software and is in charge of all ETCNet2 traffic. It must be running for any DMX nodes to work because it is in charge of 'binding' them to the network and negotiating any conflicts. This is a Daemon application, and doesn't have much in terms of visual confirmation that it is running. As long as the 'Emphasis' user is logged into the PC, and there are no error messages on the screen to state otherwise, you can usually assume that Emphasis is running. When the computer reboots and logs back into windows, you can often see purple status messages indicating the Emphasis is starting. If anything goes wrong, a dialog box with purple text will be shown on the screen.
- WYSIWYG software This software is used for 95% of our interaction with the Emphasis system. It is a very broad piece of software ranging from basic console functions, to CAD-like modeling of the lighting plot, to impressive 3D visualizations and renders of the lighting output. Using the Emphasis tab of the software, you can access every function and feature of the Express 48/96 console. In fact, you do not need the console to be turned on to access these controls! Aside from it's emphasis integration, the WYSIWYG software is primarily used as a tool for lighting design. Once a designers plot is modeled within the software, WYSIWYG can patch the console for you and print out a number of useful cheat sheets and charts. WYSIWYG also has a direct link with the Source Four Revolution - displaying and controlling every attribute of the fixture in real time. <Another page for WYSIWYG to follow...Theterg 19:43, 24 December 2007 (EST)>
- ETCNet2 Network Configuration Editor (NCE) The Network Configuration Editor has one primary usage - to configure the ETCNet2 DMX node. This software is accessible from the administrative account of the Emphasis computer, from the start menu, under ETC. This will allow you to set the starting address of the devices plugged into the DMX node. For example, if you plugged a DMX-capable strobe light into the DMX node, the NCE software will allow you to assign that strobe to address 250, avoiding the Source Four Revolution that begins at address 513.
- Sensor+ diagnostics There is a link on the desktop of the Emphasis machine for the Sensor CEM+ diagnostic page. It provides information about all three dimmer racks from across the network, without needing to physically run down to the dimmer rack. You can view current dimmer levels, dimmer load information, ambient rack temperature, and rack input power information.
[edit] Express 48/96 Lighting Console
It has been mentioned above that the Express lighting console is "a large, expensive keyboard for Emphasis." Even though this is true, the console is seamlessly integrated into the emphasis system. Everything works as if the console were directly connected to the dimmers. The only differences are that the Emphasis server is able to interact with the console and that the show files are saved to the emphasis computer instead of on a floppy (along with a few other nuances).
The ETC Express 48/96 console is a very popular theatrical lighting desk for college and community theater. It is a powerful but yet very easy to use console. Operation can be as simple as raising one of the 96 channel faders, or as complicated as programming dynamic chasers and effects. This document will not cover the operation of this console, but anyone with any theatrical lighting experience will be at home with the Express.
[edit] Intelligent Lighting
Conventional lighting instruments are those which have only one control - intensity. They do not require any other wiring besides power. Intelligent lighting instruments are those that can be controlled in ways other than just intensity. Controllable attributes consist of light color, Gobo selection, Gobo rotation, Flash rate, Pan, and Tilt. The vast majority of intelligent lighting needs to be connected via DMX cabling to the control chain. Some ETC devices can connect directly to the ETCNet2 network for control. Others simply require another dimmed power connection. The playhouse currently owns one DMX capable strobe and one Source Four Revolution moving head fixture.
[edit] DMX Strobe
The playhouse currently owns one DMX controlled strobe light. The strobe is not controlled by the intensity of it's power input - instead it is controlled by two DMX addresses. One address controls the intensity of the strobe light, and the other controls the rate of the strobe. The two can be used together to create special effects. The strobe also has a few special effects which can be found in the manual. If the strobe is operated from the stage, it is often convenient to use the ETCNet2 DMX node plugged into the jack stage right. See above for more details on this.
<A copy of the strobe manual should be added here Theterg 21:49, 24 December 2007 (EST)>
[edit] Source Four Revolution
The Source Four Revolution is ETC's fully intelligent version of its popular Source Four instrument. It is a moving head fixture - the entirety of the fixture, except for the base, must move in order to point the light in a different direction. Moving head fixtures cannot move as quickly as other moving mirror fixtures, but have many other advantages. They can typically move far more smoothly and precisely than moving mirror fixtures, have a larger field of motion, and can be installed with a shutter module to trim the light with a greater level of precision. In fact, the Source Four Revolution is one of the few intelligent luminaries with a fully controllable 4-leaf shutter module.
<More to be added later about getting the Revolution to work with Emphasis Theterg 22:26, 24 December 2007 (EST)>
For more information, please see the users manual for the Revolution:
