Automated Lighting: The Art and Science of Moving Light in Theatre, Live Performance, Broadcast, and Entertainment

498 Pages·2006·13.3 MB·English

by  Richard Cadena

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Automated Lighting
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Automated Lighting
The Art and Science of Moving
Light in Theatre, Live
Performance, Broadcast,
and Entertainment
Richard Cadena
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON
NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cadena, Richard.
Automated lighting : the art and science of moving light in theatre, live performance, broadcast &
entertainment / Richard Cadena.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-240-80703-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-240-80703-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Stage lighting. 2. Television—Lighting. I. Title.
PN2091.E4C33 2006
778.5′343—dc22
2006009198
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 13: 978-0-240-80703-4
ISBN 10: 0-240-80703-0
For information on all Focal Press publications
visit our website at www.books.elsevier.com
06 07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in China.
This book is dedicated to Noe Cadena, an extraordinary father, husband,
little league coach, marathon runner, and engineer, who gave of his mind,
body, and spirit to provide for his family and give them every opportunity
he could. Dad, you are my inspiration.
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Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
SECTION 1: Introduction to Automated Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 1 Automated Lighting in the Global Village . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2 The Foundation of the Automated
Lighting Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
A. The Genesis of the Automated Lighting Industry . . . . . . . . . 7
B. Synchronicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
C. “If We Can Make It Change Color . . .” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
D. The Black Hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
E. For Sale: Automated Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
F. Sue Me, Sue You Blues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
G. The Future of Automated Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Chapter 3 Automated Lighting Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
A. Systems Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
B. Rigging Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Aluminum Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Theatrical Rigging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Rigging Hardware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
C. Power Distribution Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Disconnect Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Feeder Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
D istribution Panels and Portable Power Distribution
Units (PPDUs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Overcurrent Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Dimmers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
vii
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viii CONTENTS
Branch Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Worldwide Electrical Safety and Wiring Codes. . . . . . . . . . . 53
Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Wire Gauges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
D. Data Distribution Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Data Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Data Splitters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Data Amplifi ers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Data Converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Data Terminators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
A/B Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Data Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
E. Control Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Automated Lighting Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Automated Lighting Consoles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
PC-Based Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Dedicated Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Playback Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Remote Focus Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Preset Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Media Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Redundant Backup Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
F. Luminaires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Electrical Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Electronics Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Electromechanical Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Mechanical Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Optical Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Communications Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
SECTION 2: Electricity and Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Chapter 4 DC Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
A. The Flow of Electrons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
B. The Relative Size of Electrons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
C. The Electron Drift Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
D. Friction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
E. Conductive Properties of Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
F. Current Convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
G. Voltage, Current, and Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
H. Water and Electricity—Bad Mix, Good Analogy . . . . . . . . . 81
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