Table of Contents

​

Section 1: Introduction

Chapter 1           Stage Lighting in the Third Millennium

Stage lighting Technology

Wait, What Just Happened?

Chapter 2           Foundations

The Genesis of the Automated Lighting Industry

Additional Resources: Genesis ABACAB tour poster

Synchronicity

“If We Can Make It Change Color . . .”

The Black Hole

For Sale: Automated Lighting

Additional Online-Only Resources: How one manufacturer changed the automated lighting industry

Sue Me, Sue You Blues

The Future of Stage Lighting

Chapter 3           Stage Lighting Systems Overview

Systems Overview

Rigging Systems

Aluminum Structures

Theatrical Rigging

Rigging Hardware

Additional Resources: International Code of Practice for Entertainment Rigging

Power Distribution Systems

                      The Supply         

Disconnect Switch

Feeder Cable

Distribution Panels and Portable Power Distribution Units (PPDUs)

Overcurrent Protection

Dimmers

Branch Circuits or Final Circuits

Connectors

Worldwide Electrical Safety and Wiring Codes

Compliance

Additional Resources:

Secrets of Product Listing, Part 1 by Steve Terry

Secrets of Product Listing, Part 2 by Steve Terry

Wire Gauges

Data Distribution Systems

Data Cables

Data Splitters

Data Amplifiers

Gateways

Data Terminators

Ring Protection

DMX Connectors

Control Systems

Lighting Controllers

PC-Based Controllers

Dedicated Controllers

Playback Units

Remote Focus Units

Preset Stations

Media Servers

Redundant Backup and Automatic Failover Systems

Luminaires

Electrical Systems

Electronic Systems

Electromechanical Systems

Mechanical Systems

Optical Systems

Communications Systems

SECTION 2 Electricity and Electronics

Chapter 4           Circuits

Electrical Current, Voltage, Resistance, Power, and Energy

Circuits

Current Convention

Water and Electricity—Bad Mix, Good Analogy

Ohm’s Law

Practice Problems

Reactance

Impedance

DC Power

Practice Problems

Power Factor

AC Power

Apparent Power

Practice Problems

Answers to Practice Problems

Chapter 5           Electrical Planning and Preparation

Laying Out the Lighting System

Circuiting

Connectors

Chapter 6           Power Supplies

Arc Lamp Power Supplies

Switch-Mode Power Supplies

Rectification and Filtering

Pulse-Width Modulation

Voltage Transformation

Transformer Taps

High Frequency Filtering

Feedback

Power Factor

Pros and Cons of SMPSs

Magnetic Ballast Power Supplies

LED Drivers

LED Connections

Lamp Control

EMI Filtering

Lamp Cutoff Switch

Chapter 7           Overcurrent, Overvoltage, and Overtemperature Protection

Electric Fuses

Fuse Ratings

Voltage Rating

Speed of Operation

Temperature Sensing and Thermal Protection

Surge Suppression

Voltage Clamping Devices

Chapter 8           Digital Electronics

Binary Numbering

Practice Problems

Offsets

DIP-Switch Conventions

Practice Problems

Hexadecimal Numbers

Practice Problems

Digital Electronics

The First Computer Bug

Electronic Switching

Data Transmission

Chapter 9           Digital Hardware and Software

The Central Processing Unit

Memory

Firmware

Firmware Updates

Section 3    Electro-Mechanical and Mechanical Systems

Chapter 10         Electro-Mechanical Systems

Stepper Motors

Hybrid Stepper Motors

Single Phase Excitation Mode

Dual-Phase Excitation Mode

Half Step Excitation

Microstepping

Resonance

Additional Resources: Stepping in the Right Direction

Stepper Motor Control Systems

Position Sensing and Encoding

Mechanical Stops

Optical Sensing

Hall Effect Sensors

Position Encoding

Quadrature Encoding

Absolute Encoding

Chapter 11         Mechanical Systems

Materials

Aluminum

Stainless Steel

Plastics

Glass

Fused Quartz

Optical glass

Metal Finishes

Fasteners

Thread Standards

Preventing Vibrational Loosening

Gears

Belts

Section 4    Optical Systems

Chapter 12         Light Sources

 The Visible Spectrum

Color Temperature

Green/Magenta Balance

Color Rendering

Color Quality Scale

TM-30

Luminous Efficacy

Lumen Depreciation

Lamp Life Ratings

LEDs

LED Operation

Color LEDs

White Light LEDs

Multi-Color LEDs

LED Light Engines

LED Binning

Gas Arc Lamps

Arc Lamp Anatomy

Starting an arc Lamp

Hot Restrike Lamps

The Effects of Lamp Strikes

Testing Arc Lamps

Arc Lamp Spectral Distribution

Arc Lamp Hazards

Proper Disposal of Arc Lamps

Mercury Spills

Incandescent Lamps

Incandescence

Gas Fill

Halogen Lamps

Dimming Incandescent Lamps

Lamp Handling Precautions

Lamp Cooling

Heat Sinks

Fans

Active Cooling

Chapter 13         The Optical Path

Specular Reflection

LED Primary Optics

Conventional Reflector Geometry

Parabolic Reflectors

Elliptical Reflectors

Spherical Reflectors

Reflector Materials

Ultraviolet and Infrared Filters

Optical Thin-Film Filters

The Deposition Process

Thin-Film Interference

Filter Types

Color Wheels

Subtractive Color Mixing

Additive Color Mixing

Color Temperature Correction

Gobos

Metal Gobos

Glass Gobos

Diffusion

Iris

Animation Effects

Beam Shapers

Framing Shutters

Effects

Secondary Lenses

Spherical Aberrations

Chromatic Aberration

Anti-Reflective Coatings

First Surface Mirrors

Section 5    Communications

Chapter 14         DMX

The DMX Physical Layer

The Transceiver

Additional Resources: Fractional-Load Transceivers

Data Cable

DMX Over CAT 5

DMX Connectors

Building a DMX Data Network

Data Termination

Self-Terminating Fixtures

Wireless DMX

DMX512-A Data Protocol

Bidirectional Communication

Chapter 15         Remote Device Management (RDM)

RDM Overview

The RDM Physical Layer

RDM Discovery

RDM Get and Set Commands

Practical RDM

Chapter 16         Ethernet-Based Lighting Control

Ethernet

Types of Ethernet

Ethernet Cabling

Transmission Distances

Network Switches

IP Addresses

Routable Versus Non-Routable IP Addresses

Subnet Masks

DHCP

Additional Resources: Finding a Missing Gateway on a Network

Additional Resources: Missing Gateway Part 2

Art-Net

Streaming ACN (sACN)

DMX Universe Capability

Troubleshooting Ethernet-Based Protocols

Section 6    Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Repair

Chapter 17         Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Repair

Precautions and Hazards

Shock Protection

Eye and Skin Protection

Common Sources of Failure: Heat, Shock, Age

Fixture Test

Error Logs

Lamp Replacement and Alignment

Calibration

Updating Software

Preventive Maintenance

Visual Inspection

Internal Cleaning

Cleaning Fans and Filters

Cleaning the Optics

Housekeeping

Lubrication

Spare Parts

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting Procedures

Fixture Won’t Power Up

Fixture Won’t Respond to DMX Control Signal

Fixture Won’t Respond to Ethernet-based Control Signal (Art-Net or sACN)

Lamp Won’t Strike

General Troubleshooting Procedures

Common Failures

Printed Circuits Boards

Motor Drive Chips

Power Supplies

Power Factor Correction Capacitors

Fasteners

Sensors

Section 7    Lighting Console Setup and Programming

Chapter 18         Lighting Console and FOH Setup

Power Requirements

Uninterruptable Power Supplies

Physical Configuration

Console Configuration Settings

Setting Up a DMX System

Setting Up the Network

Configuring the Console

Setting Up an Ethernet Network

Testing the Network

Setting Up a Console for Art-Net Output

Port-Address

Casting

Setting Up a Console to Output sACN

Port Monitoring

Backup and Tracking

MIDI and MSC

BONUS (Not in the book!): Open Sound Control

Timecode

Chapter 19         Lighting Console Programming

Important Concepts

DMX Universes

Tracking Versus Preset

Move Fade Versus State

Precedence

Priority and Assert

User Input

Syntax

The Programmer

Looks, Scenes, and Cues

Basic Programming

Patch the fixtures

Create fixture groups

Create presets and palettes

Record cues

Play back cues

Highlight

Timing

Fade Time or Crossfade Time

Fade In Time

Fade Out Time

Wait Time

Delay Time

Follow-on Time

Part Cues

Point Cues

Blocking Cues

Mark Cues

Storing Specific Parameters or Fixtures

Backing Up

Pre-visualization and Off-Line Editing

Program Blocking

Pre-show Preparation

Rig Check

Busking

Perfecting the Craft

Chapter 20         Lighting Design Software

CAD

CAD Workflow

File Formats

CAD Libraries

Data and Attributes

Instrument type

Power consumption in watts

Purpose

Position

Unit number

Color

Dimmer

Channel

DMX universe

DMX address

Circuit number

Circuit name

Number of channels

Frame size

Field angles

Beam angles

Luminous Flux

Center beam luminous intensity

Weight

Accessories

Protocol

DMX Mode or Personality

IP address

Subnet mask

Art-Net net

Art-Net subnet

Lighting Paperwork

Fixture or instrument schedules

Panel schedules

Dimmer schedules

Shop order

Software Applications

Rendering

Off-line Editors

Visualization

Fly-Throughs

Workflow

Section 8    Convergence of Lighting and Video

Chapter 21         Media Servers and Pixel Mapping

Media Server Hardware

Layers

Content Library

Resolution of Media

File Formats and Codecs

Codecs

Scaling

Frame Rate

Interlacing

Aspect Ratio

Bitrate

Parameters

File Folder

File Selection

Play

In Point, Out Point

Playback Speed

Rotate (X, Y, Z)

Position (X, Y, Z)

Intensity

Opacity

Crossfade

Blend

Color (hue, saturation, contrast)

Crop

Mask

Tiling

Audio

Strobe

Edge Blending

Keystone

Pixel Mapping

CITP

Off-Line Editors