7

Programming Genres

Automated lighting programming can be applied to many different types of productions. From theatre to concerts to permanent installations, the variety of genres available is practically endless. One of the greatest joys for an automated lighting programmer is knowing that every production is different. Just as each production presents unique challenges, there are exclusive programming concepts and techniques applied to each. Many of these ideas can crossover between production types, thus making all equally important to an automated lighting programmer, no matter the production type he or she is involved with.

Structured and Corporate Theatre

The very roots of any live performance lie in the theatre. Since before early Roman periods, man has been performing in various venues. The popular theatre, as we know it today, evolved over thousands of years with various lighting methods. Modern theatrical productions often incorporate automated lighting technology into the lighting design. In addition, many corporate events (business meetings, sales promotions, etc.) follow a similar theatrical structure. Automated lighting programming for the theatre requires special procedures to ensure a highly repeatable production (Figure 7.1).

Figure 7.1 Structured and Corporate Theatre Productions Have Unique Requirements

Organization

The very nature of a play or musical requires a structured list of lighting cues. Because there are usually many performances, every element of the show requires perfectly repeatable execution. Usually the rehearsal and preproduction periods for theatrical productions are much longer than other types of productions. During this time all departments involved will perfect and hone their contributions to the production. For the automated lighting programmer, this can be a very tedious time. A scene may have only one establishing lighting cue, then after forty minutes of acting, a blackout at the end. The scene might be rehearsed for days on end without making any changes to the lighting look. The programmer must endure the rehearsal process, yet be ready to make any changes as soon as needed.

The cue to cue organization requires the programmer to maintain order while also ensuring efficient playback. Mark and block cues are essential to an automated lighting programmer working on a theatrical production. Good organizational skills and descriptive labeling of cues, palettes, etc. aid the programmer’s effectiveness. At any given moment the LD might request “a washlight pointing stage right in deep blue.” The programmer must be aware of fixtures currently in use and/or preparing for use (marked). Only then can the programmer make an educated decision as to which fixture to add to the cue. Once adding the fixture to the current cue, the programmer may need to look back and mark the fixture prior to its use. In addition, the fixture will need to be added to any blackout cue for the scene. Usually the LD will simply make the request to add the fixture to the cue and it will then be up to the programmer to automatically build the mark, block, and blackout cues. A good programmer will accomplish these tasks without the LD ever needing to make a request to do so.

Conventionals

Theatrical lighting usually includes both conventional and automated programming. Some productions will use a specific console for each type of lighting while others will control all lighting from one console. If both conventional and automated lighting will be programmed on one desk, then the automated lighting programmer needs to prepare for conventional programming. Quite often an LD will spend great lengths of time adjusting the intensity values for conventional lights. The programmer should be prepared to adjust levels quickly and easily. Groups, palettes, and quick intensity functions become essential tools for the programmer. Many designers also find it useful for the programmer to repeat tasks to them as they happen. This way the LD can keep their eyes on the stage looking for the level changes. For instance, when asked to bring a conventional channel down 10%, a good programmer will do so quickly and respond by stating the new value. For example, he or she might say “at 60.” Then the LD will have a reference to the value and can make another requested change if needed. With the next change the programmer will again state the new value (“at 50”). While this small function can be very helpful to many LDs, it can also be an annoyance to others. Be sure to consult with your LD prior to calling out all level changes. After programming several productions, many programmers find repeating intensity level changes, color or position palette names, and other functions to the LD become habit. Luckily, many designers appreciate this automatic feedback given to them by their programmer.

Dual Consoles

When adding automated lights to a theatrical production, numerous designers choose to have a desk for each type of lighting (conventional and automated). This allows for multitasking as both programmers can be working on different elements of the same cue simultaneously. In this scenario both programmers must ensure they use the same cue numbers and structure. For example, “lighting cue 28” should reference the same point in the show on both consoles. If the conventional desk has a cue 30 and there is no need for a cue on the automated desk, a blank cue should be inserted to maintain uniformity between the two consoles. This will guarantee a consistent cue structure for the production. The LD or stage manager will then be able to call “go cue 30” and both console operators can trigger a cue (without having to check for its existence first).

Some productions will require two different consoles for programming and then utilize only one operator for playback. With two consoles in use during programming, cue creation occurs much faster. The conventional programmer can slowly adjust levels with an LD, while the automated lighting programmer is busy building a complex chase for the same cue. Once the show is programmed and rehearsals are complete, two console operators may not be desired. There are several choices to combine the playback capabilities, allowing one person operation. The first is to have one console trigger the other via MIDI or MIDI Show Control (or other triggering methods). The operator will then simply playback cues from one desk, which will in turn send matching triggering information to the second desk. If both desks are programmed with an identical cueing configuration, then all cues should remain perfectly synchronized.

Another method for reducing the number of consoles required for playback is to capture the data from the conventional console into the automated lighting console. Many sophisticated lighting consoles have the ability to capture and record DMX values. After both consoles are fully programmed, the DMX values output by the conventional desk will be recorded into the automated lighting console on a cue by cue basis. Only DMX values are recorded, so the automated lighting programmer will have to reprogram any timing information. Once all the cues are captured and recorded into the automated lighting console, all playback and future editing will take place from this desk.

Prepared Theatrics

Automated lighting programming for theatrical productions is as fulfilling and challenging as any other genre of lighting. Many times fixtures are used simply as repositionable lighting fixtures and the audience may never realize the automation features. Other production will make full use of obvious fixture movements and output changes. Regardless of the uses, the most common element of theatrical type productions is a structured cueing method.

Concert Tours

Concert tours are a driving force of the automated lighting industry. Almost every musical concert of any genre employs the use of automated lights to enhance the production and save time. There are many techniques used when programming concert tours that are unique to this type of production. An automated lighting programmer must be aware of these requirements when programming for any concert tour (Figure 7.2).

It Is All About the Music

The very first thing you must do, as a programmer of a musical concert, is to listen to the music. Then listen to it again. Keep listening to it until every beat, every change, and every nuance (no matter how subtle) is ingrained in your mind. With a good understanding of the music, you will be prepared to understand the goals and desires of the LD. Usually the LD will have discussed his concepts with the artist(s) prior to your programming session. Listen to the LD’s ideas and then try to apply them to the music. You must always remember that in most cases the concert is about the music and not a light show. The lighting is there to enhance the overall production, not to override it. After all, the crowd paid money to hear the artist, not watch your lighting programming.

Before You Program

The first thing you need to consider when preparing to program for a concert is who will be operating the console. Sometimes you will not only program the show, but you will also tour with it, operating the desk at every performance. However, if you are hired to simply program the desk and leave it for the LD or another person to take on the road, then there are many special considerations you must make.

When programming a show for another person to operate, you must be very conscious of your organization and labeling. If you label all the cues with strange acronyms that only you understand, how will someone else be able to take over for playback?

Prior to actual building of cues for your concert, you will need to setup palettes (sometimes called presets or memories) in the desk. These are references to quickly select common positions, colors, etc. to be used when programming. In addition, if your cues refer to the palette instead of actual values, then you can update the palette values and the cues will simultaneously update with the new parameter information. Touring shows survive on position palettes. Each day the lighting rig may not be hung in the exact same position, height, and offset from the stage. The operator of the desk must spend a good portion of the preperformance time refocusing each light to the correct position for that day’s configuration. For example, if the front truss is one foot higher and two feet further offstage than in the rehearsal space, then all the positions the fixtures point to will be incorrect. However, by simply updating all the position palettes with the correct values for the new configuration, the cues will playback as they were programmed.

When setting up your position palettes, you do not want to make hundreds of positions. Doing so will only result in more work on-site each day. Most concert tours arrive at a venue early in the morning and build the lighting rig and stage. By the time everything is operational, it is usually midafternoon. The operator may have only a few hours to refocus all the fixtures’ position palettes. Care must be taken during programming to minimize the number of palettes, while allowing for a multitude of looks throughout the show. As you are programming the show, you must always take into consideration the daily setup time of a tour.

Cue Building

When you and the LD sit down to begin programming the first song, you will probably listen to several versions of the song. Oftentimes musicians play music differently live than on their CD. If you program to a studio mixed CD and time your chases and transitions to match the tempo, don’t be surprised when the live version is different.

Just as each musician is different, so are LDs. Sometimes you will build a very structured show with a cuelist (sequence or stack) for each song. Other LDs prefer to have a layout of buttons and faders, where they can “create” lighting looks as the band plays. Depending on the type of music and the LD’s preferences, you will often program concert tours in different ways. As stated earlier, it is important to know whom the operator will be and set up the console accordingly. Remember, there are no rules and anything goes.

Standard Operating Procedure

Of course, there is no one method for programming a concert tour; however, there are some common procedures that are often used. Generally an artist will change the set list on various nights of the tour. The band does not always want to play the same songs. Hopefully, you have programmed cues for all the songs you think they will ever play. Then when you are informed each night of the songs to be played, you can simply reorganize your show to accommodate that evening’s selection. The order of the songs each night is usually called a “set-list.” The set-list will have the song names and breaks or encores listed. This does not mean the band will actually follow the list, but it gives you an idea of what they plan to play at that performance.

Most automated lighting consoles have a function known as pages. Each page will contain a certain number of playbacks with specific cues loaded into buttons on the console. Programmers will organize a concert by using one page per song. For example, page one might be for “Silent Night” and page two for “Deck the Halls.” If the artist has 28 songs in their repertoire, then you will need to have a page for each song. On each page, you will have cues, presets, chases, etc. that you created specifically for that song. As the band changes from one song to the next, you simply change the page on the console to prepare for each new song. The console will usually have a method to reorder the pages so you can match the set-list for each performance. In this way you can quickly organize the programming in the desk to match the artist’s decision for the set-list.

Every Concert Is Different

There are no hard fast rules about programming automated lights for concert tours. The great fun is that they are all different. Due to requirements of the show, the LD, and the artist(s), every tour is completely different. There is no magic formula for creating the perfectly programmed show, but with some consistency you can make the process simple.

Television Events

Many television productions utilize automated lighting to create bold movements or color chases. Other programs simply use the technology as remotely, refocusable lighting sources. Award shows, game shows, and musical variety acts commonly benefit from an automated lighting rig. In each of these situations, the lighting designer must make special considerations for the cameras. When working as a lighting programmer for television events, it is essential that these unique requirements are taken into consideration with every button press on the console (Figure 7.3).

The Cameras Are Your Eyes

The significance of the camera’s point of view to the lighting programmer cannot be overstated. The most important thing to remember when programming for a television show is that the picture on the screen is the ultimate purpose of the show. You must not lose sight of this goal when helping to create perfect television pictures. One of the most common questions about television lighting is: “Do you worry about how it appears to the live audience?” Generally the answer is no, because the live audience for a television event basically becomes another element of the set. Again, the goal is to create a television show for all the (potentially) millions of viewers, and not a live event for the local audience. Everything must be considered based on how it looks on television. This can create some problems for the programmer, but can also open up some unique possibilities.

In order to know exactly how the event will look on screen, the programmer will require a program monitor. A program monitor will allow him to see exactly what the viewing audience will see (called the line cut). In addition, the programmer commonly will have a second monitor with a video switcher. The switcher will allow the programmer to view any of the camera shots at any time (regardless of what is on the line cut). By selecting between the camera shots, the lighting programmer will be able to check each shot before the video director changes to one on the line cut. When building positions, colors, cues, etc. the programmer needs to watch the monitors to determine how the lighting appears on camera. For instance, all the upstage lights fanned out to the audience position may look great from FOH, but then not even show on camera. If the cameras don’t shoot it, then it does not exist. Generally when sitting at FOH programming for a television event, programmers spend 90% of their time looking at their television monitors. Many programmers become so focused on the screen that they forget they are actually sitting at the event they are watching on their monitors.

Adjusting for the Camera

Television cameras respond to lighting much differently than the human eye. Intensity levels, colors, angles, etc. all need to be considered from the camera’s point of view. The human eye is very forgiving when it comes to different lighting intensities; it has an amazing ability to balance high and low light levels. Unfortunately, television cameras do not have the same abilities. The LD will want to balance all levels so the overall onscreen picture is correct. I will not get into the design aspect here as I am writing about programming, but it is important to understand some television lighting basics. The more you can understand the designer’s intended picture quality, the better you can help create the overall look of the show in a quick and efficient manner. By watching the monitors at all times you can determine what lighting elements are in the camera shots and how the lighting will affect them. For example, if you have a nice gobo wash on the backdrop it might look great in the wide shot. However, when the video director cuts to a close up, the background of the image might overpower the followspot intensity on the performer. You may find that setting the intensity of the gobo wash to 50% will work well in both the wide and close-up shots. By anticipating these types of things, the initial programming will require much less adjustment when viewed on camera.

The lighting designer will be concerned with the aesthetic appearance of the background of the camera shots. The programmer must also take this into consideration when building looks. Again imagine a gobo wash on the backdrop. In the wide shot it might appear as the best gobo wash that was ever created, but in the close-up shot there is nothing visible in the background. You might have to move some fixture positions around to ensure the background of the close-up is perfect (without destroying the look of the overall wash). When lighting set pieces, care should be taken not to waste time lighting pieces that will never be shown (or lighting them from the wrong angle). Television crews have some amazing technology in their bag of tricks. They often use jibs (a camera mounted on a crane) and Steadicams (a camera mounted to a human). These types of cameras will shoot from angles you never thought of. By paying attention to what the video director decides to shoot in rehearsal, you can determine what needs to be lit.

Colors and Their Temperature

Television cameras must be balanced to a specific color temperature. This setting will determine exactly how colored lighting will appear on camera. Most automated lighting fixtures use lamps with a high color temperature around 6500˚K. Usually, but not always, television shows are balanced to a low color temperature around 3200˚K. This will result in colored lights appearing different on camera than to the eye. An open white fixture will be blue on camera. In addition, all other colors will have a bluish tint. Pure magenta takes on a purple color when viewed on screen. Understanding these differences and taking them into account when building palettes and cues is essential for good television lighting. Also, you must be constantly thinking in terms of the television colors and not the eye colors. For example, if the LD asks for a pale lavender wash, you would actually bring a light pink color into the fixtures (on camera, however, it will look lavender). Over time you should be able to predict how certain colors will appear on camera and build palettes and cues before your monitors arrive.

The Magic of Television

As I have stated, you must consider what the camera sees when programming automated lighting for television productions. Because the camera’s view is the main perspective for everything you do, this can present new advantages versus programming for the live audience. Remember, if the camera does not see it, then it does not exist. You can actually use this unique television feature to your benefit. For example, I was programming a televised ice skating competition and did not know the order of the skaters’ routines. I had built cues for each, but did not have clean transitions from one skater’s end look to the next one’s beginning cue. At the end of each routine, the video director would cut from a shot of the ice to a close up of the skater receiving their score. As soon as I saw this change on my line-cut monitor, I would change the lighting look on the ice. Then after the skater received his marks, the video director changed the shot back to a nice new look on the ice. The cameras did not pick up the “messy” transition from one ice look to another, although the live audience did see it. Often during awards shows the stage lighting will change while the cameras are on the presenters.

The Magic Box

Television is a unique medium that presents unique challenges to an automated lighting programmer. It is often very difficult for a programmer who works primarily with live events to switch over to television programming. Training yourself to focus your attention on the monitor and not the stage can be difficult. Just remember that the most important view is that of the camera.

Music Festivals and On-Offs

So you have been hired to program for a 3-day music festival. What do you do? If it is like most festivals, you will be given a plot and very little other information (Figure 7.4).

The first thing to do is to gather as much information as you can. Oftentimes this might mean going to the website for the event to see what acts will be on your stage. Now try to listen to some music from each of the bands to get a good understanding of what you are up against. I have seen some shows that will go from a DJ, to rap, to rock, to top-40, and then to hip-hop. You need to be prepared for anything.

Organize Your Data

Most festivals are so big that many of the details we are looking for to do our job are just not available. So you might be given a plot (you might even be designing the rig), but usually there is very little organization. The first concern you should have is your programming time. Consider yourself lucky if you get more than one night to preprogram for all 22 acts! So your first priority should be to try to gain as much programming time as possible. The best way to do this is to organize your needs and see they are taken care of at load in. If you take the time before the show to build the patch and create a plot showing all the addresses, universes, placement notes, etc. then you can shave a few hours off the load in time. I will usually take the plot I am sent and add in all the information I feel will be needed and send it back to the crew chief. In addition, I will bring 6–7 copies with me and have them ready to hand out to any crew member who might need it.

Ask for FOH power as soon as possible. This way while they are building the rig, you can make yourself busy by building your new home. Set up the consoles, monitors, UPS, etc. As soon as fixtures have power and data you want to be ready to test that everything is working correctly. Try to prepare as much of your show file as you can prior to the event. I am not talking about using visualization to preprogram the entire show (unless they are paying for your preprogramming time), but patching a show and building some groups and palettes on an offline editor should only take an hour or two. If you arrive on site with this little bit of work complete, then you can start programming as soon as the rig is ready.

Programming

Even if the rig is not complete, begin programming as soon as you can on site. Make the most of this time and program with what fixtures you do have. If you wait until the rig is 100%, then you will have very little programming time. Generally you will know little to nothing about the bands and their set lists, so you need to be prepared for anything. Try to program a page or two of looks that will allow you to deal with most situations. For example, you will need a few different stage washes, color bumps, audience looks, etc. Do not spend lots of time programming very complex effects and chases. You will find that while they might look great, it is very hard to work these types of things into varied musical acts on the fly. Instead, you might want to build things you can trigger manually so that they can work with any tempo.

One Approach

Every programmer will layout their console differently, but here is a general idea of how I do it for these situations. I will have about 8 bump buttons of color bumps, usually different colors for each fixture type stored in one button. Next I will have shutter controls where I can blackout fixtures by type. Then some ballyhoos and flyouts by type, and strobe chases by fixture type. Another 8 to 10 playbacks will be devoted to what I call “rock looks.” These are big stage looks using all fixtures. When a song begins, I can play a rock look while blacking out the hard edge fixtures. Then for the chorus I can switch to blacking out the wash fixtures and see only the hard edge. On a downbeat I can switch back to the wash lights, with a different color while flying out to the audience, then restore to the hard edge in yet another color. This entire time I am playing from the one “rock look” but modifying it live and to the beat via my bump buttons. This simple approach allows me to keep the show fresh and vibrant throughout the different acts.

My approach does not allow me much time to rest during the show. I have seen operators who like to press one or two buttons during a song and not make many changes on stage. Touring productions can take the time to program a show so that a single GO button can be pressed at key moments, but with a festival gig this is usually not possible. Some slower songs might allow me a moment or two to have a drink, but generally my fingers are flying as long as the band is playing. The reasoning for my method is because with no rehearsals, there is no way to synchronize the lights to the beat, unless you play along live. In addition, this provides the best light show as it continually works with the music on stage.

Visiting LDs

Sometimes a band will arrive with their own LD, which can lead to three different scenarios. In some cases the LD will arrive the day before and ask to spend a few hours after the gates close to program his specific cues (he will probably use your positions and groups). Other LDs will get on the headset to call followspots and call cues to you, with you using whatever you have in the desk. This is where you will need common washes, colors, strobes, etc. In the final scenario, the LD will simply walk up to your desk and run it using whatever you make available. Then you can just sit back and watch the magic of someone else running your cues.

Fun for All

Festival gigs can be tremendous fun and lots of work. They give you a chance to work with many acts and varied musical types in a short amount of time. These productions can be a great place for creative experimentation and programming experience. Remember to keep it simple and have fun and you will get through all the acts with no problem.

Architectural Installations

Automated lighting is often not only used on stages and in studios, but also for permanent architectural installations. Exteriors of buildings, bridges, monuments, retail store interiors, movie theatre lobbies, and even private homes are often enhanced through the use of automated lighting. Most lighting manufacturers have answered this demand by creating fixtures and consoles specifically for this market. Just as many of the fixtures are unique, the programming of an architectural installation requires special techniques and procedures not commonly used in other programming applications (Figure 7.5).

Where is FOH?

The placement of the lighting console for programming purposes is an extremely important decision. You will need a vantage point where you can see the majority of your lighting surface. In fact, you might require multiple programming positions. For example, if you are lighting a building on all four sides, you might need four programming positions. Each of these positions will need a specific setback distance that allows a wide view of the building. Power and data will need to be accessed at each of these locations, as well as a form of communication with your technical crew. Programming a large surface may require that your FOH position is hundreds or thousands of feet away. Modern lighting consoles can use fiber-optic or wireless communications to allow control from virtually anywhere.

Look at the Time

The majority of permanent architectural lighting installations run in a stand-alone mode. The console is usually programmed so the fixtures turn on and off at a preset time. In addition, cues may need to be triggered at specific times and/or dates. All this programming will usually fall to the automated lighting programmer. Most consoles have a clock allowing for cue triggers at specific times of day or days of week. Some desks also include an astronomical clock function. When you input the location of the installation via latitude and longitude, the console will calculate individual sunrise and sunset times for every single day. These calculations are very useful as they can be used with or without an offset to trigger lighting events.

In addition to programming the lighting cues, you might need to enter additional data to turn the fixtures on or off. Most fixtures have a control channel that allows for shutdown and startup of the fixture. If you build a cue to shutdown the fixtures at 5 A.M. and another cue to start them up at 6 P.M., then you can use clock triggers to automate the fixture usage. Sometimes the lighting installer will simply use a timer to enable or disable power to the lighting fixtures at a specific time. You will need to be aware of this as it might affect your programming period. There is nothing worse that programming all night long only to have power disabled to the fixtures at 4 A.M. (just when you are nearly finished).

User Interactions

Many architectural installations will simply run as programmed and require no interaction from the users. This is a good thing as there is usually not a lighting professional on staff at the location. Many times the automated lighting is looked at by the staff no differently than the parking lot or interior lights. However, even if no user interaction is expected, you should plan accordingly. First (if you are able to), lock the console functions with a password. Make backups of the show file and store them on the controller’s hard drive, or at some location near the controller. This way if something goes wrong, you can point someone to a backup copy of the show file(s). In addition, you might create manually triggered functions to override the normal operation of the lighting show. For example, there might be a need to turn fixtures on or off other than during the scheduled hours. Additionally, the staff might want to override lighting looks on specific holidays (for example, red for Valentine’s Day). If you have the time, it does not hurt to add these additional cue options into the programming.

More complex installations may interact with additional show control computers. These systems will trigger the lighting console (via MIDI or SMPTE, etc.) as needed. You will need to coordinate with the show control specialist to determine what type of interaction is needed.

Maintenance

As stated earlier, most architectural lighting installations generally do not have specialized lighting personnel on staff. This can be very frustrating when you return to the installation at a later date to find fixtures with burned out lamps or broken electronics. While there is little you can do to resolve hardware problems, you should try to minimize problems due to programming. For instance, if you created cues to strike and shutdown the lamps of the fixtures, you should confirm they are working correctly. No one might notice if the fixtures are burning their lamps all day, but this will reduce the lamp life of the fixtures and possibly cause overheating problems. Before completing your lighting programming, you should verify that your cueing is working as expected. In addition you might put in a secondary shutdown or startup command (10 minutes after the first), just in case something goes wrong.

Because these installations are usually not supervised by lighting professionals in the same manner as a normal production, you should program in additional safeguards. For example, you could find a moment halfway through the evening to send a reset command to the fixtures. This can help to ensure all fixtures are properly calibrated and working correctly. Instead of resetting them all at the same time, you might do it in three groups of fixtures to minimize the distraction. Small details such as this can greatly improve the overall life span of an architectural installation.

Permanent Joys

Sometimes architectural installations can be frustrating to program due to harsh conditions (programming lighting for a bridge spanning icy waters during the winter), or strange hours (entering a shopping mall as everyone else is leaving). However, these installations offer a huge reward that is often not available with other types of productions: longevity. An installation will often remain active for many years and be seen by millions of people. It is very satisfying to return after five years to an installation and see your programming still in action.