Automated Fixtures Brandon Anderson Jan 16, 2006

Premise What is an automated fixture? –Any fixture whose focus can be controlled from a DMX controller. –Usually contain extra features such as color wheels, gobo wheels, litho wheels, etc. What makes them different? –Most use HID lamp (higher color temperature) –Contain their own mechanical dimmers (dousers) –One fixture may be able to replace several conventional fixtures.

Common Features Pan and Tilt adjustment Color wheel with saturated colors as well as CTO (color corrector) to match tungsten sources Gobo wheel with multiple gobos and sometimes dichroic lithos Gobo rotator built into gobo wheel CMY color mixing using douser-like dichroic flags Zoom and focus adjustment FX wheel may include pebble, frost, or other optical distortion glass Colors, gobos, and FX are replaceable and customizable Controlled via DMX 512 console

Classes of Automated Fixtures Moving Head Flood –Emphasis on color mixing –Some control of beam spread Moving Head Spot –Emphasis on pattern projection, even beam –360 deg rotation (pan), over 180 deg tilt Moving Mirror Spot –Emphasis on pattern projection, speed –Fast, but narrow range of movement Accessories –Moving mirror, color scrollers, etc.

Moving Head Floods Optimized for use as color changing wash lights May have fresnel lens and allow for beam width control similar to a fresnel Most have CMY (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow) color mixing May have frost and additional color wheel Built in douser for dimming

Moving Head Spots Wide range of motion Heavy head means slow movement and high maintenance Difficult to control due to non-axial pan (pan will rotate in a circular motion) Versatile positioning (can sit on floor or hang) Impressive looking, good for on-stage effects Plano-convex or condenser versions common

Moving Mirror Spots Restricted range of movement (180 pan, 90 tilt) Large and bulky body Designed primarily to be hung Handle fast changes easily Low maintenance due to limited weight of mirror Long, may not fit well some spaces Nicknamed “scanners” Easy to control

Controlling Automated Fixtures Dedicated Controller –Designed for that instrument –One controller per light (or type of light) Conventional DMX console –Allows integration with conventional fixtures –Cumbersome, hard to learn Automated Lighting console –Designed to handle many lights at once –Easy controls

Dedicated Controllers LCD / LED controllers –Joystick for pan/tilt –Buttons for each function –Some can control more than one light –Cumbersome when controlling many lights –Limited playback functionality –Good to learn on, but poor to program shows on

Conventional DMX consoles Convenient when may conventional fixtures to be controlled and few automated fixtures, but… Hard to program: –Pan and Tilt expressed as value –Functions expressd as banks (gobo 1 may be 0-30) –Control commands require complex sequence of steps (light off, control to full, light on, control to X, light off…) –Speed changes require extra steps between look cues –Hard to keep track of all of those addresses ( = Cyber 1, 125…) –No Joystick or trackball control for pan and tilt makes positioning difficult –Limited definition controls (console uses percent instead of )

Automated Lighting Consoles Created to make programming and running shows with many automated fixtures easier Joystick or trackball for pan and tilt control Instruments controlled by type and function instead of address Library allows functions to be controlled by name (Color 1: Yellow) Hundreds of fixtures can be controlled from one console (using multiple DMX universes) Midi sequencing allows timecode sync with music or other midi devices (eg pyro) Multiple simultaneous playback cuelists allow for recycling looks in different combinations