The Moving Light Company Introduces the Next Generation of Lighting Technology to the Next Generation of Theatre Technicians

Bryan Raven and Dave Isherwood from the Moving Light Company, together with freelance moving light programmer Rob Halliday, recently went 'back to school' - spending two days at LAMDA, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

The purpose of their visit was to introduce LAMDA's first-year technical theatre students to the latest developments in automated lighting and lighting control systems. Bryan Raven spent the first session introducing the concept of automated lighting equipment and presenting a short history of this type of equipment. He then moved on to introduce the various products that are now available and the different features that they contain.

This was followed by a hands-on session, where the students could play with the lanterns and a variety of control systems. The lanterns on show covered much of the range currently available from The Moving Light Company: Martin PAL1200 and Clay Paky GoldenScan 3 moving mirror lights, Martin MAC500 moving head spotlights, and Martin MAC600, High End StudioColor and Strand Pirouette PC wash lights. A Source 4 topped with a Morpheus ColorFader colour-mixing colour changer was also on show, to demonstrate that colour mixing technology is not limited to moving lights. Vari*Lite Europe supplied VL5 washlights and VL6 spotlights to round out the range of products on show.

To control these lanterns, the students used the Flying Pig WholeHog II console connected to the WYSIWYG visualisation software, and Strand Lighting's 520 console with Tracker moving light software. LAMDA's MacOwan Theatre has already purchased a Strand 520 console with Tracker as their main lighting control system, ensuring that they are ready for the next generation of lighting rigs.

On the second day, Rob Halliday spoke about the use of this new technology in real productions - how it changes the way a designer approaches lighting a show, how it places different demands on the crew who have to rig and maintain the equipment, yet how - in the end - it offers new creative opportunities. The talk was based around examples from productions such as "Martin Guerre," "Jesus Christ Superstar" and the "Les Miserables" UK tour, all of which have lighting rigs supplied by White Light and The Moving Light Company.

The two days proved extremely popular with the students, all of whom will see this kind of technology become standard equipment during their careers - and who are looking forward to trying it out 'for real' on their forthcoming production of the musical "Hair"!

Other colleges who want to learn more about automated lighting should contact Bryan Raven at White Light on 020 7731 3291.


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