Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2018 - 62

The Light Lab at State
University of New York
at Fredonia. Photo
courtesy of Fredonia
Department of Theatre
and Dance.

try to get more than one type in order to
give your students the most experience
possible. Most modern lighting consoles have a free offline editor that can
be used for teaching. ETC, GrandMA,
High End, Champsis, and others all offer free software and, often for a small
fee, they will sell the capability to output
DMX from the computer which could
be used in a lab or classroom setting.
Another suggestion is to invest in a programmable keyboard such as Xkeys, for
example. The keyboard can be configured to a similar setup as the console it
emulates. Next, develop projects based
on the student's career goals. This will
help determine which software they
should use. If they want to go on a theatre tour, then they must know the ETC
Eos/Gio/Ion line of consoles and be familiar with GrandMA. If they want to
work in the concert world, then GrandMa and High End are important. Then
add or take away resources within the
software and give them the chance to
adapt.
* Teach students practical networking. Data distribution is another topic
that can be covered more in-depth in
productions. While what is taught will
depend on in-stock equipment, at minimum, all students should have a good
practical knowledge of DMX, as well as
RDM, sACN, and Art-Net. As advanced
fixtures require more and more parameters, it's challenging to set-up a production without multiple universes of
DMX. Networking is the key to getting
data where you want without running
miles of DMX cable, and students need
to understand how to set up networks.
If the budget is an issue, start small:

62 |

THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

WINTER 2018

Getting Gear

The best way to learn new gear is to use it; using new
gear will lead to learning new techniques. In education,
purchasing new equipment is often prohibitive. However,
renting gear, borrowing gear, vendor demos, and light
labs are all ways to get your hands and your students'
hands on new equipment. Plan and think long term.
When building a lab, do not be afraid to obtain one piece
at a time and use production budgets to help supplement
inventory.

Renting. In his blog post, "Are You Teaching Relevant
Lighting," Jim Hutchinson suggests renting gear as a
great way to diversify student access to equipment. If the
budget allows, rent gear your students are not used to
working with; the more diverse the gear, the better. Consider renting a different console for a senior designer or for the show a faculty member designs. It is still beneficial to rent different types of gear, even when the existing
stock is excellent. If money is tight, then rent gear for class demos or smaller projects.
Renting is common in the industry, especially on larger shows, so letting students
experience the rental process is an important skill, too. Many rental houses host open
houses, and local rental houses might be willing to set-up a console, a few movers,
and LED fixtures on a quiet day in their shop for your students to test-drive. Make
friends with your local rental houses; they are an important resource for keeping up
with changes and trends in equipment.
Borrow. Another option is to borrow or try new gear from local lighting manufacturer reps or lighting vendors. They typically can loan smaller amounts of gear for short
time periods, and this is a great way to test the latest gear. The only cost you might incur is shipping. Many vendors or manufacturers will do demos at your school; contact
their marketing/education department to see what they have to offer.
Light Lab. Light labs are another essential way to expose students to gear. Often labs
are thought of as a design tool, but they are just as valuable as a tool for teaching lighting technology. The light lab should be a place where students can experiment and
learn-but again, good projects need to be created to support active learning. Labs
can be full-sized, scaled down, or just be a box of gear with basic equipment. Practical Projects for Teaching Lighting Design: A Compendium has a couple of sections
on creating a light lab. Ideally, a lab should have at least one example of the different
types of conventional instruments, LEDs, and, if possible, possible, moving lights. If
the budget is tight, look at smaller versions of lights, like 3" Fresnels or MR16 "birdies" to use. ETC's SourceFour Mini is a great option for a lab, though the price is
higher than similar fixtures. Labs can also use cheaper gear and DJ equipment to
save money; a DJ LED PAR38 can cost from $60-$120 and DJ moving lights are
under $500. This instrument won't have all the features of its pro version, but it is a
great place to start. Likewise, consider smaller portable dimming systems and lowcost consoles or offline editors. Light labs are also a great place to put older gear
such as an old state/non-tracking console. Data distribution can be done via a cheap
network switch and at least one DMX node. For students, starting on a small network
is advantageous when learning about sACN and Art-net.

A simple one-port node and network
switch cost less than $300. This will
introduce a student to not only networking but also sACN or Art-Net. Many consoles or nodes provide the opportunity

to work with either protocol.
* Incorporate experience in non-traditional positions. Production assignments are another way to solidify skills
and help emphasize classroom lessons.

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