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A lighting control console (also called a lightboard, lighting board, or lighting desk) is an electronic device used in theatrical lighting design to control multiple stage lighting at once. They are used throughout the entertainment industry and are normally placed at the front of house (FOH) position or in a control booth.
All lighting control consoles can control which control the intensity of the lights. Many modern consoles can control Intelligent lighting (lights that can move, change colors and gobo patterns), and Haze machine, and other special effects devices. Some consoles can also interface with other electronic performance hardware (i.e. Mixing console, Video projector, , automated Winch and motors, etc.) to improve synchronization or unify their control. Lighting consoles communicate with the dimmers and other devices in the lighting system via an electronic control protocol. The most common protocol used in the entertainment industry today is DMX512, although other protocols (e.g. 0-10 V analog lighting control) may still be found in use, and newer protocols such as ACN and DMX-512-A are evolving to meet the demands of ever increasing device sophistication. Some lighting consoles can communicate over a Local IP network infrastructure to provide control over more scalable systems. A common protocol for this is ESTA E1.31 Streaming ACN (pronounced: streaming A.C.N.) or Art-Net.
Generally, at least with a preset board, the operator has a cue sheet for each scene, which is a diagram of the board with the faders in their positions, as determined by the lighting designer. The operator sets the faders into their positions based on the cue sheets. Typically during a cue, the operator sets the next scene. Then the operator makes the transition between the scenes using the cross-fader.
Preset boards are not as prevalent since the advent of digital memory consoles, which can store scenes digitally, and are generally much less cumbersome but more expensive than preset boards. However, for small setups such as that of a Disc jockey, they remain the board of choice for their simple to use interface and relative flexibility. Preset boards generally control only conventional lights; though some advanced hybrid consoles can be patched to operate intelligent lights in a round-about way by setting the control channels of the light to channels the preset board can control. However, this is not recommended since it is a cumbersome process.
Many memory consoles have a bank of faders. These faders can be programmed to control a single channel (a channel is a lighting designer's numerical name for a dimmer or group of dimmers) or a group of channels (known as a ""submaster""). The console may also have provision to operate in analog to a manual desk for programming scenes or live control. On more advanced consoles, faders can be used to control effects, chases (sequences of cues), and moving light effects (if the console can control moving lights).
As there is no standard way of controlling an intelligent light, an important function for this type of desk is to consolidate the various ways in which the hundreds of types of intelligent lights are controlled into a single abstraction interface for the user. By integrating knowledge of different fixtures and their attributes into the lighting desk software, the detail of how an attribute such as pan or tilt is controlled for one device vs. another can be hidden from the operator. This frees the operator to think in terms of what they want to achieve (e.g. pan 30 degrees clockwise) instead of how it is achieved for any given fixture (e.g. send value 137 down channel 23). Furthermore, should a lighting fixture need to be replaced with one from a different vendor that has different control sequences, no change need be apparent to the control operator. For some further discussion on how intelligent fixtures are controlled, see Digital MultipleX (DMX).
This system allows a "build-to-fit" approach: the end user initially provides a PC that fits their budget and any other needs with future options to improve the system, for example, by increasing the number of DMX outputs or additional console style panels.
Many lightboard vendors offer a PC software version of their consoles. Commercial lighting control software often require a specific, and possibly expensive, hardware DMX interface. However, inexpensive (<$150) DMX -> USB PC interfaces such as the ENTTEC and DMXKing DMX USB Pro with public API and other DIY, and free or Open source software hardware combinations are available.
Many console vendors also make a software simulator or "offline editor" for their hardware consoles, and these are often downloadable for free. The simulator can be used to pre-program a show, and the cues then loaded into the actual console. In addition, lighting visualization software is available to simulate and approximate how lighting will appear on stage, and this can be useful for programming effects and spotting obvious programming errors such as incorrect colour changes.
Various manufacturers offer software for devices such as Android and IPhone that cause the devices to act as remote controllers for their consoles. Also, independent software developers have released applications that can send Art-Net packets from an iPhone, thus enabling an iPhone to serve as a fully featured console when used in conjunction with an Art-Net to DMX converter or Art-Net compatible luminaries and dimmers. An example of this is ETC's (Electronic Theater Controls) app called iRFR for Apple devices or aRFR for Android devices.
The Controller Interface Transport Protocol, or CITP, is a network protocol used between visualizers, lighting control consoles and to transport non-show critical information during pre-production. The protocol is used for a number of purposes including SDMX, browsing media and thumbnails, and streaming media among different devices.
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