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Moving Lights/Intelligent Lighting
Perhaps no innovation has affected the lighting industry more in the last thirty years than the advent of the moving light. First invented for rock and roll tours by the company that became Varilite, moving lights can be found in many traditional theatres. These fixtures allow the designer to assign multiple attributes, including direction, color, shape as well as intensity. In addition, the element of movement obviously becomes a much more important one to think about.
The number and variety of different manufacturers, models and types of moving light is staggering. Depending on the production's budget, and the designer's preferences, the moving lights chosen for a production's lighting rig are almost limitless. While the inclusion of moving lights into the design opens up a world of possibilities in the design, it also increases exponentially the complexity of the design, and so the inclusion of moving lights during the design process should be carefully considered with all of the other limitations of time and budget. With great power comes great responsibility... |
Moving HeadThe moving head fixture is the most common moving light available in today's market. These are fully automated fixtures with multiple attributes controllable from the lighting console, including color, shape (edge and gobos), direction, intensity and movement. Movement includes the ability to actually move the beam of light around the stage, as well as to do things like spinning gobos, scrolling color wheels and other effects worthy of a discotheque.
Every moving light has its own special features: some have controllable shutters, others are able to zoom larger and smaller, some have prism effects. Some instruments only have a limited number of colors attached to a fixed color wheel, and others have CMY color mixing through which the designer has almost limitless possibilities in color choice. Some are more appropriate for small venues, and there is even a moving head fixture called the Space Cannon Searchlight that requires FAA approval before using. The number of manufacturers that market moving head fixtures is enormous. Some notables: Varilite (subsidiary of Philips Electronics), High End Systems, Martin, Elation and Chauvet. Varilite VL3500 photo from GearSource |
moving mirrorAnother way of moving light around the stage is by using a moving mirror. In this type of unit, the instrument itself does not move, but a mirror placed in the path of the beam is attached to motors and bends the beam of light to its intended target. You've perhaps used your iPhone screen as a reflector to shine sunlight into the eyes of another person (if you're a jerk). The moving mirror units work in the same way.
Inside the body of the fixture are a couple of effects wheels with gobos, colors, frost, etc. The designer can manipulate each of these elements in each cue. Moving Mirror fixtures had been quite popular during the advent of the popularity of moving lights. However, moving head fixtures proved to be more popular, and moving mirrors are not used or manufactured much anymore. You might find them in some theatres, as they were less expensive than the moving head units in the 1990s, so they are worth knowing about. Most of the moving mirror fixtures that I know about were manufactured by High End Systems, and were marketed under the model names of Trackspot, Cyberlight and Intellibeam. Trackspot Photo from GearSource |
mechanismsA number of products have popped up over the years that allow designers to add some of the elements of a moving light to an existing conventional fixture. The first (that I know of) was the Autoyoke (upper left), manufactured by City Theatrical. This device is like a moving head fixture, but without the lighting instrument. It was designed for the end-user to connect an ETC Source 4 into the unit to effectively become a 'moving Source 4'. Additional devices could then be added to control the edge and iris that make this device even more powerful.
Autoyoke photo from City Theatrical The Rosco I-Cue (top right) moving mirror works in much the same way. By sliding the device into the gel frame slot of an ERS, the combination creates a crude moving mirror unit. The color changing capabilities of units like the Cyberlight would have to be achieved by using an additional color scroller, but if a moving special is all that is required, this is a great tool. The "Right Arm" (lower) by Apollo works much like the Autoyoke, but is not so specific in what can be attached to it. It is designed to accept any number of different attachments- conventional lights, projectors, etc. It can also be used as a device to do non-lighting effects also, such as activate a snow bag or drop confetti. |
Except where noted, the photos on this page are from BMI Supply's theatrical catalog.