Essential Event Lighting: The Lighting Control Console

To understand how best to control all of the many different lighting devices used a large event, you need to have a good idea of how a lighting control console works.  With most of the lighting effects being controlled from one central location, our specialist lighting technicians and desk operators are able to completely transform the look and feel or an event at the flick of a switch.

What Is a Lighting Control Console?

A lighting control console is an electronic device used in theatrical and event lighting design that enables the technicians to control multiple lights at once. They are used throughout the entertainment industry and are normally placed in a front of house position so that they have uninterrupted views of the stage, or in a separate control booth.

Even the most basic of control consoles usually have dimmers that control the intensity of the lights, while more advanced ones feature ways to control intelligent lighting that can move and change colors and patterns.  They can also control fog machines, hazers, and other special effects devices as well.

Because a great stage production is about much more than just great lighting, the technicians who use the control console usually have access to other electronic performance software too such as soundboards, projectors, and media servers.

Using an electronic control protocol, the lighting control console will be able to communicate directly with dimmers and other devices.  There are various kinds of control consoles available for concerts and events, but the most common one is:

Preset Boards

Using identical fader banks called “scenes”, the faders can be manually adjusted by an operator using a cue sheet.  Working from a diagram of the board with the faders in their positions, as previously determined by the lighting designer, the technician can change the lights to suit.  While preset boards can still be found in many smaller installations and older venues, they are slowly being superseded by digital memory boards.

Memory Boards

Memory-based consoles have become very popular in theaters because they allow the lighting designers to digitally record the lighting scenes. Many memory consoles also have a bank of faders that can be programmed to control a single channel or a group of channels, helping to save time and reduce the risk of human error, a well as the ability for programming scenes or live control.

 Moving Light Controllers

Moving Light Controllers are a step up from Memory Consoles as they provide extra features that allow the operator select the fixture or fixtures they want to control using a joystick to change the orientation, focus and even color of the light fixture. Unlike a fader that shows its value based on the position of a slider, a wheel is continuously variable and provides no visual feedback for the value of a particular control, meaning that operators of these types of lighting desks need to be highly experienced and be able to read the data displayed in the LCD panels to meet the requirements of the lighting plan.

Who Operates A Lighting Control Console?

The light desk is worked by a specially qualified programmer – a lighting control technician – who knows how to read the lighting plan and program the equipment accordingly. He or she will need to configure the console’s initial settings and will then work directly with the designer to talk through every scene of the show to set focus positions, color, gobo pattern, and rotation of each lighting instrument. These attributes are recorded, and the lighting desk operator will be in charge of overseeing the correct performance of the sequence during each and every performance.

Here at Frank Gatto & Associates, we have over 30 years’ experience of working with some of the very best lighting control consoles in the business.  If you would like to find out how we can help with your entertainment lighting, call us today at (561) 368-0101.

Frank Gatto & Associates, Inc. are specialists in lighting for television events of all kinds.  If you have an event that needs expert lighting, please call us today to see how we can help.

Phone: 561-368-0101

Email: frank@frankgattolighting.com 

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