Help Require Part 2

[broadway_lad]

Hello, I tried to post this before but somethings happened - so I'll try again! I have an exam next week and need to collect some information on How Theatre lighting designers use ICT in their work. e.g programming DMX , etc ; what would LD's do without the help ICT ; and how might the Job be developed over the next 5 years thanks to ICT.

 

Would really appreciate a reply with any links to web pages etc.

 

Cheers Blue Room

 

 

[paulears]

The other post had one letter in the body text, so I guess one of the mods deleted it as a phantom - pressed enter by mistake type post.

 

I'm afraid you won't find this post very helpful. We have a pretty regular reply for people who want us to do their work - we won't! Especially when you say "I have an exam next week and...." When what you really mean is "I have left it till the last minute...."

 

First thing is ICT is a school term, we don't usually refer to computer aided design, or DMX applications as ICT. Now, forgive me for being blunt, but you have already mentioned DMX, so you obviously know something about what we do. So spending an hour reading old threads in the lighting section will supply you with everything you need. Personally, when I was teaching, my pet hate was loads of very factual material delivered to me for grades by people I knew had no idea whatsoever about what they 'had written'. Copying and pasting paragraphs and then expecting it to get good results in an exam does explain how so many people who appear qualified are totally useless to employ.

 

I smiled in a college oen day when I was given work to look at that I was told was excellent. It was. The trouble was, it was mine. word for word off an old website about lighting from 5 yrs ago that I'd forgotten about. They had not even put right the spelling mistake I had not noticed!

 

Best of luck finding what you want, but you need to do the work yourself - sorry for being unhelpful, but what you are asking is just laziness.

 

If you do the research and write it up in your own words, I would be very happy for you to even PM it to me and I'll give it a once over - but you have to do it first

P

[Ynot]

I'm afraid you won't find this post very helpful. We have a pretty regular reply for people who want us to do their work - we won't! Especially when you say "I have an exam next week and...." When what you really mean is "I have left it till the last minute...."

And if you have an exam next week, then hasn't your course already covered this in depth???

[broadway_lad]

Ok - I only found out we have an exam 2 week on tuesday today. I don't want my work done for me - I want to the exam on lighting - I did work experience in the palace theatre, london so I havea basic idea - just using this site as one of my sources that I've researched for. I ain;t left nothing till the last minute.

[paulears]

As far as I know, there are no national exams next week, so this is some kind of internal exam set by your teacher, and you have 2 weeks notice. Seems fair to me. Two things really.

1. The idea is that you have not been taught and are doing research to allow you to teach yourself. If so, you have books, internet and your Palace experience, whatever that was.

2. You have been taught the things you need to know, and the exam is just the test at the end of your revision.

 

We can't help without the exact wording - much of your last post doesn't actually make any sense. Copy us in on what you have to do and we may have hints. we're trying to help - but your original post does infer you want us to do the work - sorry!

[broadway_lad]

Right......sorry if I have been vaugue (if thats how u spell it) its is on Tuesday 14th - Its a National Exam not internal unit 3 ICT task one on the AQA exam board last from 8:30am - 3:00pm got my paper this morning, but were told to preparefrom last week. I am using this site as a bit of reasearch that I will take a print screen of that I have asked people. The thing I wanted to know that in your opinions - 3 (advantages of being a lighting designer and using a DMX controlled/programmed computer software) 3 disadvantages of being a lighting designer and not having the equiptment.

 

Again sorry if I have caused some confusion.

 

C

[Just Some Bloke]

Firstly C, you should have received a message from the moderators asking you to abide by the Terms and Conditions and supply a full name and location in your profile. As you haven't done this yet we are having to approve every post you make. In order to make all our jobs easier could you please ammend your profile? Thanks.

 

Secondly, I would love to help by giving you my opinions, but I'm really not sure what you mean with your question. What do you mean by "a DMX controlled/programmed computer software"? Do you mean a lighting board, an OLE, a visualisation programme...? Or do you mean what was it like before DMX and if so do you mean when we ran D54 or when we used analogue control?

 

I've been in the business for many years and have used all of the above. I can tell you that for theatre (drama, dance, musical theatre, opera, ballet etc.) the principles of lighting design remain the same as they ever did - it's just the tools that have changed. We used to do washes with fresnels and now we often use moving head washlights instead because they are more flexible. We used to have 2 - 5 colour washes whereas now with scrollers we can have 16. But at the end of the day I could still easily light a show without anything digital in the rig and make it look good.

 

Does that help?

[paulears]

allright - I give up!

 

You still don't actually make any sense?

3 (advantages of being a lighting designer and using a DMX controlled/programmed computer software) 3 disadvantages of being a lighting designer and not having the equiptment.

 

 

DMX controlled or programmed computer software. Do you mean a pc based lighting control with a real mechanical interface, as in the current range of desks from the strand 500 to the current crop of others - or do you mean a pc based software solution running as live software via a DMX interface.

 

the second question makes no sense at all - lighting designers don't have to have a control at all - they use whatever is in the venue - the control has very little or totally nothing to do with the design. Or have you just got everything backwards and what you are talking about is on screen visualisation software with DMX outpute to make the visualisations actually happen.

 

It does seem that before you take the exam you really need to understand the question to be able to answer it. So far, everything you have written is either ambiguous or confusing - if we can't understand your train of thought because you can't explain it to us, how will the examiners.

 

I'm assuming the exact task, as in the link to lighting is your choice of speciaist area of interest - this is very worrying as you don't seem to actually know what you are talking about.

 

Sorry if that's a bit blunt, but I've tried really hard here - even offering to read it through for you and you are getting very pushy - so at least you now know that you don't make sense!

 

P

[broadway_lad]

Sorry - Been trying to figure out how to change it ** laughs out loud ** - that has helped loads - cheers

[broadway_lad]

Ok ...Sorry if I'm pushy ....sorry if I don't make sense Sorry if it seems ambigious - but since I dont have the questions with me - only an outline I can't copy from it and I can't remember everything that was sed at 8:50am this morning.. I've tried my best to explain it to you the best I can but hey! if I dont make sense I apologise a 4th time . I know that a lighting designer doesn't work the show - hense the 'designer'. I meant the DMX output that makes the visulisations happen.. I have that problem where I know what I mean in my head but can't write it down.

 

 

Apologise Again..and I apologise in Advance if this doesn't make sense.

 

Cheers

 

:o

[tanko]

I could just slate the OP for all the same reasons that the rest of you have done, and I totally agree that generally the question makes no sense.

 

But having sat here and thought about it a bit, I think he is looking for something like the following (I have re-worded his question, to what I think he actually means)

 

1. Please list 3 advantages to a lighting designer, who has access to current upto date computer based technology in the entertainment industry (this can include, PC/mac applications, and consoles)

A - The ability to draw quick and accurate lighting plots on CAD programs

B - Wider range of options avaliable to the designer when programming with a computer based console (all the usual vendors/brands)

C - Able to design much larger shows, and send information quciker user ethernet/artnet based control apposed to streams of DMX

 

2. Please list 3 disadvantages to lighting designers who do not have access to current computer based technology.

A - You can't convert you lighting plots to PDF and e-mail them, slowing down the whole process.

B - The show can't be saved to floppy/USB/CD/DVD and stored for a different production, later tour of the same rig

C - Inability to use moving lights quickly and effectivly, due to lack of computer based console (usual vendors/brands again)

 

there are many many things to pick at, in the OP and indeed this post, but I think it really needs to be the kiss princpal Keep It Simple Stupid. I think the OP possibly does know a little bit, and is indeed doing this for resarch. But what he really needed to do was word his questions better, to gain a more effective and less response!!!

 

There is a vast amount of knowledge in blue room, and he knew this, but I guess he approached it in the wrong way, with the wrong tone!!!

 

Here endeth the lesson.

 

Tanko

[Just Some Bloke]

Sorry - Been trying to figure out how to change it ** laughs out loud ** - that has helped loads - cheers

 

Thanks for that. You are now fully approved.

 

Perhaps existing members may like to check they have their full details in their profiles, as required by the T&Cs. New members who miss something that is required, automatically require all their posts approved by a moderator, like broadway_lad did (hence why his last 2 posts come before tanko's but coundn't be seen until now). Those who joined prior to the change of requirements don't have that just yet, but it would be great if you could check your profiles anyway. Thanks everyone.

 

Anyway, I hope that now your requirements are a bit clearer we can give some opinions for Clark to consider when researching his coursework.

[ben.suffolk]

Those who joined prior to the change of requirements don't have that just yet, but it would be great if you could check your profiles anyway. Thanks everyone.

 

I just went to look at mine, and I see there has been a date of birth required field (free Text) added, but there is also a date of birth (pull down list) optional field. Is this not a bit odd?

 

Ben

[Just Some Bloke]

Year of Birth is required which is seen by moderators and admin, but it is optional if you also want to add your DOB or YOB for all to see. If you just want to put the year, type in 00/00/yyyy.

 

HTH.

 

P.S. If anyone has any other queries about what is required, please check the threads in Issues then post there if you are still unsure.

 

Thanks.

[Tomo]

Simply because I'm feeling really, really nice:

 

With modern silicon, consoles have become much more powerful and capable (there are now consoles capable of controlling over 32,000 individual channels, compared to 4 on a Strand Junior 8), and dimmers have become much smaller and more reliable.

 

Without modern silicon, we'd still be using saltwater and resistance dimmers.

Thankfully I never saw a saltwater dimmer in use, but I certainly don't miss the heat (and occasional sparks) of resistance dimmers.