A History of Lighting Control

[charl.ie]

I am a (just finished) AS level student, and as part of my summer project I am researching into the use of the microprocessor within theatre control technology. With that in mind, I have several questions:

1) Does anyone have more information on the Strand "System KTV"? I understand it used punched cards to reproduce lighting states, but can anyone inform me of how? Was there any use of electricity (analogue or digital)? What type of output did it produce (analogue 10v or another protocol? Or was it directly linked to dimmers) I have already looked on the strand archive, but information about this particular console is scarce.

2) Same questions, but for the Strand IDM.

3) What was the first desk to use a microprocessor? Was the IDM digital, and therefore the first. That's where it currently is on my timeline, but my timeline is hardly exhaustive.

4) What was the first desk to output DMX? I have the Gemini 2+ as the first one on my timeline, but I fear that may be a retro-fit? My timeline is also pretty much exculsive to Strand at the moment, due to it being easier to find info on their desks.

5) Are there any resources you could reccommend me related to the history of lighting consoles? This thread proved helpful, any others?

6) Is there anywhere else, or other directions I should be taking.

 

I understand that this is a huge topic, and I thank everyone in advance for taking the time to read this, and for any contribution you can make.

[sguy42]

Hi,

 

try '60 years of Light Work' by Fred Bentham he was responsible for a lot of Strand designs one way or another from 1935 till the early 70s.

 

for a quick summary the ABTT have published an information sheet compiled by Brian Legge (also ex strand).

 

Shane

[Smiffy]

I'd also have a look at the first Vari*Lite Console, the Series 100 - Here It arrived long after microprocessors, but was quite revolutionary in it's own way

 

Cheers

 

Smiffy

[paulears]

From my memory, D54 first morphed with the GSX and LBX range, which had both D54 and DMX (not at the same time).

[scjb]

Didn't the MX predate the GSX/LBX?

[paulears]

The MX and GSX/LBX share many components. The Strand Archive date for the LBX and GSX shows 94 compared with 1990 for the MX, but this doesn't ring bells with my memory. Somewhere I've got some old catalogues - I shall have a poke around when I find them.

[oilyspark]

1) Does anyone have more information on the Strand "System KTV"?

To the best of my knowledge KTV was never sold. A demonstration was rigged up, whether it was 100% functional I don't know. This was during a tricky time for Strand, when they were trying to keep abreast of electronic dimmers despite having lots of investment and experience in electromechanical ones. I think KTV was something of a gimmick, to highlight the advantages of the existing offerings and design principles that had served them well.

 

Regarding its technology, at this point there were no 'standard' control interfaces, each model-series of console would generally only work with its matching dimmers. It would take too long here to go into technical detail about how the technology behind controls of that era worked. Think relays, magnets, organ parts, motors, wheels, more relays, bicycle chains, did I mention relays?... The microprocessor was not invented (i.e. first CPU on a chip, the Intel 4004) until 1971, 12 years after the KTV demo.

 

2) Same questions, but for the Strand IDM.

 

Someone else here probably knows much more of this than I. It was Strand's counter to Thorn's Q-file. Very troublesome at first, but genuinely electronic.

 

3) What was the first desk to use a microprocessor? Was the IDM digital, and therefore the first.

 

Remember digital does not mean microprocessor-based. A CPU could be a large rack of transistorised (or even valve) digital electronics rather than a chip, or indeed a digital system can function without any processor at all. In principle, telegraphs were digital back in the 1830s! Yes, IDM was digital, although it was shipping in 1968 and there were still 3 years to go before the Intel 4004.

 

5) Are there any resources you could reccommend me related to the history of lighting consoles? This thread proved helpful, any others?

 

As mentioned, '60 years of light work' is a good read although 90% of the story is over by the time microprocessors arrive. It is also couched in Fred Bentham's rather Strand-centric view of the universe!

 

Lucien

[charl.ie]

Thank you to everyone who has posted so far - keep it coming - any and all information is helpful!

[ianknight]

Please don't get hung up on the advent of the 4004 and the advent of digital lighting consoles...

 

The Strand IDM and I believe the DDM were indeed digital and used DEC PDP 8's for their processing power - the PDP series was integrated into a lot of industrial control applications and DEC had a series of interface cards for them to facilitate this. This meant the desks weren't portable (in the same way that a 550 isn't) but they were capable of being moved around - unlike the Thorn Qfile which dropped the show when moved!

[timtheenchanteruk]

some interesting info on the strand archive site

[Brian]

2) Same questions, but for the Strand IDM.

 

Someone else here probably knows much more of this than I. It was Strand's counter to Thorn's Q-file. Very troublesome at first, but genuinely electronic.

 

Strand say the IDM was late 1965; Thorn say the Q-file was 1966 which would tend to imply it was the other way around.

[Rob Halliday]

Hi....

 

What's always amazing to me is just how many lighting consoles have existed, given that entertainment lighting is supposed to be such a 'small' market.

 

You can find quite a long list of them here:

http://www.controlbooth.com/wiki/Memory-Li...hlight=premiere

 

and pictures of some of them here:

http://www.pbase.com/paulpelletier/lightingconsol

 

 

Also of interest might be the video interviews with some console pioneers that Justin Lang of iSquint did at the USITT Show in the US earlier this year - they had a 'console history' exhibit there to celebrate the organisation's birthday:

 

http://isquint.net/2010/gordan-pearlman-ex...-at-usitt-2010/

[plus links to other interviews further down the page]

 

 

and the various consoles that have been covered in the L&SI 'Classic Gear' page:

http://www.lsionline.co.uk/magazine/classicgear/

 

in particular the Strand Lightboard (based on a PDP-11 minicomputer, created for the National Theatre, and offering integrated control of dimmers, colour changers and moving lights back in 1976!), the Hog 2, the Sirius, the pioneering LS-8 (first memory control to run a show on Broadway), and, from an entirely different era, Strand's Light Console and System CD.

 

 

As others have noted, there were many 'memory' systems that were not microprocessor based. In trying to pin down the first to use microprocessors, don't get caught up in the 'Strand invented everything' myth - they sometimes did, but there were companys working equally hard in other countries. The Kliegl Performers, for example, (the subject of the interview with Gordon Pearlman above) were very popular in the US but never really took off in the UK. And, equally, a little company called ETC were building micro-processor based lighting controls from the mid 1970s, mainly to prove it could be done. There's more about their company history here:

http://www.etcconnect.com/company.aspx

 

Rob.

[paulears]

You also need to remember that Cinema was developing in parallel - so some brands like Berkey Colortran were active in film, but had occasional forays into theatre - like the horrible, but nice channel track memory control. Norwich Theatre Royal had one of the first of these, and compared to the Strand it replaced, (an LP from memory) it was very 'clever'. It didn't last though. Board op at the time was Ali Coubrough, one of Francis Reid's team. Sensibly, he doesn't work in this industry any longer, spending his time looking after maritime video on bottom mapping surveys in amazing places.

 

The board has a unique feature - no moving crossfaders, just two scales that were exposed tracks on a pcb, and wiping your finger along them did the work. Trouble was the grease in your fingers also made the crossfades very nasty after a while, and regular essential cleaning removed the benefits.

[bmassey]

I am a (just finished) AS level student, and as part of my summer project I am researching into the use of the microprocessor within theatre control technology. With that in mind, I have several questions:

1) Does anyone have more information on the Strand "System KTV"? I understand it used punched cards to reproduce lighting states, but can anyone inform me of how? Was there any use of electricity (analogue or digital)? What type of output did it produce (analogue 10v or another protocol? Or was it directly linked to dimmers) I have already looked on the strand archive, but information about this particular console is scarce.

2) Same questions, but for the Strand IDM.

3) What was the first desk to use a microprocessor? Was the IDM digital, and therefore the first. That's where it currently is on my timeline, but my timeline is hardly exhaustive.

4) What was the first desk to output DMX? I have the Gemini 2+ as the first one on my timeline, but I fear that may be a retro-fit? My timeline is also pretty much exculsive to Strand at the moment, due to it being easier to find info on their desks.

5) Are there any resources you could reccommend me related to the history of lighting consoles? This thread proved helpful, any others?

6) Is there anywhere else, or other directions I should be taking.

 

I understand that this is a huge topic, and I thank everyone in advance for taking the time to read this, and for any contribution you can make.

 

 

As far as I know strand made two memocard systems one at the university of birmingham where I was teaching in the 70s and one to a theatre in edinburgh one of my students was employed by strand during the edinburgh festival to work the demo board as he was one of only 2 or 3 people including my self who could work it. I worked for thorn in the days of q file and colortran as well as furse so if still need help

[steelysteph]

I am a (just finished) AS level student, and as part of my summer project I am researching into the use of the microprocessor within theatre control technology. With that in mind, I have several questions:

1) Does anyone have more information on the Strand "System KTV"? I understand it used punched cards to reproduce lighting states, but can anyone inform me of how? Was there any use of electricity (analogue or digital)? What type of output did it produce (analogue 10v or another protocol? Or was it directly linked to dimmers) I have already looked on the strand archive, but information about this particular console is scarce.

2) Same questions, but for the Strand IDM.

3) What was the first desk to use a microprocessor? Was the IDM digital, and therefore the first. That's where it currently is on my timeline, but my timeline is hardly exhaustive.

4) What was the first desk to output DMX? I have the Gemini 2+ as the first one on my timeline, but I fear that may be a retro-fit? My timeline is also pretty much exculsive to Strand at the moment, due to it being easier to find info on their desks.

5) Are there any resources you could reccommend me related to the history of lighting consoles? This thread proved helpful, any others?

6) Is there anywhere else, or other directions I should be taking.

 

I understand that this is a huge topic, and I thank everyone in advance for taking the time to read this, and for any contribution you can make.

 

 

As far as I know strand made two memocard systems one at the university of birmingham where I was teaching in the 70s and one to a theatre in edinburgh one of my students was employed by strand during the edinburgh festival to work the demo board as he was one of only 2 or 3 people including my self who could work it. I worked for thorn in the days of q file and colortran as well as furse so if still need help

 

I realise that this is an old thread but I couldn't resist joining in :)

 

Yes, there was a memocard at the Kings Theatre in Edinburgh. It was a great desk to operate and it was a sad day when we ripped it out and installed the first Galaxy system - our deputy chief spent ages setting a preset that wouls print out 'THE END' on a punchcard (I should still have mine somewhere).