Mat-eboy Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Hi all, Can anybody recommend some simple, entry level software for theatrical lighting design? Thanks in advance Mat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dosxuk Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Microsoft Publisher / Visio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 modern day version of fagcad http://www.napkincad.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Can anybody recommend some simple, entry level software for theatrical lighting design?This IS a serious reply. The best entry level design package you can start with is an A3 pad of paper (possibly even graph/squared paper), some sharp pencils and a decent ruler.Maybe some coloured pencils for coding the symbols, and if you can get hold of one, a stencil with basic lantern shapes. You WILL learn far more about design from this method as a beginner without having to first learn how to use a CAD package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljoshua Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I've got to agree with Tony here, I still find myself using paper and scribbles to get a point across. Even if you don't use the "proper" symbols, as long as you use a key to say what shape is what lantern, it's all good. You could use a sheep for a Par64 and a Dog for a Profile if you so wished. Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mat-eboy Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Thanks for the advice. A similar question: If I wanted to use a laptop rather than a desk to pre-program and control my cues, what would be a simple, entry-level piece of software for me to look at? Chamsys MagicQ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 If you are going to produce lots of plans, then a computer is great for repetition, but if it's a one off, then a ruler and pens is great - and those chemistry template symbols you can get from stationers shops work really well for the various types of lantern. I rarely use pens nowadays, but that's because I've got all the symbols and shapes and the ground plans for venues I work in frequently already in the machine. When presented with a new venue, and just creating, I use a bit of paper and a pen first. If these work, and I need to keep changing things, then a computer version makes sense. I use serif draw - it's quick simple and I know it well. Others love auto cad - this just is too complex for me (but in reality, I'm probably just too lazy to start from scratch and learn it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljoshua Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Chamsys MagicQ is a great one to learn, it scales up to world class lighting desks with just hardware changes. If you just want to pre-program for a hardware desk you've got in a venue, most manufacturers have an offline editor available for their desks. Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Why do we have to go through this all again? Mat, this is a question that comes up every other week. Have you used the search function? If not, why not? We've covered this topic to death... David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biro Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 We are mostly sound people who occasionally need to produce a lighting plan. We use LX Free for this. http://lx.claudeheintzdesign.com/lxfree.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mat-eboy Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 We are mostly sound people who occasionally need to produce a lighting plan. We use LX Free for this. http://lx.claudehein...com/lxfree.html Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono9691 Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Can anybody recommend some simple, entry level software for theatrical lighting design?This IS a serious reply. The best entry level design package you can start with is an A3 pad of paper (possibly even graph/squared paper), some sharp pencils and a decent ruler.Maybe some coloured pencils for coding the symbols, and if you can get hold of one, a stencil with basic lantern shapes. You WILL learn far more about design from this method as a beginner without having to first learn how to use a CAD package. Absolutly, it may seem a bit disappointing but is the best way to start every gig unless you do one weekly and are constantly using cad. Then plug it into a cheap/free visulizer to get a rough idea of what it's going to look like and if you're a programer, program sceens. Once you have designed a few rigs via that method advance to cad and intergrated visulizer/control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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