Several popular brands of moving lights have a mode that allows the fixture to move faster than normal. You might ask why they don't just allow the fixtures to move at their fastest speed all the time. The manufacturers like to promote the silence of their fixtures, so they limit the speed to reduce the noise. They also understand that many situations require fast movement without regard to noise. So they offer a mode that increases the top speed of movement when enabled. It's important that automated lighting programmers are aware of this mode and request it to be enabled when desired. Your designer will praise you when he/she sees that you can move them faster than anyone else! Furthermore, you must always check your rig before you begin programming to ensure that all fixtures are set to the same speed mode. I always grab all my fixtures and give them a big pan move, then a big tilt move. Often you will see one or two fixtures move at a different speed than the rest. You can then ask your crew to set the movement mode to match the other fixtures. If you do not catch this early you will spend many hours trying to figure out why these two fixtures respond to a ballyhoo effect differently than the others.
From "Feeding the Machines" by Brad Schiller, PLSN, Dec. 2009
