?? Defining the Look
Many terms are used when describing lighting programming, and often the vocabulary needs to be clarified between the LD and the programmer. The look I like to call “kicks” involves the beams from automated fixtures pointing toward the audience and continually traveling in an upward fashion. Only the upward sweeps of light are visible, with no indication of the lights moving back down to their starting position. The lights do not all do this at the same time, but rather appear to be randomly and continually moving upward. In other words, the lights appear to be only “kicking” up towards the audience.
In order to accomplish this stunning moment on stage, the programmer must command the lights to only output their beams as the fixtures are moving in an upward direction. Then the units need to black out and restore to their starting position before turning back on and starting their next upward movement.
?? The Old School Method
Many years ago, there was a time when consoles did not have effect functions as a standard feature. Back then, we would have to program everything exactly as we desired using chases or sequences. For the “kicks” look described above, this meant creating a complex multi-stepped chase. The chase data had to not only consider the upward movement of the fixtures, but also the resetting of their starting position. Usually the programming also required much forethought to ensure that the correct fixtures were used in each step and that all fixtures selected for this look were used.
I would start off by selecting all my fixtures for this look and giving them zero intensity, the starting position, and a zero position time (the fastest). I would then record this to the total number of steps I planned to create for the entire chase. The total number of steps would be determined by how many fixtures I was using and how many I wanted to kick up at a time. For simplicity’s sake, let’s imagine 12 fixtures and one per step. After recording the 12 identical steps, I would then begin to edit each step by selecting one fixture, giving it full intensity, and putting it in the “up over the audience” position, along with my desired movement time. Then I would add this change to the first step. Next, I would select another fixture and do the same for the next step.
When finished, I would have one fixture in each step moving up over the audience, and all other fixtures returning to their starting position. To give a sense of randomness, I would select the random chase order from my console. This would play back the steps in a random order instead of simply 1 through 12. Because every step sends all other fixtures back to their starting position, I knew each fixture would always be ready for the next step played. The last adjustment I would have to make was for the timing of the sequence, to ensure that the fixtures had enough time to travel as desired.
?? The Advent of Effects
As the automated lighting industry grew, lighting consoles began including effects that could be applied to any parameter. The effects allowed you to automate functions and create repeating movement. In order to create a “kicks” effect, you actually had to combine several functions and adjust the offset of each accordingly. For instance, for the same 12 fixtures, I would place the fixtures in a position that was midway between their intended travel. Then I would apply a “sine wave” effect on tilt that caused the fixtures to oscillate on either side of this base value. I then adjusted the size and rate of the tilt movement until the fixtures were all moving up and down from the stage to above the audience.
Next, I would place the fixtures at a 50 percent intensity value and enable a “step wave” effect to cause the fixtures to flash on and off. By setting the rate to match that of the tilt effect, I was assured that the two effects were running together. However, in many cases, if I looked on stage, I would find that I could see the fixtures moving not only up, but also back down towards their starting position on stage. I would then need to adjust the offset of the intensity effect until it was synchronized so that only the upward tilt motion was visible. In some cases, I would also have to adjust the rate of the intensity effect to ensure I could only see the fixtures moving upward.
At this point, I would have all 12 of my fixtures tilting up over the audience together. The last step would be to randomize the kick look by selecting both the tilt and intensity effects and adjusting the effect offsets (starting timing) of each of the fixtures randomly (usually with the aid of a fanning tool). It was important to keep the relation between the tilt and intensity for each fixture, but have each fixture start their combined effects at different moments.
?? An Even Easier Method
Modern automated lighting consoles are now providing more advanced effect tools to aid in the creation of looks such as the “kicks.” Many consoles allow you to define a starting and ending position for effects from your palettes/presets. In this case you just select the two on stage position and the up over the audience position and apply the movement effect. It will then oscillate the fixtures between these two points you defined. Next you can actually tell the console to apply an intensity effect that only is enabled for a specific portion of the effect duration (half, quarter, etc.). With a half effect and a properly adjusted starting point, you can easily have all the fixtures kicking together. The final step is to just hit the randomize button. So with three or four button presses, you can easily create what used to take many steps to create.
?? A Matter of Choice
Each of these methods will create the same basic look on stage, but each also comes with its own set of pros and cons. With the chase method, you can control individual steps and easily make changes if desired. But it also requires an additional playback, as the data will not easily sit within a main cuelist. The console effects methods allow the data to be stored in any cuelist, but might be more difficult to edit later on if you wish to change the size of the kicks or the position information.
Whichever method you choose to program is ultimately up to you. I find that I often program via different methods depending upon the production’s requirements and the amount of time available. It is important for programmers to understand the various methods available to create looks and to learn the benefits of each. Then you will be able to program amazing looks that go beyond the normal pre-programmed selections built into many consoles.
