In the spring of next year I am looking to do some workshops for the Mass Communications and Theater departments of a local university. These workshops will introduce how video and lighting are work hand in hand in the live production industry today. I really want to get the ball rolling and get the students hip to what cool toys we get to work with out there nowadays and no matter what major you come from you can definitely find a niche in both. It's only introductory stuff, but I'm hoping they'll enjoy the workshops and I can get rolling with some more technical stuff for them after this trial run. Here's a rough draft I started…
1- Intro/Demonstration (Free) – Distribute workshop outline. Review with students explaining to them what the subject matter is and why it is important to learn in today’s growing technology. Show a demonstration with media content and lighting to initially show their capabilities together. Take questions afterwards entertaining any thoughts or suggestions.
2- Brief DVD viewing of a live music performance showing how lighting and video are used together. Questions will then be taken following an explanation how the media content is used in the performance. Students are encouraged to give feedback on their pros and cons of both lighting and video.
3- What the gear is and how it works- Here I’m going to introduce the following gear: LED panels, control console, and media server. This will only be a quick overview as the subject matter will be separated into specific workshops to focus on after the basics are covered. I will explain more in depth how to connect the gear via data and power supplies. There are certain procedures you must follow to ensure the gear communicates properly with each other. If it is not you will lose some or even all functionality. I would like to encourage the students to practice it hands on (Maybe we could let them sign it out for a day at a time?). I strongly encourage them to practice with the gear because through repetition you will discover efficient ways of setup and develop a system you’re comfortable with using when setting up in different scenarios. At the end of the workshop I’d like to ask the students to get a piece of media from a project they are working on or perhaps from a previous course to bring in for the next seminar (MPEG, MOV formats preferred). This is where the pairing of the students becomes important because the lighting students with be more familiar with the general idea of cabling the lights and their power supplies. Whereas the mass communications students have media creation experience. They both can serve as a helping hand to one another.
4- The concept of an LED fixture- This seminar will examine what exactly is an LED and how it functions. We want to cover why it is a key component to our workshops and industry as a whole. Two key points to examine are ability to save power and display video. There is much more that will be covered.
5- Application to the lighting console- Now we’ll show the students how to “patch” their fixture to the lighting console. We will review first what a “patch” exactly is and how it applies to the gear we are working with. After the patch is made we will demonstrate how the control console works with the LED fixture and display all the pretty color! This will serve as the stepping stone to the next workshop where we will review the media server and its software on computer.
6- Now it’s time to sit down with the students and personally show them how to use the media server (in a sense think of it as a final cut pro of lighting) via computer and lighting control console. We will upload their media that I requested previously to bring into the previous seminar. We’ll show them how to yet again “patch” within the software and apply their media to the program.
7- OK lets program- so the media is up and running on the computer fine. We now have video streaming into our LED fixture! Let’s show them how it all comes together by going to our lighting control console by programming some looks. The main point of this demonstration is to show them how they can manipulate their video and lighting through the control console. Whether is be a certain time you want your look to pop up or a certain kind or color mix you would like to use. It’s up to you! Just have fun and be creative at this point. Unless your client requires a specific look.
8- The future is here- With our always evolving technology, whether it be video or lighting we can’t help but appreciate what is already our there in our respective fields. A few examples are the High End Systems Fixtures named the “DL-3” and “Showpix.” The “DL-3” or Digital Light, integrates a media server loaded with digital content with a highly sensitive HAD sensor camera and an infrared illumination. The “Showpix” is a high powered LED wash light with a programmable graphic display. Both of these fixtures are moving lights too! The only con is that they are super expensive. If you are out on the road for a big client or working for a production company you could be lucky enough to work with them first hand in some cases. If not, all you can do is read up about it! Reading up is super important to keep up with these new and evolving technologies. No matter whether it has changed or advanced over the years or even months, the future of lighting and video is here.
Next blog I'll be either posting my resume or talking about the Bonnaroo Festival I'll possibly be lighting in TN. We'll see what happens. Anyways, thanks again for reading and don't hesitate to drop me a line to chat. All the best. ~Tony
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