Current Trends in Theatrical Lighting

by: David Johnson, Lead Lighting Designer

It’s no secret that with advances in technology and increases in production, LED has become affordable and it’s uses are wide.  But, how does this effect the production industry and what does it mean to your event?  The combined affordability and availability of brilliant LED lighting fixtures has allowed for bigger “looks” in more budget settings.  Allowing a lighting designer the ability to often times double the number of fixtures in a room, which in turn creates a more theatrical and cohesive feeling to the overall perspective of an event.

LED walls have become commonplace in the corporate event space, and they are used both by the video department in place of projection screens (removing some of the obstacles that projection creates) and they are used by the lighting department to enrich the overall look of a set.  The line between video and lighting is blurry at times, often lighting can trigger video and vice versa, but overall the trend is to create custom content that flows together and makes an event feel more like a “happening.”

With all of this in mind, I’d like to spotlight two fixtures that bridge the gap between lighting and video.  First, the French company, Ayrton, who specialize in LED lighting with a focus on digital lighting and innovation, have released the Dreampanel Twin.

This fixture is dual sided, on one side it can display high definition video images and 3D volumetric lighting effects and on the other it displays an 8×8, high intensity LED pixel matrix.  It has full pan and can endlessly tilt between the two panels.  Imagine an LED wall that can come to life and create movement and energy in a room.  These hybrid fixtures can be used in a set, along with traditional LED wall panels to create more of an interaction between the audience and the content.

The second fixture in this highlight of recent trends is a product called Neon Flex.  Neon Flex is an update to the widely-used LED tape that swept the production industry and has become an accessible house hold item.  Neon Flex is more durable than its predecessor and, most importantly, it creates seamless lines of color without the breakup of individual LED cells in LED tape.

 

This product is capable of having individual pixel control, which means it can be used with custom video content. ETA is currently using Neon Flex as part of the set on current and upcoming projects, and there are many ways to implement this product into just about any event.

These are just two of the many innovative developments that bridge the gap between the lighting and video departments.  The possibilities are endless as we continue to search for new and provocative ways to engage an audience and create atmosphere around our events.