Technology: A beginner's guide to automated lighting

Automated luminaires can offer worship venues flexible and effective lighting to highlight services and enhance performances and usually combine high output arc lamps with numerous features.

These types of light fixtures often include pan and tilt control as well as other controllable attributes such as focus control, shutters or irises, colour changing and mixing as well as strobe control. To make matters even more confusing, some automated lights also fall under the ‘profile’ category and create spot beams similar to ellipsoidal lights.

What exactly is an automated luminaire?

More widely known as intelligent lighting, automated light fixtures refer to stage lighting that has automated or mechanical abilities beyond those of traditional, stationary light fixtures. They are also sometimes referred to as moving lights or moving heads.

How are automated lighting fixtures controlled?

Most automated lighting fixtures are controlled via a lighting console that outputs a control signal. The control signal then sends data to the fixture, most commonly using the industry standard DMX512 protocol.

What is the DMX512 protocol?

DMX is essentially how your lighting equipment gives and gets its instructions.

DMX512 allows users to control a variety of lighting products using any number of different lighting controllers. Further Ethernet-based standards (Art-Net and sACN) also allow for the transmission of DMX512 data through networking infrastructure and devices. These fixtures can be programmed in advance or be controlled live onstage remotely.

Because lighting control manufacturers use DMX512 so widely, a basic understanding of DMX will be incredibly useful for any volunteer technician expected to work with automated lighting fixtures in a HOW.

The DMX stands for Digital Multiplex and is a standard for digital communication networks that is commonly used to control stage lighting and effects. It was originally intended as a standardised method for controlling light dimmers, which, prior to DMX512, had employed various incompatible proprietary protocols.

What are the benefits of using automated lighting fixtures?

Automated lighting has come a long way since the first reported ‘intelligent light’ back in 1906 in Kansas, USA, that was operated not by motors or any form of electronics but by cords that were operated manually to control pan, tilt and zoom.

As far as lighting fixtures go, they are considered fairly low maintenance and can leave volunteers free to focus their attention on another area as they are pre-programmed.

Many automated luminaires also offer control now via a laptop, phone or tablet. They can also be an economical option to use as part of a wider lighting scheme. You can also now achieve a number of special effects with automated lighting.

What are some of the cons?

Too many automated lighting products can equal too much choice. There are thousands of automated luminaires on the market, even at every price scale. The key is to assess the features that matter to your particular application, from high output to clear optics and low AC power draw to the quality of beam and intensity.

What are some of the effects that you can achieve with automated lighting?

Automated lighting fixtures can often include zoom capability which allows you to change the beam spread, to a wheel that allows you to choose from a number of gobos – some even include two gobo wheels and rotation features to animate your lighting.

Many automated lighting fixtures will include a prism effect to add dimension and enrich movement and coverage too.

Most intelligent fixtures will include either a colour wheel or a colour-mixing feature built in to allow you to create custom colours by adjusting different colour filters. Perhaps, more importantly, automated lighting options can be used in a very versatile way to add light into any house of worship at multiple points and often tricky stage angles.

Top tips for considering automated lighting

1. Consider energy efficiency when selecting an automated fixture. Manufacturers are increasingly working on reducing power draw which could offer your HOW venue more long-term cost benefits. Lighting can be costly for both a HOW and the environment. Some of the latest generation of LED lamps are very efficient and a few even claim to use up to 90% less energy than traditional lighting sources.
2. If noise is a factor, make sure to check the automated luminaire comes with a reduced noise component, as this is not a guaranteed feature for all automated luminaries.
3. Note the differences between quality and price and what your venue is happy to compromise on based on your HOW’s budget.
4. Work with your lighting consultant to produce a design brief of your specific needs and what you need to achieve. It’s also a good idea to specify in detail what features in the HOW need to be well-lit, such as wall paintings, the organ area, choir, stage or pulpit/lecturn.
5. Finally, trial it first. Book a demonstration and make sure you trial your specified lighting setup with a consultant. Get familiar with the wiring and/or maintenance process too. Is the colour temperature, position and power output as your HOW needs it to be? All these factors can be verified or dealt with by conducting a simple trial run.

This article first appeared in the September-October 2019 edition of Worship AVL. Subscribe at www.proavl-central.com/subscribe/worship.