THE FUTURE OF THE FUTURE OF LIGHTING

Hollywood , CA – September 2, 2005

Intelligent fixtures, once the lighting of the future, are now becoming decidedly old hat. So what’s the lighting of today’s future? Prepare to be amazed.

Intelligent lighting, smart lights, automated luminaries—whatever you called them, for most of the 1980s and 90s, you had to admit, they were pretty cool. But nowadays, even the lighting for your daughter’s school play are probably intelligent. Of course, you might be wondering why we don’t just rejoice that intelligent lighting is now more accessible. The problem is, there are a few big problems that still plague this supposedly mature technology.

• Novelty. Unfortunately, many people have never seen intelligent lighting as much more than a “novel” effects light. Now that the novelty is wearing off, why continue to use them?
• Lower reliability. Though today’s intelligent lights are more reliable than ever, they still are a bit more of a headache than conventional lighting.
• Cost. Due to low lamp life and high maintenance costs, operation can be pricey.

The newest developments in lighting promise to solve all three problems. So what are the exciting new lighting technologies for our generation? Actually, there are already at least three pretty exciting developments:

• Software-based systems such as High End’s DL1, DL2 and Catalyst,
• LED (light emitting diode) fixtures, and
• LCD (liquid crystal display) projectors

Software: Catalyst of a Lighting Revolution?

The best automated lighting has become so intelligent that it is essentially a computer. Increasingly, big-budget stage performances and major corporate events are using lighting that is managed via a PC-style screen, rather than a traditional console. As part of this evolution, stage lighting is slowly separating hardware (the actual lights and wiring) from software (the colors and effects you want to achieve with the light).

What does this mean to you? Remember when offices used to have separate dedicated computers for word processing, accounting programs, and other functions? (If you don’t remember, ask your parents.) Nowadays, your little old PC can run Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and a hundred other applications. The new lighting systems will eventually provide a similar degree of flexibility.

The hottest lighting software systems are the DL1, DL2 and Catalyst, by High End. You can even download a trial version of Catalyst, though the actual program is designed to run on the Catalyst Pro Media Server, rather than a PC. High End has so much faith in the future of these systems that it has all but discontinued R&D on its Studio Spots, Studio Beams, Cyber Lights and Trackspots. 

High-tech Lighting: the “Hardware”

If a PC-style software-hardware divide will mark the future of intelligent lighting, what then will be the “hardware” side of the equation—the lights themselves? The two most exciting technologies are LED and LCD.

LED fixtures

You’re certainly familiar with light emitting diodes, or LED. They power the displays of electronics such as digital clocks and microwave ovens. Have trouble believing your alarm clock could ever be powerful enough to light a stage? LED lighting fixtures are already in wide use in architectural lighting, casting light on entire buildings.

Look at these other LED advantages:

• Low-heat. Traditional lighting uses tungsten/halogen lamps. From an energy standpoint, these traditional lamps are better heaters than they are lights. Tungsten expends most of its energy on heat, with the light being a byproduct. LED does the opposite, using most of its energy to create light —which is why you can touch the face of your alarm clock but not the bulb of your lamp.
• Low power consumption. Since the energy is focused on light rather than heat, LED fixtures have lower wattage saving on power and dimming control.
• Long lamp life. LEDs also provide additional savings in lamp replacement costs since they typically have a 30,000 to 100,000 hour lamp life depending on the color of the LED, as opposed to 300 to 2,000 hours with a tungsten lamp.
• Versatile. You can already buy LED lighting fixtures that allow for 16.7 million different colors—all from a single light source.

Admittedly, the advantages of low heat output and low power consumption may be more apparent in an architectural setting, but right now you can be sure that some bright person is surely thinking of a way that those cool, versatile and energy-efficient LEDs can revolutionize your next performance or event.

LCD Projectors

If you’ve been to an electronics store lately, you’re certainly familiar with LCD projectors, which are used in the latest generation of widescreen televisions. More relevant to the lighting design world, LCD projectors now provide many of those enormous backdrop images you see at concerts, conferences, trade shows, and other extravaganzas. A few examples are the Seattle Opera production of Wagner's Parsifal, the American Ballet Theatre's Pied Piper, Radio City Music Hall’s Sinatra; His voice. His world. His way, and the Broadway musical, Wicked.

If LED is the next generation of lighting, then LCD projectors are the next generation of the next generation. It’s not hard to imagine how this technology could benefit the entertainment world.

• 3-D special effects are already wowing crowds, not only at lighting trade shows, but at concerts and other performances. If your heart doesn’t skip a beat at the thought of what 3-D projections may eventually do for lighting and special effects design, you’re probably in the wrong business.
• Physical settings could theoretically be completely eliminated by an extraordinarily advanced LCD projector, as this technology is already powerful enough to provide astonishing backdrops.
• Theatrical and event lighting may almost seem like an afterthought when you consider how LCD projection might one day replace much of what is considered standard today. And just imagine the kind of “good-as-real” lighting you can create when only your imagination will limit you.

Of course, it’s up to you whether you want to plunge boldly into the future, or continue with the tried and true. Traditional and conventional tungsten lamps still take up the most space in lighting catalogues, and they’ll no doubt be available for decades to come. Still, it’s never too early to dream about the future.

And, as always, Angstrom Lighting will be there with the newest technology to help you bring your dreams to light.

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