TECHNOLOGY
Lighting control: a brief history Elation’s Bob Mentele reflects on the evolution of lighting control systems TODAY, LIGHTING CONTROL CAN BE as easy as saying, ‘Alexa, turn off the table lamp’. We may take for granted the fact that when we raise a fader on our console or computer screen, all of the lights fade up, move and change colour at our command. Simplified lighting control and manipulation has become second nature to us, but it certainly wasn’t always that way. Electronic lighting control first made its appearance in the late 1950s. The biggest change that made this possible was the development of electronic dimming technology. Before that was created, control of a lighting system relied on physical resistance dimming systems and, most often, a
team of people to run them. The new electronic systems used an analogue control method, typically a 0–10V signal. This signal was attenuated, or modified, using a series of sliders or faders on a control board. The level of attenuation had a direct impact on the 0–10V signal, which was then interpreted by the dimmer into the output power level to the lighting fixture. Eventually, designers created what is called a two-scene preset board. These consoles consist of two banks of faders, one for each ‘scene’. The two banks each contain a fader for every dimmer in the lighting system. The lighting settings can be adjusted and set Bob Mentele
A Strand Polarised Relay two-scene preset console, released in 1955 Image courtesy of the Alan Luxford Collection, www.threatrecrafts.com
46 WORSHIP AVL July–August 2020
in one bank, and the other bank allows for the operator to preset the settings for the next scene. When it’s time to switch scenes, the operator simply has to adjust what are called ‘crossfaders’. These are a pair of inversely proportional faders. One is at full intensity when in the up position, while the other is at full when in the down position. When the operator moves these two faders, the corresponding scene fades in or out, depending on the direction the crossfaders are moved. The crossfaders can also be moved independently of one another, allowing for a variety of fade effects by the operator. While this allowed for much more creative control of a lighting system, it still took an operator time to preset the following scene. If a series of scenes needed to occur rapidly, it would be difficult to achieve. Eventually, an expansion of the two-scene preset was created. It was referred to as a preset panel. This system was based on the same concept as the two-scene but allowed for as many as 10 different scenes to be set in advance. The system would be controlled by two operators – one would set the scenes at the panel while the other controlled the operator’s board, which had a bank of buttons to assign scenes to different crossfaders. This system
was not nearly as common as the two-scene preset due to its size and cost. Two-scene preset consoles are still available today and make a great, low-cost option for small or non-complex lighting systems. As computer technology became more affordable, lighting companies began to develop computerised controllers. These controllers allowed for all of the lighting presets to be
A Strand Luminous Preset console, released in 1966
