Lighting Progams

[Guest Allyn Laing]

After flicking through an American Cinematographer, I came accross an article on Charlie and the Chocolate factory, it showed a lighting diagram generated on a computer. I am wondering if this was a program specifically designed for lighting or an autocad adaption?

 

Are there programs out there that can be used to design specific layouts and maps for lighting?

 

warm regards

 

Allyn

0423 109 386

[Daniel Madsen]

You can design different types of brushes in photoshop to signify different lighting instruments. I made a bunch of different brushes for lights, subjects, their intermediate positions and the camera. Works well for me.

[Kar Wai Ng]

If you use a Mac or have access to one, I'd recommend looking at OmniGraffle, a very versatile diagramming application. (http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle)

 

In the extras section, there are even downloadable stencils for film lighting and camera staging symbols.

[timHealy]

I know one person who uses Illustrator.

 

best

 

Tim

[Hal Smith]

After flicking through an American Cinematographer, I came accross an article on Charlie and the Chocolate factory, it showed a lighting diagram generated on a computer. I am wondering if this was a program specifically designed for lighting or an autocad adaption?

 

Are there programs out there that can be used to design specific layouts and maps for lighting?

 

warm regards

 

Allyn

0423 109 386

The major players in Lighting CAD programs are LD Assistant, a plug-in for AutoCad (also available with a run-time OEM version of AutoCad bundled in), WYSIWYG, and Vectorworks Spotlight. I've also seen people use Visio for drafting plots. Student versions are available for sizable discounts.

 

The big three have 3D visualization built-in. WYSIWYG interfaces directly with some DMX consoles like Hog II's and III's and you can run a programmed visualization with the console calling the cues.

 

http://www.cast-soft.com/

 

http://www.nemetschek.net/spotlight/

 

http://www.ldassistant.com/

[Guest Allyn Laing]

The major players in Lighting CAD programs are LD Assistant, a plug-in for AutoCad (also available with a run-time OEM version of AutoCad bundled in), WYSIWYG, and Vectorworks Spotlight. I've also seen people use Visio for drafting plots. Student versions are available for sizable discounts.

 

The big three have 3D visualization built-in. WYSIWYG interfaces directly with some DMX consoles like Hog II's and III's and you can run a programmed visualization with the console calling the cues.

 

http://www.cast-soft.com/

 

http://www.nemetschek.net/spotlight/

 

http://www.ldassistant.com/

 

Thankyou Hal for the detailed info I will check this out.

 

Warm regards

Allyn

[Lucita Jones]

Thankyou Hal for the detailed info I will check this out.

 

Warm regards

Allyn

 

 

 

I started using Power Point and made very clean and neat diagrams. But then I felt that the whole process was getting much too clean and digital. I started missing the sense of touch and freedom that comes from using a pencil and eraser. So now I draw my diagrams and then scan them for the rest of the crew. Its a personal thing. When life becomes too digital you start losing the organic part of creating, I feel...

[Jonathan Bowerbank]

...I came accross an article on Charlie and the Chocolate factory, it showed a lighting diagram generated on a computer. I am wondering if this was a program specifically designed for lighting or an autocad adaption?

 

If I remember correctly, the diagrams in that article weren't necessarily diagrams of any specific lighting designs. It was mainly a map for the lighting technician so he could effortlessly strike any lights he wanted just with the click of a mouse.

 

The WYSIWYG program as mentioned is partly based in the Autocad system, only it's lighting specific. I'm not sure if it gets much use in cinematography, it seems to be more a system for lighting live stage performances.

[Hal Smith]

I started using Power Point and made very clean and neat diagrams. But then I felt that the whole process was getting much too clean and digital. I started missing the sense of touch and freedom that comes from using a pencil and eraser. So now I draw my diagrams and then scan them for the rest of the crew. Its a personal thing. When life becomes too digital you start losing the organic part of creating, I feel...

Yes, Lucita, there is something magic about graphite, white rubber, and paper.

 

I design for City Rep, an Equity Small Professional theatre in Oklahoma City. We perform in two theatres, one of which is a darling little 100 seat black box theatre, the other a 299 seat proscenium theatre. For CitySpace, the little black box, I only use a computer for Lightwright IV, a cool lighting database program that's written by a Broadway designer and saves zillions of hours of paperwork documentation. But for plots in CitySpace out comes the pencil - I've only had up to around a 100 instrument count in there including fixtures, scrollers, Cyberlights, etc. so it's practical and just plain pleasing to hand draft plots for there.

 

Now when I've done big shows like a production of "The Sound of Music" in a 1200 seat church out came the computer and LD Assistant. I bought LDA because I use AutoCad in my day business and have a lot of years of experience with it (I already had the full version of Autocad 2005 on my computer). I bought WYSIWYG at one point because of its capability of linking to consoles in a rehearsal mode but hated it, the CAD engine in it is absolutely stupid compared to AutoCad and LD Assistant.