Specifications

Controlling LED Lighting20
Light shows and light maps
A light show is a set of digital instructions that a controller uses to determine how and when a system of installed LED
lighting fixtures produces illumination. Whether a light show is a simple color fade on a single fixture or a complex
presentation encompassing dozens of fixtures each displaying unique effects or layers of effects, the goal is the same: to
create mood, interest, and impact.
Light shows include or use light maps or plans. A light map is a virtual
representation of your physical lighting installation, including light node
addressing and relative light fixture positioning. The light show author
explicitly assigns effects to groups of nodes on the light map and
customizes them.
For video content, a light map is often maintained by a video
controller that accepts video input from a separate media server. The
video controller scales and samples the video content, and manages
the lighting nodes in the installation as pixels in a display. Because
configuration and authoring of video displays using thousands of LED
lighting nodes can be extremely complex, you may need the services
of a media content creation professional, or applications engineering
services offered by the controller maker.
The software components of iPlayer 3, Light System Manager, and
Pharos Designer offer fully featured graphical interfaces for creating
light maps, assigning effects to lighting nodes, customizing effects and
deploying them along a timeline, simulating shows online or on the
lighting network itself, and playback configuration.
A graphical representation of your lighting installation
A light map or light plan is a virtual representation of your physical lighting installation. (Above) The light map within ColorPlay 3 light show authoring software
provides a graphical representation of the top of the Prudential Tower, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, for convenient addressing, effect creation, and realistic simulation
of the shows designed to run on the 34 ColorReach Powercore LED oodlights installed beneath the observation deck. (Right and far right) The lighting plan within
Pharos Designer provides a graphical representation of the 640 linear LED xtures installed around the east and west circumferences of the 450-foot-high London
Eye, London, England. Control is provided by three Pharos LPC 2 controllers.
Photography: Steve Marsel