Automated Lighting: The Art and Science of Moving Light in Theatre, Live Performance, and Entertainment

Great for someone who is technologically minded and is interested in the inner workings of moving head lights. Not much about design with, or techniques for use, but, great if you want to feel you could take them on the road with you and feel like you would be able to diagnose a few of the more simple problems.

I remember the first time I saw the VL100's on TV - ClubMTV to be exact. The fascination never ended - eventually I became an LD and actually had some VL's on tour. This book covers everything. I just wish this came out in 1989 when the industry was taking off!!!

Richard Cadena does it again (enjoyed his first book "Focus on Lighting Technology" and still use it in my Lighting Tech '101' class) with a text that takes the dry and technical, and makes it fresh, even palatable. I've used Richard Cadena's "Automated Lighting" for the last two semesters in my moving lighting class. Students in both semesters have remarked that it is a comprehensive view of "how things work" with the movers; past, present and future. It is also on my must-read book list for graduate students in the MFA lighting program. Specifically, the chapters on "basic" electricity and datacomm are quite thorough. Whether it was DMX-512/512A, RDM or ACN, Cadena's writing covers them well. Couple this book with a good hands-on class and you have an excellent initial experience into a much bigger, sometimes complicated world. I'm grateful to the author for his book and his work in the industry.

This book is an outstanding resource for anyone involved with Automated Lighting. It covers a wide range of lighting topics, but each with detail and accuracy. A must for anyone just starting to work with autoamtion (especially repairs), but has some great information for old pros as well. While this book has more for technicians than designers, any automation designer may find most of the content useful.