REPORT 027
LED REPORT INTRODUCED BY MIKE WALKER
DURING MIKE WALKER’S 17 YEARS IN THE AV INDUSTRY HE HAS WITNESSED THE EVOLUTION OF LED TECHNOLOGY IN ENTERTAINMENT LIGHTING AND VIDEO. IN HIS CURRENT POSITION AS MARTIN PROFESSIONAL’S UK SALES DIRECTOR, HE WORKS WITH THE LATEST LED EQUIPMENT. AND DURING THE 14 YEARS HE SPENT WITH UK RENTAL COMPANY, CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY, HE SAW THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LED’S IMPACT ON THE INDUSTRY, PARTICULARLY ON VIDEO. AS THE LINES BETWEEN LIGHTING AND VIDEO BECOME EVER MORE BLURRED, MIKE TELLS US HOW THE KEY VISUAL ELEMENTS THAT WERE ONCE TREATED AS SEPARATE ENTITIES, ARE UNIFYING IN A HAPPY MARRIAGE BUILT ON CREATION AND INNOVATION.
It is probably the most talked about technology in the entertainment hardware business; the Light Emitting Diode (LED) has established itself as light source extraordinaire, appearing in video screens and in every type of professional lighting fixture, and bringing with it new and exciting creative possibilities as well as their much debated green credentials. The technology is developing at a pace, and the convergence of lighting and video has become a reality, with the humble LED an enabling catalyst. The first use of LEDs in a video screen was around 1995, when the Nichia Cor- poration in Japan invented the high brightness blue LED, completing the RGB trium- virate and opening the door for full colour video. Before this time, in what was to become the LED screen business, the ‘giant outdoor video screens’ (as they were known) of the day used old television CRT technology to display big video pictures, in daylight. These screens used an array of miniature TVs of 80 - 40mm pitch, and not surprisingly weighed four or five times more than their lean LED cousins. These mammoths were craned into venues like Wembley stadium for only the biggest acts of the time, like Genesis and Michael Jackson, and by making the performance vis- ible to the punters at the back of the stadium, set the tills ringing for promoters. Screenco was the first UK rental company to offer an LED video screen to the mar- ket, with the SACO 15mm, which was 2.5mm higher in resolution than their best CRT screen, and offered significant weight advantages. And with its modular design, it was tourable. The business grew rapidly from here on, with more manufacturers developing screens at a lower cost and increasingly higher resolutions. Before long LED screens were appearing in every type of entertainment and live event produc- tion, and the technology matured as LEDs became surface mounted clusters rather than discreet ‘lamps’, and resolutions telescoped down to 3mm pixel pitch, achiev- ing respectability and acceptance in the world of broadcast video.
While all this was going on in video land, the lighting industry was developing and exploiting the potential of intelligent, dynamic lighting. This lighting sometimes shared the stage with CRT or LED video screens, fighting for the biggest impact. Never the twain to meet, or so it seemed. The problem was that the LD would almost always have to design a show independently of the video director, result- ing in two competing technologies and ideas on stage, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t.
In 2001, while working for Screenco, we came up with the idea of hosting a workshop primarily for lighting and video designers and technicians to experiment with each other’s technologies, and to get a better understanding of each discipline in order to work closer, share ideas and to get the most out of the hardware. The Illuminated Video Workshop, as it was called, also showcased some new ideas of its own with two complete sets designed by Vince Foster and Nick Jevons, which gave visitors the opportunity to play with a decent size rig. Vince’s design used a huge central screen, which split four ways, and with motion control, formed many different set piece looks, some of which later appeared on some rather bigger touring pro- ductions. Our lighting partner was Vari-Lite, and Ed Pagget supplied a ton of great new kit, which Nick used in a very interesting and groundbreaking new way. This was the first time that an LED video screen was deconstructed from the con- fines of its natural 16:9 oblong form and had its modules ‘exploded’ across three dimensions to create something truly new and original. The Abstract set had LED panels interspersed with moving lights, each with separate control sending discrete video and DMX signals.
From here the use of video screens as scenic lighting tools began and the two, once competing technologies, started to merge and create more coherent and powerful designs for touring, TV and theatre productions. At this point the idea of
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