USITT's Lighting Commission and Standards Committee have announced the posting of the canvass of RP-2 Lighting Graphics Recommended Practice (Version 5) to the USITT website. This canvass is open for public review until 5 p.m. on March 20, 2006. 

The canvass  documents, informational sheets, and ballot can all be accessed at www.usitt.org/standards/UsittRP-2v5.html or through the USITT web site.

All interested parties are encouraged to review the documents, which include the complete canvass, comments on previous versions, and a letter to members, and participation in the ballot process

To Top

The ESTA working groups meeting in Orlando during the week of the LDI trade show approved the initiation of six standards projects. ANSI requires that the initiation of projects be widely announced so people can be aware of the projects, can participate, or can argue against the projects.

People interested in working on a project must join the working group for the project. Information about joining working groups and the need for voting members in under-represented interest categories is available on the ESTA web site. Those wishing to argue against a project can write to standards@esta.org.

The Control Protocols Working Group voted to start the job of reaffirming the existing ANSI standard for analog control. ANSI E1.3-2001, Entertainment Technology--Lighting Control Systems--0 to 10V Analog Control Specification is approaching its fifth anniversary and action must be taken to keep the document active and in the ANSI catalog. The standard has been useful as a lowest common denominator control method for connecting a variety of controllers and controlled products.

E1.30-200X, Application Level Equipment Interoperability for Control of Commonly Encountered Entertainment Technology Devices Using E1.17 is nearly complete, but there is a need to continue developing equipment interoperability profiles to be used in conjunction with it. This BSR E1.30 specification will consist of a set of Interoperability Profiles defining standard DMP device types using device description templates written in DDL.

The Control Protocols Working Group's E1.31-200X, Lightweight Streaming Protocol for Transport of DMX512UIU using CAN, although almost complete, needs a minimal subset of DMP operating at the ACN root layer for streaming data for very lightweight devices.

E1.29-200X, Product Safety Standard for Theatrical Fog Generators that Create Aerosols of Aqueous Solutions of Glycol or Glycerin, or Aerosols of Highly Refined Alkane Mineral Oil will be taken on by the Fog and Smoke Working Group. Currently there is no product safety standard specifically for theatrical fog generators used by Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories. This BSR E1.29 project is intended to develop a product safety standard that addresses the safety of the machine and the fog it produces.

The Fog and Smoke Working Group will reaffirm the existing ANSI E1.14-2001 Entertainment Technology--Recommendations for Inclusions in Fog Equipment Manuals ANSI E1.14-2001 is available for free on the ESTA website and at ANSI's eStandards Store.

The Photometrics Working Group will revise E1.9-2001, Reporting Photometric Performance Data for Luminaires Used in Entertainment Lighting.

Public review of the documents produced by these projects will be announced in future issues of ESTA's Standards Watch and ANSI Standards Action. The review document for a standard being reaffirmed without modification will be the existing document, which will be made available at the current price.

For more information, contact Karl G. Ruling, ESTA Technical Standards Manager, ESTA, 875 Sixth Avenue, Suite 1005, New York, NY 10001, phone 212-244-1505; fax-212-244-1502; e-mail standards@esta.org.

To Top

Did you know that every year USITT offers a wide variety of food and beverages for all types of events at the Annual Conference & Stage Expo? Catered functions are easy to arrange, just contact Brian Petranchuk at the USITT office at 800-938-7488 or e-mail brian@office.usitt.org and he will provide you with the menus and coordinate your catering needs with Conference hotels and the Kentucky International Convention Center.

To Top

The Gilbert V. Hemsley Jr. Internship in Lighting will accept applications for the 22nd annual Internship Program with the New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, and the Lincoln Center Festival from January 1 to February 15, 2006. Finalists will be interviewed April 8 in conjunction with the Hemsley Lighting Portfolio Review on April 9, 2006.

Mr. Hemsley dedicated his life to the training of young theatre professionals, and the internship has continued this work. It provides a small monthly stipend in addition to travel expenses.

For more information, contact Mark Stanley, Lighting Director, New York City Ballet, 20 Lincoln Center, New York, NY 10023 or e-mail hemsleylighting@aol.com or mstanley@nycballet.com.

To Top