ETC shares latest LED developments for broadcast lighting at ILF 2015

More than 120 broadcast lighting professionals from cities throughout Asia attended the International Lighting Forum 2015, from November 13 ^th through 15 ^th , in Beijing. The event was organized by the Communications University of China (CUC) and two China Television Artists Association committees: the Television and Stage Visual Art Committee and the College and University Art Committee of China. ETC and its Chinese dealer, Hangzhou YiDaShi Lighting Equipment Co. Ltd., also helped with organizing the event. The three-day forum on innovative studio lighting system design and technology outlook gave attendees the opportunity to learn from international examples and interact with other professionals.

Mark London, a member of IES (Illuminating Engineering Society) and the executive vice president of operations and systems for the Lighting Design Group (LDG), partnered with colleague Brian McRae, a multiple-Emmy award-winning lighting designer, to give keynote addresses about broadcast-lighting infrastructure and the future of broadcast lighting in China and abroad. 

London talked about the key components and considerations of system design, as well as global trends. McRae demonstrated ETC LED luminaires, sharing his lighting-design experience, insight and tips for filming in a studio. Both keynote addresses drew a huge crowd.

"It was our pleasure to represent LDG at the conference," says London. "We share many of the same concerns as our Chinese colleagues regarding how to support the evolution of broadcast lighting, primarily how to move past the 'basic illumination' concept that used to dominate TV news lighting, and move towards the more creative and entertainment-oriented visual style that's now required to compete in our much more visually diverse and stimulating world." McRae adds: "With the new technology, there will be a new workflow in terms of design and control.

Johnny KL Yeung, the technical director of Transmedia in Indonesia, was impressed by London and McRae's sessions, because they touched on crucial lighting requirements and considerations for infrastructure and system design. "McRae's demonstration was uniquely technical, and he did an excellent job in terms of lighting fundamentals and advanced LED lighting capabilities," describes Yeung.

David Hilton, ETC West Coast associate regional manager, gave a presentation on lighting outside the broadcast studio, focusing on several Hollywood case studies, such as popular American television series, talk shows, and famous award ceremonies. He also led a training on the award-winning color controls available in ETC lighting-control systems and ETC LED fixtures , which offer the broadest color range on the market. Source Four® LED Series 2 Daylight HD and Studio HD luminaires were specifically designed for broadcast-lighting use, and Hilton showed forum attendees how to use the luminaires to make the optimal color of white light on camera. 

He split the audience into multiple groups, allowing them to get hands-on experience with various types of ETC Source Four LED and ColorSource® fixtures , as well as the color-mixing tools in the new v2.3 Eos®-family software. Among the many things attendees learned through these exercises, they noted how the tint buttons in the Eos family's Color Picker bring together x7 Color System™, RGB, RGBA,  RGBW, RGBAW, and CMY tools so designers can find any color the way they want, quickly and easily. They allow strikingly fast and intuitive manipulation of color, especially white light on skin tones. "The new Eos Color Picker adds a tremendous amount of fluidity between the designer, the programmer, and the lights on the set," explains Hilton.

Chinese television-lighting professionals were asked to share their thoughts on LED-fixture development and case studies in new studios. Han Dong, CUC lecturer, talked about broadcast-lighting design development and its impact on lighting education. Ge GuangLi, deputy section chief of the News Production department in the CCTV News Center, presented studio and live-broadcast LED applications. And Yang Shan, Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation lighting designer, analyzed the lighting design of JSBC's news studio, including their new studio with lighting design by LDG that is about to premiere.

"The forum brings together top lighting professionals and major players in the industry here and abroad and provides an unparalleled platform to freely exchange ideas and foster in-depth discussions," says Liu GuangJun from Shanxi Television. "The interaction between attendees and guests brought about intense but enjoyable debates, especially during the exploration of future broadcast infrastructure."

Fang ZhiLing, manager of the Stage Lighting department at Wuhan Television, describes the forum as "bringing out a totally different mode of communication for the industry. In particular, our American counterparts generously shared their experience and new-market knowledge, helping attendees better understand where the industry is heading." 

"This was one of the best technical forums I have encountered," concludes Yeung.