latest news headlines
Strand Lighting Introduces openPalette initiative
Strand Lighting has announced the introduction of the openPalette initiative, providing network access to the core of the Palette OS software. openPalette provides the route for third party developers of software and hardware to connect to their systems in a highly flexible and functional manner.
Recently, lighting designer Richard Pilbrow and programmer Robert Bell presented some of the applications that they used on ‘Tale of Two Cities' that benefited from the openPalette program.
openPalette offers several techniques by which theatre practitioners or other software developers can interact with Palette consoles: Palette's internal scripting system, based on the Lua open source language, allows anyone to create complex additions to Palette's functionality, whether that be importing a patch from Excel or creating automated show reports with show timing for stage managers. Telnet connectivity allows communication between Palette and external software in real time, useful for any number of functions - and already used to provide command line and channel selection display to Westside System's Virtual Magic Sheet application, dramatically extending its functionality. openPalette also offers data export in formats suitable for software such as Rob Halliday's FocusTrack that allow semi-automated creation of show-documentation with focus descriptions and photographs of conventional and moving light focuses and lighting cue states, analysis of equipment (colour, gobo) usage within the show and much more; FocusTrack will also be able to control Palette to further automate the process of taking show documentation photographs, improving the speed and efficiency of that process.
The openPalette methodology demonstrates how the collaborative effort of many diverse developers can succeed where those of one company trying (and often failing) to build a product that does everything for everybody might not.
Robert Bell and the Palette software team at Horizon Controls continue to develop new connectivity. This includes open source applications such as "Cue Tip" illustrated here, allowing cue information to be displayed for stage management, follow spot operators and others direct from any Palette family console.
4th December 2008
HEADLINES
news archive
search stories
FOOTNOTE: Select the news type you require in the red band above; this will enable you to see the current news stories from that section
© 1999 - 2012 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories
