Basics of Lighting
If you are completely new to lighting and consoles, you should start by reading our
or viewing some of these materials:
The ETC Ion Lighting Board
The Ion has quickly become the standard lighting board for theater shows on both traveling shows and in repertory houses.
The Peoria Civic Center Theater has the version (picture right), the ION 1000. The BCPA now has the newer version, the ION XE (picture below).
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The complexity of this board's software is enormous, but learning the basics is not difficult. The following link takes you ETC's website and a long list of videos covering a range of topics from introductory level to advanced.
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Take it slow... this software can be daunting, but if you take it at a comfortable speed, you can learn it.
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NOMAD software
If you are a hands-on learner and wish to follow along with these tutorials -- and you don't have a lighting console handy -- you can download the same software for PC or MAC here:
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You will need to learn the keyboard shortcuts for your computer...
....or use the virtual version of the ION desk shown in the picture on the left.