Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1991 - 64

smoke pocket or other architectural
details (in non-proscenium spaces) necessary ro orient the lighting design, elevations of booms, torm ladders and other
vertical positions, identiflcarion (name
and plan location) of lighting positions,
identification of critical sightlines, identiflcarion of lighring areas, the instrument
key, and rhe titleblock.
The instrument symbols used on
scale lighting plors should accurarely represent the acrual size of rhe instruments
and use a standard identification mark
for focal length or beam angle. Instruments require adequate spacing in layout
to allow traverse during focus. Servoopera red instruments should have their
rotation area indicated. The standard
information on the plot rhar should be
included with the instrument symbol
consists of an instrumen t number as an
aid ro location, a symbol for attached
hardware (such as rem plates, irises, color
scrollers, top hats, barn doors, erc.), rhe
channel, the circuir and/or dimmer number or a space for rhe electrician to add
rhe circuit and/or dimmer number, rhe
color norarion, a symbol for lamp axis
alignment on PAR cans, and a srandard
rechnique for showing "rwo-fers." Striplighrs should be shown acmal size in scale
and rheir noration should include rhe
channel, rhe circuir and/or dimmer, a
symbol for lamp axis alignment (where
applicable), rhe color, and an indicarion
of focus direcrion. The wanage and rhe
focus nores are srill included on rhe standard noration diagrams bu r for c1ari ry
should be kepr only on rhe hook-up.
The accepred designarion and numbering of hanging posirions and instrumenrs in proscenium configurarions
include rhe following convenrions:
Onsrage electric pipes should number
from downsrage to upsrage. Onsrage
booms should number from downstage
to upsrage. Box-boom or torm positions
should number consisrently wirhin each
plot. All lighring posirions should designate by srage direcrions. Front of house
(FOH) ceiling posirions should number
from the apron to rhe rear of rhc house as
should FOH boom posirions, side coves,
ladders or ports. Balcony rails should
number from rhe floor to the ceiling.
Pipe grids in "black-box" rypc thcatrcs
should number on the "x" or "y" axis of
rhc grid and lener on rhe opposing axis.
Non-conventional black-box lighring
posirions should identify by compass
direcrions. Trim measurements should be
from rhe sragc floor or the deck to rhe
pipc wirh a nore on rhe plor to verify
thcm that dcsignarcs "st:lgc floor" or
"deck." Instruments on srage electric
62

1991

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TD&T

pipes should number from stage left to
stage tight. Instruments on booms
should number from top to bottom.
Strip lights should label (using numbers
or letters) from stage lefr to srage right.
Acceptable locarions for titleblocks are in
the lower righr-hand or left-hand corners
or centered on rhe bonom of the plare.
The instrument key is a very important
source of informarion. It should minimally contain standard identiflcarions of
all instruments and devices shown on the
plor and controlled by rhe lighring console, the instrumenr manufacturer, the
wanage (if rypical for insrrument type),
and a representarion of rhe typical instrument noration merhod.

THE VERTICAL
LIGHTING SECTION
Vertical lighting sections should minimally contain batten and/or grid trim
heights from rhe srage floor or the deck,
with a note that designates from "stage
floor" or "deck," identification of lighting positions including conflgurarions
for trusses and bridges, a scale view of a
lighting insrrument in each position, an
indication of where rhe section is cur, the
apron or edge of rhe playing area, rhe
back wall of rhe sragehouse or rhe walls
surrounding rhe playing space, all masking visible in rhe seCtion, all archireCtural
and scenic obstrucrions including masking, vertical audience sightlines, a sectional view of rhe scenery, an approximare representation of the lengths
berween rhe clamp and the bortom of an
insrrumenr, a scale represenration of a
human figure, and the titleblock. Vertical
sections should also be in the same scale
as the plot. In proscenium theatres, vertical sections should include the proscenium arch and the smoke pocket.

SYMBOLS
(See pages 63-65.)

LINE WEIGHTS
The adopred line weighr standards are,
for ink, a 0.010" to 0.0 I 25" thin line and
a 0.020" to 0.025" rhick line and, for
pencil, a 0.3 mm rhin line and a 0.5 mm
thick line. In rerms of compurer-aided
design, rhese srandards are well wirhin
the paramerers of DM/PL and HPGL
plotrers. Guidelines for object emphasis
in drawings are rhar insrrument outlines
should be darkest followed by architecrural lines while the ser lines shown for
landmarks should be thc lighrcst. Also,
instrument outlines and information

should take precedence over orner objecrs
in rhe plot. Lettering legibiliry, ease of
use, and rhe allowance of rapid execurion
are the major arrributes of good lettering.
For hand lettering, the single stroke
Gothic style in upper case meers rhese
requirements adequately. In computerized drawing, legibility and consistency
become the primary attributes in rhe
choice of fonts.

COMPUTER-AIDED
DESIGN (CAD)
SYMBOLS
STANDARDS
The symbols in this document are the
product of a CAD program and should
therefore answer the quesrion of whether
these symbols will work in a CAD environment. The ease with which more specific symbols libraries are created on a
computer combined with the wish not to
inhibit personal style should make the
adoption and use of rhese guidelines
more acceprable to the entertainment
lighring community.

FUTURE STANDARDS
As already noted, this process is and
should be ongoing. This standards document is not final and will continue to be
revised as new technology and techniques
are discovered. According to comments
on rhe lighting graphics survey, it appears
rhar the film and television area of lighting graphics will need to be considered
next.

THE GRAPHICS
STANDARDS BOARD,
LIGHTING GRAPHICS
STANDARDS
COMMITTEE
Patrick Gill, [ES
Neil Jampolis, USAA
Richard elson, USAA
Rob Shakespeare, IES
William B. Warfel, S/\A
Eric Schultz, lATSE
John Tissot, SAA
Chris Watts, ABTT

Advisory members:
Dawn Chaing, SAA
Mark Stanley, USAA

Approved by the USJTT EWClitive Committee, AliglISt 1991, Seattle, WA alld recommended for adoptioll by the Board of
Directors at (he \'(Iillter Bllsilless l\t!eetillgs,
November 1991, Reno, NV

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1991