PROTOCOL The Journal of the entertainment technology industry

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1 PROTOCOL The Journal of the entertainment technology industry PLASA s Technical Standards Program celebrates 20 years of promoting a safer industry plus training and events at : PLASA Technical Standards updates and training offered at LDI2014 with ETCP renewal credits PLASA Members Choice Product Awards Standards on the Stage 76 Volume 19 Number 4

2 PLASA s Technical Standards Program celebrates 20 years of promoting a safer industry By Mike Wood, Mike Garl, and Karl G. Ruling Thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who contribute to this thriving program Is it really 20 years since the ESTA (as it was back then) standards committee was formally ratified as an ANSI standards body? It doesn t feel that long ago, is it just us getting older? We felt this should be a milestone, primarily as recognition of the huge amount of volunteer work that has gone in from hundreds of ESTA/ PLASA members over those years to make the program thrive. It s the participation of the people reading and acting on those words that matters. Just listing the 50+ documents created in that time might be impressive, but would make dull reading. Instead we thought of showing photographs of entertainment venues, highlighting the areas that TSP Standards have touched and, we hope, improved. I don t think there will be anyone reading this journal who can t relate to many of them. Do you think about truss standards every time you are standing underneath one on a stage? Perhaps not, but you are darn glad they are there! The TSP suite of standards primarily fall into three categories: safety, inter-connectivity and communication, and measurement. Of those three areas the heading to this piece stresses safety with the words, promoting a safer industry and safety is clearly a primary driver of the TSP. It s the reason many of the rigging and electrical standards exist and there is no doubt that we have helped make the industry a safer place to work. However, to my mind, the other standards types are equally important, and help drive the economic engine behind the entertainment technology industry. Where would we be without the agreement on communication that lies behind DMX512? Yes, it s an ANSI standard originally formulated by USITT and then formalized by ESTA, but its real importance comes from a global agreement between all of us to use it. The words on the piece of paper are meaningless without our participation. To a greater or lesser extent, that s true of all the PLASA TSP Standards. No piece of paper makes the world a safer or betterconnected place. It s the participation of the people reading and acting on those words that matters. So, to everyone who has participated in the standards process over the last 20 years by proposing, formulating, drafting, writing, reviewing, critiquing, reading, or using a PLASA TSP standard: Thank you, and here s to the next 20 years! n Mike Garl has served as the Co-Chair of the Technical Standards Council since 2005 and is one of the original members of the ESTA TSC. Prior, he was the founding Chair of the Rigging Working Group. After 29 years as the President of James Thomas Engineering, Inc. and Tomcat USA (at different times), Mike is sharing his knowledge as an ETCP Recognized Trainer and is teaching as often as possible. He can be reached at: mike@mikegarlconsulting.com. Mike Wood runs Mike Wood Consulting LLC, which provides consulting support to companies within the entertainment industry on product design, technology strategy, R&D, standards, and Intellectual Property. A 35- year veteran of the entertainment technology industry, Mike is the Immediate Past Chair of the PLASA Governing Body and Co-Chair of the Technical Standards Council. Mike can be reached at mike@mikewoodconsulting.com. Karl G. Ruling is PLASA s Technical Standards Manager. He also serves as Protocol s Senior Technical Editor. Karl can be reached at karl. ruling@plasa.org. 22

3 Thank you to the 200+ volunteers who attend the quarterly PLASA TSP meetings and move the standards work forward! Here is a small sampling from the July 2014 TSP meetings. PLASA s Erin Grabe and Karl Ruling with Photometrics Working Group members Jerry Gorrell, Ken Vannice, and Mitch Hefter. Members of the Control Protocols Task Group Maya Nigrosh, Scott Blair, Bob Goddard, Sang-Kyu Lim, Milton Davis, Sang-Il Choi, and Hyun Jong Kim. Members of the Control Protocols Working Group work to create an RDM training program, including: Roger Lattin, Larry Schoeneman, Michael Lay, Richard Cadena, Alan Rowe, Eddie Kramer, Mitch Hefter, Milton Davis, Peter Willis, and Bill Ellis. Control Protocols BSR E1.33 RDMNet Task Group members: Kevin Loewen, Sang-Kyu Lim, Sang-Il Choi, Hyun Jong Kim, Jason Potterf, Eric Johnson, Scott Blair, Maya Nigrosh, Michael Karlsson, Simon Newton, Sean Sill, Philip Nye, and Paul Kleissler. Members of the TSP Council, front row: Steve Terry, Jules Lauve, Eddie Kramer, Bill Sapsis, and Larry Schoeneman. Back row: Mitch Hefter, Jerry Gorrell, Kenn Vannice, Mike Wood, Eddie Raymond, Karl Ruling, Erin Grabe, Michael Lay, Mike Garl, Alan Rowe, and Matthew Antonucci. 23 PROTOCOL

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5 Standards all around us: ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Temporary Structures Used for Technical Production of Outdoor Entertainment Events 2. ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Design, Manufacture, and Use of Aluminum Trusses and Towers 3. ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Design, Inspection, and Maintenance of Electric Chain Hoists for the Entertainment Industry; ANSI E , Selection and Use of Chain Hoists in the Entertainment Industry; and ANSI E , Portable Control of Fixed-Speed Electric Chain Hoists in the Entertainment Industry 4. BSR E x, Entertainment Technology Safety Requirements for LED, Video, and Display Systems (standard under development) 5. ANSI E (R2012), Entertainment Technology Recommended Testing Methods and Values for Shock Absorption of Floors Used in Live Performance Venues; and ANSI E (R2014), Entertainment Technology Measuring and Specifying the Slipperiness of Floors Used in Live Performance Venues 6. BSR E x, Recommended Practice for the Prevention of Falls from Theatrical Stages and Raised Performance Platforms (standard under development) 7. Camera Crane Operator s Handbook 8. ANSI E , Recommended Practice for the Use of Class A Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs) Intended for Personnel Protection in the Entertainment Industry 9. ANSI E (R2012), Reporting Photometric Performance Data for Luminaires Used in Entertainment Lighting; ANSI E (R2013), Entertainment Technology USITT DMX512-A, Asynchronous Serial Digital Data Transmission Standard for Controlling Lighting Equipment and Accessories; ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Architecture for Control Networks; ANSI E , Entertainment Technology RDM-Remote Device Management over USITT DMX512 Networks; ANSI E , Recommended Basic Conditions for Measuring the Photometric Output of Stage and Studio Luminaires by Measuring Illumination Levels Produced on a Planar Surface; ANSI E (R2011), Entertainment Technology Standard for Portable Control Cables for Use with USITT DMX512/1990 and E1.11 (DMX512-A) Products; ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Lightweight Streaming Protocol for Transport of DMX512 using ACN; ANSI E , Standard for Lens Quality Measurements for Pattern Projecting Luminaires Intended for Entertainment Use; ANSI E , Recommendations for Measuring and Reporting Photometric Performance Data for Entertainment Luminaires Utilizing Solid State Light Sources; ANSI E , A Recommended Luminous Efficiency Function for Stage and Studio Luminaire Photometry; and many more. 10. ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Loudspeaker Enclosures Intended for Overhead Suspension Classification, Manufacture, and Structural Testing Miami Jazz in the Gardens, 2013, in Miami, FL. 25 PROTOCOL Photo courtesy of Mountain Productions Not shown: ANSI E (R2014), Entertainment Technology Theatrical Fog Made With Aqueous Solutions of Di- and Trihydric Alcohols; ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Design and Execution of Theatrical Fog Effects; and ANSI E (R2014), Product Safety Standard for Theatrical Fog Generators that Create Aerosols of Water, Aqueous Solutions of Glycol or Glycerin, or Aerosols of Highly Refined Alkane Mineral Oil

6 Photo courtesy ETC Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, WI Standards all around us: 3 1. ANSI E (R2014), Entertainment Technology Measuring and Specifying the Slipperiness of Floors Used in Live Performance Venues; and ANSI E (R2012), Entertainment Technology Recommended Testing Methods and Values for Shock Absorption of Floors Used in Live Performance Venues 2. ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Manual Counterweight Rigging Systems 3. ANSI E (R2011), Entertainment Technology Recommended Practices and Guidelines for the Assembly and Use of Theatrical Boom & Base Assemblies 4. ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Dimensional Requirements for Stage Pin Connectors 5. ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Architecture for Control Networks; ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Lightweight Streaming Protocol for Transport of DMX512 Using ACN 6. BSR E x, Recommended Practice for the Prevention of Falls from Theatrical Stages and Raised Performance Platforms (standard under development) 7. ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Design, Inspection, and Maintenance of Electric Chain Hoists for the Entertainment Industry; ANSI E , Selection and Use of Chain Hoists in the Entertainment Industry; and ANSI E , Portable Control of Fixed-Speed Electric Chain Hoists in the Entertainment Industry 8. ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Design, Manufacture, and Use of Aluminum Trusses and Towers 9. ANSI E (R2012), Reporting Photometric Performance Data for Luminaires Used in Entertainment Lighting; and ANSI E , Recommended Basic Conditions for Measuring the Photometric Output of Stage and Studio Luminaires by Measuring Illumination Levels Produced on a Planar Surface 10. ANSI E , A Recommended Luminous Efficiency Function for Stage and Studio Luminaire Photometry; and ANSI E , Standard for Lens Quality Measurements for Pattern Projecting Luminaires Intended for Entertainment Use 11. ANSI E (R2011), Entertainment Technology Standard for Portable Control Cables for Use with USITT DMX512/1990 and E

7 Become an Investor in Innovation (DMX512-A) Products; ANSI E (R2013), Entertainment Technology USITT DMX512-A, Asynchronous Serial Digital Data Transmission Standard for Controlling Lighting Equipment and Accessories; ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Architecture for Control Networks; and ANSI E , Entertainment Technology RDM-Remote Device Management over USITT DMX512 Networks 12. ANSI E (R2014), Entertainment Technology Recommended Practice for Permanently Installed Control Cables for Use with ANSI E1.11 (DMX512-A) and USITT DMX512/1990 Products 13. ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Fire Safety Curtain Systems 14. ANSI E , Entertainment Technology Loudspeaker Enclosures Intended for Overhead Suspension Classification, Manufacture, and Structural Testing 27 PROTOCOL The Technical Standards Program is at the forefront of our industry s effort to create the common standards needed for businesses to become more productive and profitable, and to ensure the safety of audiences and the many people who make their livelihoods in our industry. Investing in the Technical Standards Program is investing in the present and the future of the entertainment technology industry. Whether you are concerned with safety in the workplace or issues of equipment compatibility, you can have an impact by becoming an investor today. The TSP is made possible entirely through sponsorships. We hope you will consider becoming an Investor in Innovation. Your foresight and financial support will allow PLASA to continue to develop the leading standards-making program serving the world-wide entertainment technology industry. You may make a donation online at sponsor.html or by contacting Lori Rubinstein at ext. 702 or lori.rubinstein@plasa.org.