Entertainment technology is the discipline of using manufactured or created components to enhance or make possible any sort of
entertainmentAn entertainment is any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time.Entertainment is typically passive - as in watching opera or a movie. Activities which involve participating in games or sports are more often considered to be recreation...
experience. Because entertainment categories are so broad, and because entertainment models the world in many ways, the types of implemented technology are derived from a variety of sources. Thus, in theatre, for example, entertainment technology practitioners must be able to design and construct scenery, install electrical systems, build clothing, use motors if there is scenery automation, provide plumbing (if functioning kitchen fixtures are required, or if "singing in the rain"), etc.
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Entertainment technology is the discipline of using manufactured or created components to enhance or make possible any sort of
entertainmentAn entertainment is any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time.Entertainment is typically passive - as in watching opera or a movie. Activities which involve participating in games or sports are more often considered to be recreation...
experience. Because entertainment categories are so broad, and because entertainment models the world in many ways, the types of implemented technology are derived from a variety of sources. Thus, in theatre, for example, entertainment technology practitioners must be able to design and construct scenery, install electrical systems, build clothing, use motors if there is scenery automation, provide plumbing (if functioning kitchen fixtures are required, or if "singing in the rain"), etc. In this way, the entertainment technology field intersects with most other types of technology.
Traditionally, entertainment technology is derived from theatrical
stagecraftStagecraft is a generic term referring to the technical aspects of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes, but is not limited to, constructing and rigging scenery, hanging and focusing of lighting, design and procurement of costumes, makeup, procurement of props, stage management, and...
, and in fact stagecraft is an important subset of the discipline. However, the rise of new types and venues for entertainment, as well as rapidly advancing technological development, has increased the range and scope of its practice.
Entertainment Technology includes:
- Scenery fabrication
- Properties
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is any object held or used on stage by an actor for use in furthering the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The...
- Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
- Lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some aesthetic or practical effect. Lighting includes use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and natural illumination of interiors from daylight. Daylighting is often used as the main source of light during...
- Sound
Sound is a travelling wave which is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.- Perception of sound...
- Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.-History:...
- Show control
Show control is the use of technology to link together and operate multiple entertainment control systems in a coordinated manner. It is distinguished from entertainment control , which coordinates elements within a single entertainment discipline such as lighting, sound, video, rigging or...
- Automation
Automation is the use of control systems , in concert with other applications of information technology , to control industrial machinery and processes, reducing the need for human intervention...
- Animatronics
Animatronics is the use of electronics and robotics in mechanised puppets to simulate life.Animatronics are mainly used in moviemaking, but also in theme parks and other forms of entertainment. Its main advantages to CGI and stop motion is that it is not a simulation of reality, but are physical...
- Interactive environments
- Computer simulation
In animation and game design the phrase
entertainment technology refers to a very real world of
entertainmentAn entertainment is any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time.Entertainment is typically passive - as in watching opera or a movie. Activities which involve participating in games or sports are more often considered to be recreation...
experiences made possible by the advent of primarily computer-mediated digital technologies.
Education
Traditionally, people interested in careers in this field either presented themselves as apprentices within craft unions, or attended college programs in theatre technology. Although both are appropriate in limited ways, the growing world of entertainment technology encompasses many different types of performance and display environments than the theatre. To this end, newer opportunities have arisen that provide a wider educational base than these more traditional environments. A seminal article "Rethinking Entertainment Technology Education" by Jon Huntington describes new teaching philosophies that resonate with the need for a richer and more flexible educational environment.
"We need to bridge the worlds of ivory-tower theatre education
with the commercial world of live entertainment production. I
believe this bridge would be beneficial not just to the technical
students, but to the whole art of performance. When high-tech
systems such as video, moving lights, computerized sound,
mechanized scenery and show control are mastered by even
average entertainment technicians, they can advance the state
of their craft, which will allow artists to advance the state of
their art."
Schools that offer programs or degrees in entertainment technology include: