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Show control is the use of technology
Technology

Technology is a broad concept that deals with an animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects an animal species' ability to control and adapt to its Natural environment....
 to link together and operate multiple entertainment
Entertainment

Entertainment is an activity designed to give people pleasure or relaxation. An audience may participate in the entertainment passively as in watching opera or a movie, or actively as in games....
 control systems in a coordinated manner. It is distinguished from entertainment control (a term much less common than its specific forms, e.g. lighting control
Lighting control console

A lighting control console is an electronic device used in theatrical lighting designer to control multiple stage lighting at once. They are used throughout the entertainment industry and are normally placed at the Front of House position or in a Control booth ....
), which coordinates elements within a single entertainment discipline
Discipline

In its most general sense, discipline refers to systematic instruction given to a disciple. This sense also preserves the origin of the word, which is Latin disciplina "instruction", from the root discere "to learn," and from which discipulus "disciple, pupil" also derives....
 such as lighting
Lighting

File:Gare de l'Est Paris 2007 033.jpgLighting 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....
, sound
Audio engineering

Audio engineering is a part of audio science dealing with the recording and reproduction of sound through mechanical and electronic means. The field draws on many disciplines, including electrical engineering, acoustics, psychoacoustics, and music....
, video
Video

Video is the technology of electronics Videography, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing Scene in motion....
, rigging
Rigging

Rigging is, on sailboats and sailing ships, the collection of apparatus through which the force of the wind is transferred to the ship in order to propel it forward....
 or pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics

Pyrotechnics is the science of materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound....
. An example of show control would be linking a video segment with a number of lighting cues, or having a sound track trigger animatronic movements -- or all of these combined.






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Show control is the use of technology
Technology

Technology is a broad concept that deals with an animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects an animal species' ability to control and adapt to its Natural environment....
 to link together and operate multiple entertainment
Entertainment

Entertainment is an activity designed to give people pleasure or relaxation. An audience may participate in the entertainment passively as in watching opera or a movie, or actively as in games....
 control systems in a coordinated manner. It is distinguished from entertainment control (a term much less common than its specific forms, e.g. lighting control
Lighting control console

A lighting control console is an electronic device used in theatrical lighting designer to control multiple stage lighting at once. They are used throughout the entertainment industry and are normally placed at the Front of House position or in a Control booth ....
), which coordinates elements within a single entertainment discipline
Discipline

In its most general sense, discipline refers to systematic instruction given to a disciple. This sense also preserves the origin of the word, which is Latin disciplina "instruction", from the root discere "to learn," and from which discipulus "disciple, pupil" also derives....
 such as lighting
Lighting

File:Gare de l'Est Paris 2007 033.jpgLighting 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....
, sound
Audio engineering

Audio engineering is a part of audio science dealing with the recording and reproduction of sound through mechanical and electronic means. The field draws on many disciplines, including electrical engineering, acoustics, psychoacoustics, and music....
, video
Video

Video is the technology of electronics Videography, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing Scene in motion....
, rigging
Rigging

Rigging is, on sailboats and sailing ships, the collection of apparatus through which the force of the wind is transferred to the ship in order to propel it forward....
 or pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics

Pyrotechnics is the science of materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound....
. An example of show control would be linking a video segment with a number of lighting cues, or having a sound track trigger animatronic movements -- or all of these combined. Shows with or without live actor
Actor

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
s almost invariably incorporate entertainment control technology and usually benefit from show control to operate these subsystems simultaneously or independently. Shows which are performed once or only a few times are often not considered candidates for show control since considerable preplanning and programming is usually required, but this may change as the technology, ease of operation and programming of show control software and systems matures.

MIDI Show Control


The MIDI Show Control
MIDI Show Control

MIDI Show Control, or MSC, is a significant Real Time System Exclusive extension of the international Musical Instrument Digital Interface standard....
 (MSC) standard is an open, industry wide international communications protocol
Communications protocol

In the field of telecommunications, a communications protocol is the set of standard rules for data representation, Signalling , authentication and Error detection and correction required to send information over a communications channel....
 through which all types of show devices may easily communicate. To create the MSC spec, Charlie Richmond
Charlie Richmond

Category:Articles needing more viewpointsCharlie Richmond is an entrepreneur and inventor born 1950-01-05....
 headed the USITT MIDI Forum on their Callboard Network
Callboard Network

The Callboard Network was an electronic communication network operated by the University of Alberta for USITT in the late 1980s and early 1990s....
 in 1990, which included developers and designers from the theatre sound and lighting industry from around the world. This Forum created the MSC standard between January and September, 1990. it was ratified by the MIDI Manufacturers Association
MIDI Manufacturers Association

The MIDI Manufacturers Association, also known as MMA is an organization where companies work together to create the standards that assure compatibility among MIDI products....
 (MMA) in January, 1991, and the Japan MIDI Standards Committee
Japan MIDI Standards Committee

The Japan MIDI Standards Committee is the body that ratifies and proposes MIDI standards within the Japanese manufacturing and developer community....
 (JMSC) later that year, becoming a part of the standard MIDI specification in August, 1991. The first show to fully utilize the MSC specification was the Magic Kingdom Parade
Magic Kingdom Parade

The Magic Kingdom Parade is a large theatre at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World which dates back to the beginning of the theme park.It is composed of many floats, each of which has its own theme music which is synchronised with a rhythm track that plays underneath the theme music for all floats simultaneously....
 at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. The first park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1971. The park saw an estimated 17 million visitors in 2007, making it the most visited theme park in the world....
 in September, 1991.

Show Control Systems


Generally, there are two kinds of show control systems, PC based and embedded systems. Manufacturers of embedded show control systems use their own micro controller designs. They have to develop the software and hardware. PC based show control systems use standard PC's, enhanced by standard interfaces (RS232/422 ports, Ethernet, USB etc...).
System Pro Contra
embedded small devices with low power consumption. Usually robust, disk less systems. expandable only with controllers from the same manufacturer. More expensive than PC based solutions.
PC based cheap and manufacturer independent hardware platform, available everywhere in the world. Expandable with any standard PC interface from any manufacturer. Most PC based show control software runs on Windows only.


External links

has further definitions and links to many Show Control resources. (third edition) by John Huntington, Published by Focal Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-240-80937-3 (V1.0, still a valid subset, is now superseded by V1.1) subscription page. related to Show Control. related to Show Control.