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FEATURED

Halcyon Sets the Stage at Medical Congress

Since its premiere in 2000, the international medical education congress has established itself as Europe’s most important platform for the exchange of scientific and clinical information. Held annually in different European cities, this year’s prestigious and demanding educational program took...

FEATURED

A look back at the first ETC incandescent fixtures

We recently announced that we're saying goodbye to Source Four PAR and PARNel, Source Four jr, and Source Four Fresnels. As we sunset these iconic incandescent fixtures, we thought it would be fun to go way back to the beginning where it all started. Here is a look at some of the first print ads...

SPOTLIGHT

Mars Rover Gets Its Close-up

There is much we don’t know about Mars but thanks to a creative design team, we have a good idea what a Mars rover looks like on the Red Planet. Luckily you don’t have to make the 140-million-mile journey, (roughly 40 years by car at 100 MPH if you could drive). Using an ETC Unison Mosaic system, ...

SPOTLIGHT

HES Fixtures Transform The Weber School Theatre

Atlanta’s The Weber School has installed High End Systems Halcyon Titanium, SolaFrame 3000, SolaPix 7, and SolaFrame Theatre fixtures, as well as HQ100 Performance Hazers and an Eos Apex 10 console to create an absolutely gorgeous theater rig in their space. 36 ColorSource Spot V’s and 36 Fresnel...

FEATURED

Founding ETC Consoles

Earlier this year, a new museum installation was created at the ETC headquarters building. This installation includes several of the very first consoles designed and manufactured by ETC. These are the consoles that launched ETC into the theatrical lighting market. 

SPOTLIGHT

Salzburg Festival upgraded with ETC

Founded in 1920, the Salzburg Festival is regarded as the world's most important festival of classical music and performing arts. The six-week cultural spectacle that takes place every year in July and August offers over 200 events and is attended by more than 250,000 guests. The program highlights...

SPOTLIGHT

Event Resource Group Brings OS4.0 to WWE Trailer

Tampa based Event Resource Group, renowned for cutting-edge lighting designs, successfully completed an impactful and immersive lighting project for the WWE WrestleMania XL Teaser Trailer. The project, which was led by Lighting Designer Marc Reed, was commissioned by Diamond View Studios and filmed...

Eos

Fleet of ETC Gear on Board Regent Seven Seas Grandeur

The newly launched Grandeur is the sixth luxury ship to come from Regent Seven Seas Cruises. With 10 decks that can host up to 744 guests, the cruise ship promises a deluxe vacation experience with beautiful design throughout. In the search for best-in-class, the ship landed on many ETC solutions...

SPOTLIGHT

Celebrating Juneteenth

Happy Juneteenth! This day commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, while also celebrating Black culture. It’s a reminder to learn from our history, while paving a brighter future. ETC believes that we all have a responsibility to listen, reflect, and act to ensure that our industry is...

ETC Culture

ETC Opens New Innovation Centre

On April 16, ETC opened the doors to its new Innovation Centre. Nestled amongst the stunning scenery of Squamish, British Columbia, the Innovation Centre is home to the engineering team behind ETC’s Echoflex line of wireless distributed lighting control products as well as other architectural and...

FEATURED

Happy Pride Month from ETC

During the month of June, we celebrate the LGBTQ+ community while also advocating for their rights. At ETC, we recognize that LGBTQ+ folks have made countless contributions to our industry and within our company. In celebration of Pride, we wanted to take a moment to highlight some of the LGBTQ+...

SPOTLIGHT

Halcyon Fixtures Illuminate The Outsiders on Broadway

With a dozen Tony nominations including ‘Best Musical’, The Outsiders is a true sensation on Broadway. Debuting at The Bernard Jacobs Theatre, the musical is based on S.E. Hinton’s classic novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s motion picture. The Tony nominated lighting design by Brian MacDevitt and...

SPOTLIGHT

Schuster Center Upgrades with Halcyon and SolaPix

The Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center in Dayton, Ohio is a world-class venue hosting national and international touring entertainment. It is also the home of the Dayton Ballet, the Dayton Philharmonic, the Dayton Opera, and numerous local productions. Dayton Live, the organization...

Theater Regensburg Gets a New Look with Halcyon

Theater Regensburg was looking for a powerful and bright solution when they decided to replace their halogen spotlights with LED. Martin Stevens, Head of Lighting at the German venue, noted, “You can’t do a one-to-one replacement with LEDs. But converting to LEDs has become essential. Additionally,...

SPOTLIGHT

Illinois Theatre Fest Overjoyed with Apex

In the winter of 1975, a planning committee began forming the first-ever Illinois High School Theatre Festival. This state-wide festival has been bringing students and teachers together from around the state for this non-competitive event ever since. The 2024 festival featured a production of She...

ETC Culture

ETC is reducing plastic shipping foam

We thought for Earth Day, we would take you behind the scenes for a look at a pretty cool packaging change we started rolling out a few years ago. Our manufacturing team went looking for a more sustainable alternative to the plastic foam that is used to cushion some products for shipping.

LEARN

Stage Lighting Design: Glossary

In the world of stage lighting, designers rely on a multitude of technical terms to create stunning visual effects. However, understanding these terms can sometimes feel like navigating a maze, with their multiple meanings and interpretations. While delving into every single one would be quite the...

SPOTLIGHT

Inspire Solutions Drives Hog 4 For Corporate Events

Based in Irving, Texas, Inspire Solutions is a service event, creative, and digital production company serving many clients, ranging from local, regional, and even international touring to corporate events and beyond. Inspire Solutions’ National Director of Lighting for Show and Event Services,...

FEATURED

ETC Springs into Trade Show Action

ETC has stayed busy this spring with a round of phenomenal industry trade shows. From Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt, to LEDucation in New York, to USITT in Seattle, we’ve had a great time showing customers our latest solutions.

SPOTLIGHT

The Art of Lighting Churches

Every venue in need of new lighting comes with a unique set of challenges and opportunities. This is especially true for churches, spaces that require special attention to accessibility, consistency, and visual simplicity. ETC sat down with Chris Rynne, OCS Lighting + Control’s Director of...

SPOTLIGHT

The Met Goes Gold and Platinum with HES Halcyon

The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center is an iconic performing arts venue and has been a New York City cultural landmark for over a century. Home to the world’s top tier operatic performances, the venue recently upgraded their lighting plot with High End Systems Halcyon Gold and Platinum...

ETC Culture

GLEAM 2023: Enchanted Tree Chronicles

Olbrich Botanical Gardens, located in Madison, Wisconsin, is just a few miles from the ETC headquarters building. For the past six years, in late summer, a team of lighting designers, artists, marketing/branding specialists, and horticulturists collaborated to produce a community art exhibit called...

ETC Culture

2023 et cetera... blog recap

We find ourselves once again at the end of the year. This is the time when we look back and take stock of what we’ve accomplished, the milestones we’ve hit, the people we’ve met, the music we’ve listened to, and recount our favorite memories. We at ETC are, once again, jumping on that bandwagon...

LEARN

Eos in the Woods

Winter in England means it’s getting closer to the holiday season. It means shorter days and longer nights. It means wrapping up warm against the cold. It also means mince pies (my favorite), mulled wine (not my favorite), and festive light trails. These gained popularity during lockdown as it was...

SPOTLIGHT

Bold and Bright at LDI 2023

It was another action-packed show for ETC at LDI 2023! Our booth featured the latest ETC solutions, including conventional fixtures, moving lights, consoles, rigging, and much more. Here is a quick recap of what we were up to in Las Vegas.

SPOTLIGHT

Trio of Companies Turn Cincinnati Titanium

The Cincinnati live / special event market came back strong in 2023, and in a bold, calculated move for their future, three production companies in the area – MAC Productions, Cincy Entertainment Services, and Prestige AV - simultaneously decided to invest in Halcyon, the latest High End Systems...

SPOTLIGHT

2023 Jazz Festival Shines with HES Lighting

A beloved Michigan tradition for over 40 years, the 2023 Detroit Jazz Festival featured over 60 performers, spontaneous late night jam sessions, and 350,000 attendees; online viewership of the festival topped 2.5 million live views. Now a division of Display Group, Fantasee Lighting has been...

SPOTLIGHT

Eos Helps “Astonish” at Hermès Event

Hermès, the famous French luxury design house, unveiled its annual theme as “astonishment” for 2023. During the grand event, Lighting Designer Mathieu Cabanes chose Eos to work with the sunset and the collective (LA)HORDE in a series of performances scenographed by Julien Peissel.

ETC Culture

Dave Young Receives IES Presidential Award

Dave Young, ETC’s Architectural Regional Manager – West, received the Illuminating Engineering Society’s Presidential Award. The award recognizes Young’s hard work to keeping the annual IES conference a success “during unprecedentedly difficult times.” Fittingly, the award was presented at the...

SPOTLIGHT

C&C Open House: A showcase of interactive lighting

In the summer of 2023, Seoul was abuzz with excitement as C&C Lightway, a prominent ETC dealer in the Korean market, hosted an open house event that brought together friends, customers, and industry professionals. This four-day extravaganza attracted over 300 attendees eager to witness the latest...

BRIGHT IDEAS

Creating a Whack-a-Mole Game in Eos

The software behind the Eos family of consoles is world renowned when it comes to lighting control. With over 20 years of software development behind it, it’s not a stretch to say the consoles are feature rich! So much so, it’s sometimes easy to forget just how many options you have at your...

SPOTLIGHT

ETC Lights Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium

Life can be tough for aquarium-bound fish. Their days are spent patrolling the confines of their tank, staring back at the young faces pressed against their glass walls. On the upside, there is companionship, regular meals, and freedom from predators. For the denizens of the Suzanne and Walter...

LEARN

Stage Lighting Design, Part 1: Introduction to Lighting

Are you ready to immerse yourself in the fascinating world of stage lighting design? In this series, we'll take you on a journey through the essential aspects of lighting design, from the very basics of light and color to the technological innovations that allow you to bring your artistic vision to...

SPOTLIGHT

Supporting the queens and celebrating color onscreen

Lighting People understand that more color in each fixture is better, but it’s not often you get to see all those colors grace your TV screen. This is unequivocally (and appropriately) not true for RuPaul’s Drag Race.

“Our show lives in color palettes that are not common,” says Gus Dominguez,...

FEATURED

Philip Vilar: Building a Community for Future Designers

Phil Vilar is a first-generation Latino American working as a lighting designer and educator. Born into a traditional Catholic family, Vilar felt a deep sense of duty to become successful in whatever career they chose. This just so happened to be a career in lighting and projection design. “Theatre...

FEATURED

Introducing the new LearningStage

At ETC, we’re always creating new and exciting things – including new ways to teach you all about those exciting things! Recently we unveiled our new online training outpost: LearningStage. It’s packed with all the courses and resources you need to take your understanding of ETC gear and software...

LEARN

Eos Template Show File Creation: Advanced Functions

This four-part blog series will give some introductory insight into creating a template show file to use while programming on an Eos family console. The Eos line of consoles and, thus, the software has been around since 2007. The family has grown and evolved over the years and has become a robust...

LEARN

Eos Template Show File Creation: Custom Direct Selects

This four-part blog series will give some introductory insight into creating a template show file to use while programming on an Eos family console. The Eos line of consoles and, thus, the software has been around since 2007. The family has grown and evolved over the years and has become a robust...

ODDS & ENDS

Demystifying the 2023 NEC Section 210.70

NEC section 210.70 covers the requirements for “Lighting Outlets” and their control in certain specific occupancies and locations. Recent internet articles have created some confusion regarding this section. This blog post is meant to clear up where 210.70 applies.

Eos

Eos Template Show File Creation: Palettes

This four-part blog series will give some introductory insight into creating a template show file to use while programming on an Eos family console. The Eos line of consoles and, thus, the software has been around since 2007. The family has grown and evolved over the years and has become a robust...

Eos

Eos Template Show File Creation: Settings and Snapshots

This four-part blog series will give some introductory insight into creating a template show file to use while programming on an Eos family console. The Eos line of consoles and, thus, the software has been around since 2007. The family has grown and evolved over the years and has become a robust...

GEAR

Bringing new life to your Source Four fixtures

There are millions of incandescent Source Four fixtures out in the world. 3.5 million to be exact. Because of their high-quality design and robust technology, a majority of these fixtures are still running strong and are revered as the dependable workhorse fixtures of their venues.

SPOTLIGHT

Chengdu City Concert Hall Selects ETC

The Chengdu City Concert Hall is the government’s initiative to promote Chengdu City as the national hub of the music industry. The up-and-coming music development hub is dedicated to bringing a classic and best-in-class musical experience to the world. The design of the Concert Hall integrates the...

LEARN

ETC Automated Framing Fixtures: What’s in The Path

As automated lighting technology entered the 21st century, moving yoke LED luminaires became the de facto choice for most designers and applications. While moving mirror fixtures are inherently larger and difficult to hide in a rig, they did afford a much longer optical path.

Source Four LED fixtures

Selling the First Source Four

Thirty years ago, ETC began selling the Source Four incandescent fixture. That timeline means that many of you reading this article have grown up with Source Four and may not remember the time when it was not standard in every theatre. But the fixture’s success did not happen overnight and there...

SPOTLIGHT

Mathieu Cabanes uses Eos Ti for Les Folies Broadway

While Mathieu Cabanes has spent many hours programming Eos consoles for opera and theatre, this was the first time he used this desk for a grand symphony orchestra performance. Les Folies Broadway, held this past summer at the Domaine D'O in Montpellier, France, was a journey through the great...

Gio @5

ETC illuminates Nantong Grand Theatre

Nantong Grand Theatre is a signature landmark that was newly established in 2021. It is the largest project invested in by the China government in an effort to boost art and cultural development in Nantong of the Jiangsu Province. The theatre is situated in the city center, a central hub for...

SPOTLIGHT

Rebecca Bonebrake - Architectural Lighting Designer

Throughout the year we’ve interviewed some incredible women in the entertainment lighting industry. This week we feature a woman who, like others, has ties to the theatre, but unlike the others, makes a living as an architectural lighting designer. This segment of lighting design is lesser known,...

FEATURED

HCL Research at ETC

ETC has partnered with one of the US Department of Energy’s national laboratories to conduct field research related to Human Centric Lighting (HCL.) The project kicked off with measuring lighting conditions throughout the manufacturing areas in ETC's Middleton headquarters.

FEATURED

A Quick Definition of Color Temperature and CCT

Color temperature and Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) describe the warm or cool appearance of white light. Color temperature refers to white chromaticities (color points) that are technically on what is called the blackbody curve on a scientific diagram. CCT uses the nearest color temperature to...

LEARN

Color metrics explained with Lustr X8 fixtures

Last year, ETC Color Specialist Wendy Luedtke sat down with Senior Colorist, Rory Gordon and Cinematographer, Craig Kief to discuss the benefits of, and science behind ETC’s Lustr X8 array. This array can be found in several ETC fixtures and, for a number of reasons, is ideal for the on-camera...

LEARN

Passing The Learning Torch at Impact Christian Fellowship

Well known for its annual folk music festival, Kerrville, Texas is also home to Impact Christian Fellowship. A growing, non-denominational house of worship, Impact’s services stand out for their message and their worship music. Weekly services, their ‘kids church’, and annual Vacation Bible School...

ArcSystem

Architectural fixtures to give you a warm feeling

We've talked about color temperature in architectural applications before on this blog. Both in terms of what color temperature is and how human-centric lighting works with physiology to create environments that are well suited for their purpose. What we haven't talked about before is just how...

SPOTLIGHT

Suzhou Bay Cultural Center Shines with ETC

Suzhou Bay Cultural Center is located at the shore of Lake Tai in Suzhou of China, and adjacent to the Taihu New Town CBD. It is one of the signature development projects initiated by the city through the Wujiang Lakefront Masterplan. The 215,000 square-meter center consists of two wings, the...

SPOTLIGHT

Theatre Tattoos Around the Industry

In an industry centered on the arts, it's no surprise that we've come across some amazing theatre tattoos and lighting themed ink over the years. Here, we've gathered tattoo submissions and stories from our fans. Thank you to everyone who contributed. We're inspired by you and your artists'...

LEARN

What are metamers and why do they matter?

When executing a successful lighting design, the question of color is often considered near the end of the process, and in some ways, it seems to make sense. We first ask ourselves, what’s my budget? Which fixtures do I have? What are my hang positions? And then, finally, what color should those...

SPOTLIGHT

Math and lighting design with Mextly Couzin

We continue our conversations with female lighting designers with this week’s feature on Mextly Couzin. Couzin is a Mexican American designer with a passion for opera, a BS in pure mathematics, and an associate design credit on a show currently running on Broadway. Read interviews with other...

SPOTLIGHT

Summer bucket list: visit your local rep theatre

If you’ve ever wanted to pursue a career in professional theatre, there’s a good chance that you’ve spent some time working summer stock or at a repertory theatre. Designers, actors, stage managers, and backstage crew from far and wide come together for a few months each year to learn, experiment,...

SPOTLIGHT

Fashion Show at Miami University features HES

Miami University in Oxford, Ohio held its 16th Fashion and Design Program’s Fashion Show on April 30th, where High End Systems lighting offered beautiful illumination of the 75 student models on the catwalk.

All of the designers, models, and volunteer staff are students in the school’s fashion and...

ETC

75 Years of the Tony Awards

The Tony Awards are happening this coming weekend and as an industry built on live theatre, we thought it would be a missed opportunity to go without mentioning the history of this award, all the amazing talent that is recognized year after year, and how ETC is proud to play a role in many of these...

Source 4WRD

Tradeshow Talk – Prolight + Sound 2022

 After three long years we finally made our way back to Frankfurt for the much anticipated 2022 edition of Prolight + Sound (April 25-28). There was a great deal of excitement at returning to the Messe Frankfurt and being able to connect with our customers and visitors in-person once again. Around...

SPOTLIGHT

Erica Maholmes - Lighting design after the pandemic

Like so many designers in this industry, Erica Lauren Maholmes says she came upon her career by accident. And like so many students, the momentum of her young career was dramatically impacted when the world shut down in 2020. Despite the unfortunate timing, however, she is an inspiration to...

TOWN SQUARE

Upgrading your high school theatre lighting

During ETC’s CUE conference in February, one of the most popular classes — in multiple languages and around the world — tackled the topic of upgrading your theatre lighting. The class, taught by Marketing Product Manager for Entertainment Fixtures, Jim Uphoff, was so popular, we wanted to...

FEATURED

Behind the scenes at CUE 2022

With just over 2100 people registered in 80 countries around the world, Virtual CUE 2022 was definitely our largest event to date! As you might expect with an event that spans most of the time zones, and many of our ETC corporate offices, it took a small army to pull it all together.

ETC

ETC keeps the spotlight on training

Product training opportunities have increased significantly over the past several years as ETC continues to grow. Having recently celebrated its 45th year in business, ETC has gone from modest beginnings to become arguably the largest manufacturer of lighting and control products in the world....

SPOTLIGHT

An interview with Amber Whatley, lighting designer

When Amber Whatley decided to study lighting design in college, she quickly realized that many of her peers were coming to the program with prior training because of the programs that existed at the high school level. Unfortunately, in the majority of Black communities in the United States,...

ETC

ETC 2021 Curtain Call: A look at the past year

The end of the year always calls for reflection. Before we bid 2021 adieu, we’re having one last curtain call of some of our greatest hits of the year. Check out the full list below for some of the fun stats and fan favorites you may have missed over the past year.

FEATURED

CUE education conference is filling fast!

In less than one day, 400 people from 40 countries around the world had already registered for CUE 2022! This 24-hour event is slotted for February 17th, begins in Asia, and makes its way around the world, wrapping up in North America. Come join students, educators, designers, technicians, and...

ETC

ETC features at World Expo Dubai

The World Expo in Dubai has returned with over 200 participants taking part and presenting their latest and greatest innovations and technology on a variety of pavilions. ETC products are installed in several of the pavilions in the Expo which, after being delayed by the pandemic, has opened the...

ETC

A snapshot of PENKO

Today we take a look back at the history of PENKO Engineering B.V. and where it all began. The company which has been a part of the global ETC Inc. group for over 17 years, originally started as a trading business which sold weighing equipment. Today however, PENKO delivers a range of customized...

BRIGHT IDEAS

The art and science behind dichroic filters

High End Systems has been making dichroic color filters for the live event industry for over 30 years. But what is a dichroic filter, how is it different than gel, and what are the benefits of using this stunningly beautiful glass that’s also found in artwork, jewelry, architectural accents, and...

FEATURED

ETC lights shine on crazy good Pink Floyd Exhibition

Pink Floyd could never be accused of half-hearted productions. In the mid-seventies when their contemporaries were still using carousel projectors, they created a 32-foot-diameter circular screen lit by two 10,000-watt Xenon 35 mm projectors with custom lenses ground in France. When other bands...

ETC Culture

45 Moments from 45 years at ETC

On Christmas eve 1975, ETC was founded, and a tale of impressive growth and expansion began. As we wrap up our 45th year in business, we thought it would be fun to look back at the moments that have made us who we are today.

FEATURED

Meet ETC France – 3 times bigger!

Today we’d like to introduce you to the latest office space of ETC France! The team officially moved into a brand new building in Saint Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, early last year. When you walk into the office you can instantly see just how spacious it is: at 1400 m2, the modern space is...

Eos

Paolo Tizianel overcomes a console challenge

Paolo Tizianel, an esteemed lighting designer from Padua in northern Italy, has worked on dance and theatre shows for many years. No stranger to international touring, Paolo has been using ETC systems for more than a decade. On his travels, Paolo encounters a broad variety of technical equipment...
SPOTLIGHT

Lighting your house of worship by the numbers

Technology enhances so much of what happens in your church, synagogue, or house of worship venue as you’re preparing for services each week. The lighting, recording, and filming equipment, projections, and slide shows… it all adds up to a lot of time and money. Maybe your congregation doesn’t...

Eos

Eos Adventures: An Interview with Leonardo Benetollo

Leonardo Benetollo is an Italian lighting designer and owner of Pro Service SNC, a company specializing in technical installations for dance and theatre. His talent and experience in the dance arena make him one of the most sought-after professionals in his field. Leonardo has long been linked to...

ETC

Workshop Lite 2021 a Success

This continues to be a disruptive year for our industry, but thankfully, with technology being what it is, we did not have to forego the much-loved summer conference for our ETC dealers and reps. Workshop took a modified virtual platform for the second year in a row, but attendance was high,...

Eos

Anne Valentino: A Career in Control

Anne Valentino retired from ETC in October of 2020. Before she left, however, Steve Terry (ETC Director of Standards and Industry Relations) and Dennis Varian (ETC Vice President of Research and Development) sat down with her in a virtual interview to capture the stories and memories of her time...

ETC

Meet the Orlando Office

When you walk into the Orlando office, you’re greeted by a barn wood-wrapped front desk, a few comfy chairs, and the smiling face of the lovely Amy Poole. The environment is laid back professional, just like the corporate culture encourages it to be. Add in the frenetic energy of High End Systems...

Rigging

Three ways ETC keeps Hollywood alive in Vancouver

Many movie theatres of the 1930s, like the starlets who graced their screens, have faded away. Time – and real estate developers – wait for no one. But in Vancouver’s west side the art deco Hollywood Theatre was rescued from demolition by an enterprising team who turned the classic ‘30s palace...

FEATURED

The shocking impact of theatre on the environment

For anyone who has ever worked in live theatre, you understand the massive amount of time, energy, and materials required to put up a single show. The costumes, lighting, scenery, marketing materials, and travel considerations for audience after audience each night add up quickly and have a...

Rigging

ETC Rigging Reno at the Carrier Dome

When Syracuse University decided to renovate the legendary Carrier Dome, one of the key components was a rigging system that would support their scoreboard. They wanted a scoreboard that would provide a “wow factor” for their fans and players. With four sides that are each 62.5 feet wide and 20...

FEATURED

Lighting Design for Theatre-in-the-round

Lighting designer Daniella Beatie discusses the world of lighting design for theatre-in-the-round in this latest blog article. She is based at the New Vic Theatre Stoke-on-Trent and has worked on over 100 productions in-the-round including, Prince and the Pauper, Much Ado About Nothing, The Wind...

SPOTLIGHT

Camera-friendly features of fos/4 praised

When Przemysław Waszkiewicz, owner of Offstage rental company in Poland, was asked by 1 venue recording AUDIO-WIDEO to provide gear for a video shoot, he immediately thought of ETC’s camera-friendly fos/4 Fresnel. “There is a lot of variety in LED fixtures, and I’ve seen many venues purchase RGB...

FEATURED

ETC’s Advance Research Group pushes innovation

Maintain the quality of light. That was the company message in 2011. Global energy conservation laws were coming fast and furious and the world was asking questions about the long-term impact of incandescent lighting. Commercial and residential facilities began swapping practical lighting from...

Eos

Educational resources to light up lesson plans

Lesson plans might look a little different this year for lighting instructors. Whether students are participating in online learning or in-person instruction, many of ETC’s resources are here to help. We’ve compiled a list of educational videos, activities, downloads, and more to advance...
Source 4WRD

Source 4WRD Color joins the 4WRD fixture family

Source 4WRD Color is the newest addition to the Source 4WRD fixture family. This new product offers a color-changing retrofit for existing full-size Source Four ellipsoidal/profile fixtures, bringing additive RGBA color-mixing, saturated washes, quick color changes and much more to Source Four.
ETC

A casual history of moving lights

Even before there was electricity, people were looking for ways to dim their stage lights. This sketch from 1650 shows the pulley mechanism used to lower cans over candles to dim the output from the flame. Technology has come a long way since this early sketch, but it’s clear that the ideas to...

ETC

ETC celebrates National Dog Day

With much of our staff still working from home, many ETC employees find themselves working with new officemates—except these ones have four legs and a tail. To celebrate our furry companions on National Dog Day, we’ve compiled a slideshow of some of our team’s friendly helpers. To all of our...

SPOTLIGHT

ETC Lights Taipei 101 with French-style Elegance

Recognized as the world’s tallest building in 2004, Taipei 101 is the landmark building of Taiwan. The building recently created a French-themed art installation in the 4/F atrium, featuring an exquisitely designed garden in the style of Monet. ETC’s Source 4WRD II was selected to light up this...

FEATURED

LED Q&A with Tom Littrell

As a part of our Study Hall educational efforts, we’ve been hosting Instagram Story Q&A’s with ETC experts over the past few months. With so many questions coming in from our amazing followers, it’s simply not possible to get to them all in a day, or within the confines of an Instagram S0

tory!

Eos

When lighting class goes virtual

How do you teach lighting design without any lights? Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, educators around the world have had to quickly and creatively shift their classes online. One such story comes from Clemson University in South Carolina, where lighting instructor Tony Penna faced a conundrum...

Eos

Top educational guest-blogger series

We’re lucky to have so many intelligent people in this industry with an aptitude and willingness to teach. Over the past couple of years, many of these people – lighting designers, programmers, and researchers have given their time to help explain some of the industry’s trickiest topics.

SPOTLIGHT

ETC and High End fixtures together in La Jolla

The 2017 closure and eventual demolition of the Sherwood Auditorium in San Diego could have dealt a fatal blow to the La Jolla Music Society who had been its tenants since 1986. “It was a huge shock,” recalled Christopher Beach, the society’s president and CEO, “We had no place to call our own.”...
SPOTLIGHT

ETC Lands at Phoenix Airport

When Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (billed as “America’s Friendliest Airport”) was looking to replace its aging control system, they recognized the legendary products and services ETC had supplied to the theme park business and decided to apply them to the airport.

SPOTLIGHT

ColorSource revitalizes the legendary TD Garden

Home to both the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics, TD Garden - https://www.tdgarden.com is bustling with sporting events and concerts throughout the year. Recently, the arena has been turning heads with a massive, two-year expansion currently underway. As part of its renovation, the Garden...

ETC

Happy Valentine’s Day from ETC

What better way to share your love than with some printable Valentine’s Day cards from ETC? We’ve gone through over 100 punny suggestions from our fun-loving team to give you the best and brightest printable cards for the holiday.

FEATURED

fos/4 panel light launches into the studio market

In 2016, a dedicated research team was formed at ETC to advance the technology of future product offerings. The team’s first primary project was to create the best light for use on camera. The findings from this multi-year, industry-wide study on color perception come together in the family of...

SPOTLIGHT

ETC Student Sponsorship: Where are they now?

This year, ETC celebrated its 20th year of sponsoring eager students at the legendary LDI tradeshow. Sparked by late CEO Fred Foster’s passion for helping the next generation of lighting designers, the program aims to give students a leg up in their careers by connecting them with top-tier...

ETC

2019 in review: ETC’s top 10 blog posts

Ready for some hindsight in 2020? We couldn’t let the new year start without cracking that joke or looking back at our “best of” content from 2019. In the last year, we had a lot to discuss, from lighting tips to ETC culture. Check out our most-read blog posts from the last year to make sure...

Eos

Eos feels the love in Freestyle Love Supreme

The Eos control system has proven itself as a favorite in Broadway theatres for its consistency and reliability, but what happens to the lighting design when a Broadway show is based primarily on improvised action?

Eos

LDI 2019: Lighting for every stage

Augment3d demos, new automated fixtures, and a giant lighting rig made LDI 2019 a show to remember. Spanning across two booths, ETC and High End Systems paired up on the exhibition floor to show complete lighting solutions for every stage and every show. Here is a roundup of just some of the...

ETC

Industrial Design at ETC

As ETC expands, so does its workforce. Over the past five years, the company has nearly doubled the number of employees around the world. This means more assemblers, engineers, custodians, developers, marketers, factory planners, and shippers. So many interesting and intelligent people come...

SPOTLIGHT

CUE 2019 – An interview with Anastasia Krikunova

For the 2019 edition of ETC’s CUE conference, students and young lighting designers / programmers were able to apply for sponsorships to attend. This year, Anastasia Krikunova from Moscow, Russia was selected to attend the professional development conference held at ETC’s headquarters in...

ETC

ETC and George to the Rescue

Over the course of ten seasons on the air, George to the Rescue has transformed more than 100 spaces and lives with their generous renovations. Teaming up with sports figures, role models, philanthropists, and contractors, George Oliphant, a New York-based contractor, tackles everything from...
Source Four

Feel the power at ETC

When you manufacture some of the highest voltage power racks in the world, how do you go about safely testing their load limits? With a monstrosity of lighting fixtures and miles of cables.

FEATURED

Relevé Spot – the world of additive color mixing

We’ve mentioned additive color mixing time and time again, but what do we really mean and how is it different than subtractive mixing? To help demonstrate what happens with additive and subtractive mixing systems, we asked our advance research group and our industrial design team here at ETC to...

Eos

Lights, Consoles… and all that Jazz

Winner of six Tonys, two Oliviers, one Grammy, two Baftas and six Academy Awards, Chicago is the longest-running musical revival in Broadway history and ETC was selected to light the show for its International Tour 2018-2019.

SPOTLIGHT

Lighting up the future

In this guest blog post, LDI Student Sponsorship recipient, Mari-Riin Paavo shares her experience in the United States learning from some of the industry’s brightest luminaries.

SPOTLIGHT

Santa Monica City Hall shows off its pride with ETC

In keeping with its reputation as one of the most liberal, diverse cities in the country, it is no surprise that Santa Monica, Calif. wanted to light its City Hall in rainbow colors for Pride Month. And it’s no surprise that ETC architectural controls were at the heart of City Hall’s new look.

FEATURED

15 minutes of fame on the ETC marquee

Many of us dream of having our name up in lights and when you work at or visit ETC that becomes a very real possibility! International guests, fundraiser events, conferences, and college rivals all have a shot at getting their names on the ETC marquee. Milestone birthdays, retirements, and major...


Since its creation in 1975, ETC has grown into an international leader in events lighting technology. From control consoles and rigging hoists, to architectural lighting and fixtures, ETC provides the theatre and architectural industries with innovative solutions and products.