July saw the start of stage lighting’s entry into the world of Apple’s iPhone apps – lighting themed software that you can use with the iPhone (or iPod Touch). Here’s a rundown of stage lighting iPhone apps and what they do.

A tip off from Maurits (ta for that, M) told us about a new wireless DMX lighting control software for the iPhone. Earlier this month Wybron launched a couple of iPhone apps related to their colour products. Time to look into this.

Stage Lighting on yer iPhone - Apps for Lampies :

Image by William Hook on Flickr

Luminair 1.0 by SyntheFX – A DMX interface on your iPhone, the Luminair software boasts the ability to control DMX lighting fixtures. The wireless DMX signal from the iPhone is sent using the open source DMX over Ethernet protocol, Art Net. This can be routed via a Wireless Access Point/Router into your DMX universe / ArtNet node. The app also has file management capabilities and colour mixing control. You can get the Luminair DMX lighting control from the iTunes store.

“Right, can I have channel 47 @ 50% please”
“Where’s the desk?”
“Hang on - I’ll call it, what’s the number?”

Binary DIP Switch Setting Calculator

A funky little app that you can use to calculate binary dip switch setting, if you can’t face working out DIP switches in you head. Simple, cheap and good if you have a lot of DIP switch fixtures the app requires Iphone 2.0 software update. Available at iTunes

PowerCalc by West Side Systems

A calculator for power law, resistance, inductance and other useful stage lighting stuff. Although you could do these sums on the iPhones standard calculator, this little app makes life easier. Requires the iPhone 2.0 software upgrade and is only a few pennies and is available at iTunes
.

BeamCalc by Westside Systems
A handy beam calculator to help you choose spotlight angles for your lighting designs. The BeamCalc needs just a few measurements such as trim height and horizontal distance from the subject. It spits out the beam width of a given angle or can reverse the calculations for you, helping you to decide if you spotlights will be wide enough. iPhone software 2.0.Buy it at iTunes

LiteCalc

Another iPhone lighting calculator with beam widths, angles plus centre field illumination. Information for a selection of common stage lighting fixtures including the ETC Source Four range is used to help the user find the right lighting tool for the job. There is also a FREE VERSION
Buy it at iTunes

Gel Calc

Michael Zinman brings us lampies another cheap and useful iphone app. The software can calculate gel cuts, sheets, rolls and your colour costs plus has library of over 60 popular gel frame sizes to help you with your colour calls. Cheap and worth a look.Buy GelCalc at iTunes

PocketLD
MZ brings us another neat little iPhone and iTouch app that does Lighting Designer type calculations with a comprehensive fixture database to make life easier. Free database upgrades, so you can get new fixtures for the software as they are added.Buy it at iTunes

TCP/IP Remote App
A general iPhone application that can be used in stage lighting situations. The software enables customisable remote triggerin of TCP/IP and UDP capable software. This includes professional level lighting consoles like the Grand Ma and media servers. Sounds like the kind of thing that developers dream of .Available at iTunes Apps Store

Wybron Gel Swatch Library

A colour reference and converter app for your iPhone that has Lee, Rosco and GAM colours out back. The software allows you to browse and compare nearly 1000 gel colours, showing complimentary colours or alternatives. The app also shows transmission data plus RGB and CMY values.

Although there is no substitute for shining experimenting with a real filter, the quick comparison makes this a handy software for the iPhone of any Lighting Designer About Town. Buy it at iTunes

Wybron CXI Colour Calculator

Wybron’s Dual Gel Scroller uses two gel strings to colour mix CMY, producing a wide variety of colours. This iPhone app helps users of the scrollers to find the correct settings to achieve their chosen colours. Useful if you use the Wybron CXI scrollers. Available at iTunes

Wybron Gobo Library - With 1500 gobos to search and browse plus the ability to overlay two gobos, this iPhone app from Wybron certainly beats thumbing through an old gobo catalogue. You can even try out different gobo effects, as the software allows you to blur and spin the gobos at varying speeds and in different directions. The app is available from iTunes.

That’s all the stage lighting iPhone apps that we know of. Let us know about your favourites or new software released in the comments section.

You may also like:

• DMX PC Lighting Software - Cheap Stage Light Controllers
• Beam Angle Calculator
• DMX Dip Switch Calculator - Work It Out For Yourself!
• Stage Lighting Design Software - Choose Your CAD Weapon
• How Do I..? How To..? Stage Lighting FAQ

Rob is a freelance LD and Programmer working the the UK events industry. He is also the Editor of On Stage Lighting

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