Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveB
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I want to recommend to her a good book on lighting design, something modern enough to explain modern gear - ML's, console development, etc... as well as the basics and older stuff that got us where we are today. More design thAn tech though, as I'm trying to get to think first about DESIGN, not the how-to as much...
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If a book exists that fits ALL your above criteria, I haven't found it. Design books tend not to cover grandMA, VL3000, and sine-wave dimmers, as the tech portions become dated immediately. In the same vein, I wouldn't automatically discount Bellman and Pilbrow, as the fundamentals of lighting design are not dependant on the hardware. All that being said, I would recommend
Lighting and the Design Idea, by Linda Essig. Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1997. The author is a lighting professional, and university professor, and saw and filled the need for a "modern" lighting textbook.
For the tech portion of your query, I recommend
Automated Lighting, by Richard Cadena. Focal Press, 2006. Hardly anything useful for learning lighting design, but a great resource for the hardware junkie and historian. It does contain many innaccuracies though, but is current in that it has pictures of the grandMA, Maxxyz, and Hog3.
Finally, I'll state again that my favorite design book is
Stage Design, by Howard Bay. Drama Book Specialists, 1974. Nowhere else have I read such a real world view of producing a design--just ignore the parts about how many piano boards of which type are needed!
To other posters answering SteveB's question, please be sure to also include your answers in the Collaborative Article titled "
Theatre Books."