DMX is a well-known data transmission protocol designed to remotely control various equipment, typically lighting sources. Quickly gaining popularity in live entertainment, its use in film and television has also gradually become established on set.
Originally wired, DMX has become wireless in recent years, its use facilitated by manufacturers who increasingly include a DMX receiver in the design of their new projectors. This doesn’t preclude the possibility of using both wired and wireless sources simultaneously!
On set, the board operator, responsible for deploying and ensuring the smooth operation of the DMX network, has carved out a role alongside the director of photography and the gaffer. Depending on the type of project, the set design, and the specific challenges of staging and lighting, deploying a DMX network, often made easier by wireless DMX, proves to be an invaluable time and efficiency gain.
At the initiative of Elie Elfassi, an associate member of the UCO, the idea behind this DMX workshop was to allow our cinematographer members to (re)discover the challenges of DMX and get an overview of the collaborative work between the gaffer and the board operator
Hosted by our partner RVZ, we organized two sessions in October 2022, led by Léo Brunnossòn, gaffer, and Marie Landon, cinematographer and former gaffer. Neither of them are professional board operators, but they have extensive experience operating various consoles and shared their feedback on the Luminair app (on iPad), its advantages, and its limitations.
The workshop video is available here (in french only): DMX Workshop //UCO 2022
Workshop organized by: Julien Guéraud and Elie Elfassi;
Speakers: Léo Brunnosòn and Marie Landon;
Video recording: Nicholas Kent;
Editing: Grégoire Ausina and Elie Elfassi
