Termiology specific to the use of Lighting Desks.

A certain selection of DMX addresses which are usually referenced by the lighting desk. E.g channel 1 on the desk can be dimmer/DMX channels 4, 5 and 8. This is helpful when pairing up two lights and not needing to be able to control them separately.

A set of states of lights that automatically link to one another to create an effect.

A state of a set of lights that can be used during a show, which can be faded into and out of.

This is a virtual point on the stage which moving fixtures can be programmed to point at. This allows the desk to reference the focus points, rather than an absolute pan and tilt position to allow offline programming, and to be able to move between venues since only the focus points have to be reprogrammed, rather than every cue.

Highest Takes Precedence. An HTP channel on a lighting desk will take the highest value out of the current playbacks for that channel.

Latest Takes Precedence. An LTP channel on a lighting desk will take the last value changed out of the current playbacks for that channel.

After patching the desk, programming is the process of creating the cues and chases required to light the show.

(See also hard-patching)
Commonly refered to as “Patching”. The process of mapping the channels on the desk to the DMX addresses of the dimmable circuits. (E.g. The default one-to-one patch on the Element sets channel 1 on the desk to control the dimmer with a DMX address of 1).

Short for Submaster. A cue or chase that can be assigned to a fader on the desk for quick access to a lighting setup. Often used for lighting parts of shows with where programming cues would be more complicated.