My name is Scott Rise, and I’ve been pondering show control since before I knew that was a thing. I got into technical theatre in high school, and I would constantly wonder why the lights, sound, motorized effects, air cannons, and slide projectors (it was a while ago) couldn’t all be controlled by the same system. After all, I had a 4-track tape deck and a SMPTE time code generator…
It turned out that the technology to do what I wanted cost thousands of dollars and was very hard to find.
Over the years, technology has gotten smaller, cheaper, and more readily available. I was constantly creating systems to control everything in whatever show or display I was working on, but I had to start from scratch using whatever microcontrollers or computers I had available to me. In the back of my mind a vision was forming. There was a way to create custom control systems easily without having to reinvent the wheel every time.
At some point I realized that a person could get an entire powerful (relative to the olden days) computer on a tiny circuit board for just a few dollars, and this control system that I’ve been unable to get out of my head could absolutely become a reality. It was time to act!
…only I didn’t. I always had something else to work on or I was busy, so I never got very far. That’s where the development blog on this site comes in. I figure if people are actually paying attention to what work I’m getting done I may actually get some work done! Feel free to check in on me and my progress from time to time. Someday, I may even complete the project I’ve been designing in my head since I was in high school.