Technology in Nightclubs

Lighting effects used to enhance the nightclub experience began with the invention of electricity.

Light effects used to be conducted by using natural light such as refraction, reflection and colour filtering.

Dimming and electrical pulse generation soon followed, as did the mechanization of the fixtures themselves. With each new development in electrical and lighting technology, came new inventions and innovations in lighting effects.

Strobe Lighting

Developed in the 1930s for scientific and industrial use in the study of fast-moving objects, the strobe light became a popular nightclub effect during the music era of the 1960s. It gives the illusion of moving slowly and is still used in nightclubs today.

Colored Lighting

Colored filters, called gels, are fastened to the fixture to create the desired color. Mechanical gel frames, on which are mounted any number of gel filters, are also employed to change colors in rotation. Newer LED color-change lights allow any number of colors to be programmed with a single fixture, either statically or at preset intervals.

Lighting Controllers

Lighting is controlled in a number of ways. Early manual lighting controllers used a simple system of switches and relays. The development of DMX protocol (Digital Multiplexing) in the late 1980s streamlined lighting control, bringing it to the digital front, and is now the standard in theatrical lighting control.

MIDI controllers (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), was the forerunner of DMX, developed in the late 1970s. Midi controllers are still used for critical nightclub lighting effects.

Both MIDI and DMX protocols can be operated manually, using specially designed lighting effects consoles, or entire effects shows can be programmed and operated by computer.

It has made nightclub business increase due to improvements and has given people something else to do.