Remotely controlled and monitored followspot

A control system for a remotely controllable pan and tilt controllable luminaire having a camera mounted to capture a field of view illuminated by said controllable luminaire, the control system comprising:

• a body pivotable in a pan direction and a tilt direction;
• a display screen mounted on the body, wherein the display screen receives and displays video information from the camera such that, when the video information is displayed, at least a portion of the field of view illuminated by the controllable luminaire is displayed;
• a pan movement encoder configured to translate movement of the body in the pan direction into pan signals indicative of an amount of movement of the body in the pan direction;
• a tilt movement encoder configured to translate movement of the body in the tilt direction into tilt signals indicative of an amount of movement of the body in the tilt direction;
• and
• a processor configured to output the signals indicative of the pan and tilt movements of the body for receipt at one or more controllable luminaires such that, when said pan and tilt signals are received, the controllable luminaire moves in the tilt direction by the amount proportional to the amount of movement of the body in the tilt direction and in the pan direction by the amount proportional to the amount of movement of the body in the pan direction.

A method of controlling a luminaire, comprising:

• operating a controller that includes a body that is pivotable in a pan direction and a tilt direction, wherein the controller is remote from the luminaire;
• moving the body in the pan direction;
• sending pan signals indicative of the movement in the pan direction to the luminaire that cause the luminaire to move in the pan direction by an amount proportional to the movement in the pan direction;
• moving the body in the tilt direction;
• sending tilt signals indicative of the movement in the tilt direction to the luminaire that cause the luminaire to move in the tilt direction by an amount proportional to the movement in the tilt direction;
• and
• displaying video from a camera on a screen attached to the controller that includes a field of view illuminated by the luminaire,
• whereby moving the body causes a corresponding movement of the luminaire, which causes a change in the field of view on the screen.

A control system for a remotely controllable pan and tilt controllable luminaire, the control system comprising:

• a camera mounted to capture a field of view illuminated by said controllable luminaire;
• a body pivotable in a pan direction and a tilt direction;
• a display screen mounted on the body, wherein the display screen receives and displays video information from the camera such that, when the video information is displayed, at least a portion of the field of view illuminated by the controllable luminaire is displayed;
• a pan movement encoder configured to translate movement of the body in the pan direction into pan signals indicative of an amount of movement of the body in the pan direction;
• a tilt movement encoder configured to translate movement of the body in the tilt direction into tilt signals indicative of an amount of movement of the body in the tilt direction;
• and
• a processor configured to output the signals indicative of the pan and tilt movements of the body for receipt at one or more controllable luminaires such that, when said pan and tilt signals are received, the controllable luminaire moves in the tilt direction by the amount proportional to the amount of movement of the body in the tilt direction and in the pan direction by the amount proportional to the amount of movement of the body in the pan direction, wherein the camera is attached to the controllable luminaire such that the camera moves with the movement of the controllable luminaire.