Production for Live Events & TV Top-Up

Introduction

This report is designed in order to demonstrate the main trends in the lighting industry. This report will show the new trends and products in the lighting industry along with their effects on the formation of the technological advancements. Finally, the report will present the main advantages and disadvantages of lighting technology along with the challenges that are imposed on the new entrants and already established brands.

Background

Lightning has become an important part of everyday lives and of events. Companies try to come up with new ways in lighting and projection in order to intensify the strengths of an event and hide the weaknesses. Bowdin and Allen, (2012) suggest that lighting enhances the general spectacle of an event whereas problems in lighting may decrease the quality of the event. Yee, (2007) states that lighting plays a significant role in responding to the changing environment by shifting the viewer’s focus to the different areas thus developing a variety of different scenes within the area.

Effect of external trends on the developments in event lightning and projection technology

The recent trends suggest that lighting is advancing along with the comprehension of its importance in the events area. This implies that innovative technologies are being developed and currently there is a lot of new lighting products available on the market. For instance, LED lighting has been on the market for a long time. It does not require substantial amounts of power and is user-friendly in terms of installation and maintenance (LEDs Magazine, 2010). Therefore, it is still the leader on the lighting market. However, lighting evolves into a more interactive and wireless feature, in terms of programming and maintenance. The demand for wireless lights continues to grow, suggesting that it might become the next ‘most wanted’ product on the market. However, as it has been estimated by a representative of Kinetic Lighting, that these are quite difficult to supply (BizBach, 2011). Another important innovation, which is in demand on the market, is more colourful lighting. This implies that customers are seeking more colourful and bold colour palettes (BizBach, 2011).

As recent reports suggest, 3D lighting might become the next trend in the event and stage production industry. There are innovative 3D lighting products on the market, however, these are based on the integration of the traditional blue and red colours to create a 3D effect (Parrish, 2002). More advanced versions are regarded to be difficult in utilization. Therefore, the current market is limited to the provision of those systems for the events and production (Parrish, 2002). These are more popular in utilization for different short presentations.

Advantages and Disadvantages of new developments

The main advantages of the new developments are enhanced interactivity and advanced technology. This implies that the needs of modern consumers are satisfied in terms of delivery of more advanced and colourful solutions. Some new developments are user-friendly, whilst other innovations (i.e. 3D Lighting ) are quite difficult in utilization and maintenance (Bizbach, 2011; LEDs Magazine, 2010).

The lighting supplier companies have also started to produce more environmental solutions. This implies that innovative lighting solutions tend to align with the general trend of environmental protection and concern (Veitch and Gifford, 1996). As a result, this appeals to customers who have become more environmentally concerned. This has led to the development of solar lighting, which is a sustainable, environmental lighting solution (Pode, 2011).

Challenges for newcomers and older specialists in event lightning and projection industry

The main challenges for newcomers in the event lighting and projection industry is attributed to the high entry barriers. Currently, the main criteria for being successful in the lighting market are the brand, the pricing and reputation. This increases the barriers to entry into the market (LEDs Magazine, 2010). Along with that, the lighting industry has become quite competitive. This implies that there are a lot of players on the market, who offer similar products. In the case of LED lighting, this implies that LED is becoming more of a commodity with a low price (Examiner, 2012). This decreases the brand value of the companies within the LED market.

Contrary to that, companies with innovative solutions may enter the market, however there is a limited amount of companies that may develop innovations, due to the need for large resources (Examiner, 2012). As a result, the well-established brands tend to invest heavily in research and development, thus producing the latest innovations. As a result, the lighting market is led by the well established brands, which regularly produce innovative solutions (Examiner, 2012).

Conclusion

This report was designed in order to demonstrate the recent trends in the lighting and projection industry. It has been estimated that the lighting and projection industry is a highly competitive area, with high entry barriers. As a result of the increased competition, some lighting products have become a commodity. The trends demonstrate that the brand plays a large role in the lighting market, where the well-established companies tend to produce innovations on the market in order to defend their market shares. The main innovations have included the 3D lighting, wireless and interactive lighting solutions.

References

BizBach. (2011). 7 Lighting Trends for 2011: LEDs, Interactive Projections, 3-D, and More Available: http://www.bizbash.com/7_lighting_trends_for_2011_leds_interactive_projections_3-d_and_more/new-york/story/20020/ (Accessed on 1/1/13)

Bowdin G., Allen J., O’Toole W., Harris R. (2011). Events Management. 3rd ed., BH: UK

Examiner. (2012). Competitive Landscape for LED Lighting Industry: impact on US jobs. Available: http://www.examiner.com/article/competitive-landscape-for-led-lighting-industry (Accessed on 01/01/13)

LEDs Magazine. (2010). Lighting industry at the edge of the unknown. Available: http://ledsmagazine.com/features/7/7/2 (Accessed on 1/1/13).

Parrish D. (2002). Inspired 3D lighting and compositing. Premier Press: USA.

Pode R. (2011). Solar Lighting. Springer: London.

Veitch J. Gifford R. (1996). Assessing Beliefs about Lighting Effects on Health, Performance, Mood, and Social Behavior. Environment and Behaviour. Vol.28, Iss.4, pp. 446-470

Yee R. (2007). Lighting Spaces: Roger Yee. Visual Reference Publications: USA