DESK OP 1981

WHERE IT STARTED // RWCMD, Cardiff

Before the moving lights, the LED walls and the touchscreens, there was a green screen, a keypad and a wheel. This is the Strand Gemini, the lighting desk Tim trained on as a student at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

Every cue was built by hand: pick the channels, set a level, record a memory, give it a time. Then, on the night, wait for the stage manager's "Go" and press the big green button.

Have a go and try to build some cues yourself. The training sheet below takes you through a short show. The stage is a little park set with 25 channels of light. The lecturer's demo show is there too if you'd rather just press GO.

An affectionate emulator of how it felt to drive the desk, not a copy of the real console's software. Your memories are saved in this browser.