Lighting Instrument/Lighting Device - What's the difference

[markdd]

This came up the other day and I have to confess I struggled with an answer. Vectorworks Spotlight dialogue boxes and menus are peppered with references to Lighting devices and Lighting Instruments but nowhere that I can find, is a distinction made between the two.

 

Could someone help make the distinction please?

 

Thanks

Edited February 21, 2019 by markdd

[JBenghiat]

“Lighting Device” is the name of the Vectorworks plug-in. “Lighting Instrument” is a more generic term for the light on the plot. It’s also the term used by Lightwright and factored in to some of the pre-Spotlight lighting tools. 

 

You might say the Lighting Device is the tool you use to represent lighting instruments in Spotlight. 

 

Complicating things slightly is that the tool for inserting Lighting Devices is called the Insert Lighting Instrument tool. You’re never going to find the term Lighting Device in a lighting textbook or used when you’re referring to your actual rig, so much of the help and some of the tools and commands use the generic term rather than the name of the Spotlight object. 

 

I suspect that the name choice had to do with avoiding name conflicts and made sense from an engineering standpoint rather than an attempt to redefine the jargon. In the time since Spotlight debuted, VW gained the ability to change the display name of a plug-in (e.g. the Light Position Obj is now a Hanging Position); this may be the time to discuss whether the “Lighting Device” should change.  

[markdd]

Thanks Josh.

 

The Spotlight Preferences dialogue box uses both terms, which would imply that there is a difference. There doesn't seem to be. Unless there is an in-house distinction at VWX then I suggest that "Lighting Device" be the one to keep as it will also cover all the other device types like accessories etc....

 

It's these inconsistencies that make it tricky for those learning the software.

[klinzey]

The "Lighting Device" is a generic term.

We use the term "Lighting Instrument" to reference a "Lighting Device" when the "Device Type" is set to something other then "Accessory" or "Static Accessory".

 

There are certain behaviors that do not apply to a "Lighting Device" when the "Device Type" is set to "Accessory" or "Static Accessory", certain behaviors that apply to "Lighting Instruments" and certain behaviors that apply to all "Lighting Devices" no matter the "Device Type" setting.

 

We need and easy to indicate this distinction in the manual without having to specify "Device Type" every time.

The terms are similar but there is a slight difference where each is used.

[markdd]

Thanks Kevin.

What started this was trying to differentiate between the behaviour of lighting Instruments and Lighting Devices in the Spotlight Preferences. Both seem to achieve the same results. Can you clarify then: Everything that uses the Lighting Device Plugin is a lighting device, however, Lights, Accessories and Static Accessories are in a subset called Lighting Instruments?

 

Mark

[klinzey]

Correct. If you say Lighting Device that covers everything.