Intelligent Lighting

This sort of lighting is seen most often used by DJs at raves and the like, or at concerts. Intelligent lighting is what makes those nifty light shows, with the flashes of color, the swirling patterns, the sweeping spotlights. They are programmed to make specific ordered movements. The equipment involved is exceedingly expensive.

Intelligent lighting is also effective when used in theater; it can make a very simple set look absolutely unbelievable. If a tracked underscore is being used for a show, theoretically, the techie can program the lights for the entire thing to be timed with the music and eliminate most manual cues.

The term of art "Intelligent Lighting" is something of a misnomer.

It is applied, as described above, for fixtures with changeable, controllable attributes such as color, position, etc. As many theatrical Lighting Designers and Lighting Operators have noted, truly intelligent fixtures would be able to design and operate the production while the relevant Lighting Crew were at the local bar.

Sarcastic Lighting Professionals (which is a good percentage) have settled on "Obedient Lighting" as an appropriate term.