A preset, in the
theatrical lighting sense, can be one of two thing.
Firstly, it could be the
lighting state that the
stage is in while the
audience enter the
auditorium. Called a preset, because it is how the
lights are set, pre-
show.
The other thing that a preset can be is a state on the
lighting desk that can be
controlled by a single
fader, or
flash button. Presets, in this
context, are most useful when doing the plot. You would have different washes, for example, on different presets, so you wouldn't have to put 6 or so seperate
channels up each time you wanted that
state in a
cue. Instead, you would just push the preset
fader up to the level that you want the wash to be at.
If you're after any other theatre tech information, then do take a look at '
Everything you ever wanted to know about theatre tech, but were afraid to ask'