Disco Lighting

Although lighting effects (such as the mirror ball) were used long before the 1970s, it wasn't until the age of disco that lighting systems became part of the dance experience itself.

Sound To Light System

The first dedicated disco lights were invented at the start of the disco movement, where electronics were used to flash lamps to different music frequencies - known as the Sound To Light system. In the beginning, three channels were used: one lamp would flash in time with the treble frequency, one with the middle frequency and one with the bass. This progressed to 4 channels, with the middle frequency lamp being replaced by lower middle and upper middle.

Sound Sequencer System

However, the Sound To Light system had a flaw, in that the human eye had great difficulty in relating the complex visual effect to the music. This led to the development of the Sound Sequencer (or Sound Chaser), where instead of each spot lamp reacting to a certain frequency, the bass frequency was used to light each lamp in turn. This meant that the first bass beat lit the first lamp, the second beat lit the second lamp, and so on, until the end of the lamps had been reached, and so started back again at lamp 1. This produced a dramatic sound-activated effect that the eye could follow easily.

Smoke Machines

In 1978, the smoke machine was first brought into use in discothèques in order to create a 3D effect, as the smoke allowed the whole beam of light to be seen as it passed through the air. This led to the use of pin spots in discos; these lamps gave a narrow, concentrated beam that could be used to create stunning patterns and effects in the smoke.

Motorised Effects

The next development was the introduction of motorised effects, which could be used to sweep the pin spots from side to side (known as the scanner) or spin them around (the helicopter). These effects were normally controlled by the DJ, who had to determine the right moment to use them, although in larger nightclubs, a Light Jockey was sometimes employed solely to create the right disco lighting mood.

Flower Effect Lamp

In the early 1980s, the Flower Effect lamp was developed to produce multiple individually coloured beams that could be shone through a lens to send them all in one direction and made to spin in time with the music. Whilst this technology could initially only be afforded by the largest nightclubs, nowadays, they are cheap enough that they can be afforded by even a mobile DJ, and are more exciting and colourful than the originals.

Intelligent Lighting

It wasn't until the 1990s that Intelligent Lighting hit the market, which used silicon chip technology, enabling more complex and creative patterns to be used. In this system, the beam of light is passed through a shaped template (known as a gobo) and a colour filter, before being projected onto a mirror. This mirror is attached to 2 motors, which may be controlled by the DJ to move the mirror from side to side, or up and down, enabling the beam to be projected anywhere in the room. A few years later, in 1994, the system was further developed so that 20 beams of light can be projected, which move in time with music (the Intelligent Flower).