By Lily Chen, Co-News Editor
Over the summer, Conestoga began implementing a series of lighting improvements for the TV studio and auditorium. The TV studio received new lighting fixtures, while the auditorium is undergoing theatrical lighting and dimmer upgrades. At the Nov. 14, 2023 school board facilities committee meeting, the committee projected the new lighting in the TV studio and the auditorium upgrades would total $50,000 and $350,000, respectively.
Before the new lighting features, the TV studio had the same lighting board since the 1990s. Students that used the TV studio experienced lights blowing out as they were halogen instead of LED lights. Although companies made repairs, they were mostly short-term improvements.
“We had to turn (the lights) on and off with the fuse box a few years ago,” said Tredyffrin/Easttown Television adviser Alison Ferriola. “We had planned about two years ago to replace all the lights with LED lights that would never go out. They have tens of thousands of hours of use before they have to be replaced, so it saves us a lot of money and from having to get up on ladders and change the lights.”
Beginner and Intermediate Television classes are learning how to use the new TV studio lights for their activities. Meanwhile, film students can alter the lighting in the studios depending on the atmosphere or scene that they want to create. Ferriola believes that all television and film classes are benefiting from the new lighting and the enhanced creative possibilities that they offer.
“It’s pretty cool that we can make these lights strobe, we can change color, we can really control them a lot more,” Ferriola said. “If a student wants a certain aesthetic in their film, we can create that for them a lot easier.”
Once the company in charge of the improvements finishes the theatrical lighting and dimmer upgrades, staff and students will be able to use the technology for events, such as plays and musicals.
“In our auditorium, they are still in the process of finishing up the lights,” Ferriola said. “That was a much bigger undertaking than the two small studios. The ceiling is a lot higher, they had to bring in more equipment, and there’s way more lights.”
Lily Chen can be reached at [email protected].
