Behind the Curtain: Inside the Hidden Tech of Live Theatre and Events (emf2026)

What happens when the lights go out, the flames shoot up, and the performer flies over the audience? None of it is magic - it’s a remarkably deep stack of engineering, software, and controlled chaos, and almost none of it is visible to the audience. This talk pulls back the curtain on the technology powering professional theatre and live events - from West End productions to outdoor festivals. We’ll cover the full picture: how sACN and Art-Net carry hundreds of DMX universes from console to fixture; how show control systems tie lighting, audio, video, and automation together with sub-millisecond precision; how stage rigging and flying systems work (and what actually keeps performers safe in the air); how pyrotechnics are engineered for precise timing, reliable ignition, and zero-failure fault tolerance; and how modern video infrastructure - PTZ cameras, SDI, AV-over-IP - comes together live with no second takes. Along the way we’ll dig into the networking and software glue that holds it all together: AES67 audio-over-IP, timecode, OSC, MIDI show control, video-over-IP, and the eternal cursed nightmare of clock synchronisation. Whether you’ve wondered what’s actually in that rack at side of stage, or you want to understand how the world’s largest productions are really engineered, this talk is for you. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ about this event: https://www.emfcamp.org/schedule/2026/53-behind-the-curtain-inside-the-hidden-tech-of-live-theatre