About LightBuddy
Lighting software built to solve a real problem
Hi, I’m Gabriel Woodger, the developer behind LightBuddy.
LightBuddy started when I needed a lighting control solution for an installation project with a limited budget. Having used and taught platforms including Avolites, grandMA and ChamSys, I tried a number of free and lower-cost alternatives but couldn’t find something that combined the functionality I wanted with an interface I enjoyed using.
So I decided to see what I could build myself.
What started as a small side project quickly grew into LightBuddy.
Built from experience
My background spans lighting, creative technology and software development. I’ve taught lighting at university, worked with professional lighting and AV systems, and spent around a decade designing and developing software.
LightBuddy brings those experiences together.
Make simple things easy.
Keep hard things possible.
Professional lighting consoles are incredibly powerful tools, but that power often comes with expensive hardware and a significant learning curve. LightBuddy isn’t intended to replace them.
Instead, it’s designed for the places where a traditional console might not make sense: grassroots venues, schools and colleges, churches, installations, small productions and freelance technicians.
Powerful without a proprietary ecosystem
LightBuddy doesn’t require dedicated hardware to unlock its functionality. Start with a laptop and a USB DMX interface or Art-Net node, then add touchscreens, MIDI controllers and other hardware to create the system that suits you.
It also embraces established industry standards such as GDTF, MVR rather than creating another closed ecosystem.
For installations, custom control layouts can turn a complex lighting system into a handful of simple controls for everyday users, while the full programming environment remains available behind a PIN.
Still growing
LightBuddy is a young application. It doesn’t have the decades of development or worldwide support network of the established console manufacturers — and I’m not pretending that it does.
Being small does mean feedback can directly shape the software. If a workflow takes too many clicks, something doesn’t make sense, or there’s a feature that would make LightBuddy more useful, I want to hear about it.
The goal is to keep building a capable, affordable lighting platform that feels like modern software rather than something you need weeks of training to understand.
What started as a little side project has already grown considerably beyond what I originally planned.
And there’s plenty more to come.
Gabriel WoodgerCreator of LightBuddy