In order to create enthralling performances, stage lighting is essential. The lights illuminate the stage, highlight key focal points, set the scene, and do a variety of other things. Lighting adds a unique layer to every show, from providing visual direction to capturing the audience’s attention to shaping and enhancing the environment.
Stage performances are exceptional, thanks in part to the lighting, which adds to their enchantment. This useful guide will teach you how lighting affects mood in theatre performances and much more.
THE ADVANTAGES OF STAGE LIGHTING
We at Illuminated Integration recognise the significance of good stage lighting design. Every performance benefits from stage lighting in a variety of ways. In several ways, lighting enhances the stage and provides an exceptional experience for your audience:
- Provides strategic visibility: During a scene, the audience must be able to see the action while potential distractions are kept out of sight. Proper stage lighting illuminates the areas that the audience is supposed to see while also providing cover for crew members to unobtrusively prepare other areas of the stage.
- Lighting can have an effect on the mood of the audience. Bright, dim, or coloured lighting can help set the mood and match the exact emotion conveyed by the performers.
- While some performances intentionally create an unrealistic setting or tone, lighting can make the audience feel as if they are still witnessing something real.
- Highlights what is essential: Lighting can assist you in directing the audience’s attention to a specific area or action. Through the subtlety of a colour shift or the directness of a spotlight, proper lighting directs the audience’s attention exactly where you want it.
- Lighting marks when it’s time for intermission or the end of a performance, from the stage lights going out to the house lights going up. This lighting effect can not only inform the audience of the timing, but it can also punctuate the mood. A slow, gentle fade can create a pleasant sense of calm, whereas a sudden cut to black may be appropriate for a more dramatic moment.
THEORIES OF STAGE LIGHTING
When it comes to lighting up the stage, there are numerous ways to achieve various visual effects. Using the right lighting setup will help you create highlights and shadows that will captivate your audience. Here are three fundamental lighting theories for stages, as well as how they can help deliver exceptional ambiance for any performance.
Viewing from the Front
Straight-on stage lighting emulates how the sun highlights objects from a straight-on perspective. It’s ideal for working with only one viewing direction. This type of lighting necessitates lights touching the focal point with 360-degree coverage, which necessitates strategic placement of three fixtures.
One fixture should be positioned 45 degrees above the focal point and 45 degrees to one side. This fixture will serve as the primary light source for this design. The other two lights serve as fill lights. One should be at the same 45-degree overhead angle as the key light, and the other should be on the opposite side of the focal point at a mirrored 45-degree angle. The last light fixture is placed directly above or 45 degrees behind the object.
While staying close to the 45-degree angles will produce a more natural lighting effect, the measurements can be changed to produce different effects. Sharp angles above or below an object, for example, will cast extremely exaggerated shadows on someone’s face — ideal if you want to achieve an unnatural lighting effect.
Various Points of View
Multiple-view lighting is required for stages with more than one viewing direction. The general setup for multiple-view lighting is similar to straight-on viewing, but you will need to add more fixtures.
Consider a stage with three sides open to the audience. For viewers from each direction to experience the same effects, three or four front lights are required. A frontal fill light joins two key lights on the left and right sides of a three-fixture setup. A key light and a fill light on each side of the stage are required for the four-light design. These configurations maintain the same relationship between key and fill lights on either side of the audience.
View in Depth
When lighting for other viewing positions, you can properly execute light effects while still using basic stage lighting theory. To use this technique, add fill lights in addition to the key lights to help provide the appropriate amount of lighting.
This type of lighting is popular for performances such as ballet, where the lighting can help enhance the dancers’ movements.
LIGHTING WITH COLOR
Color contributes to the cohesiveness of an entire performance. It aids in the establishment of the setting from beginning to end and enhances the mood that the performance must convey to the audience.
We live in a world where colours represent and even influence our moods, intentions, and focus. While we may overlook how colours affect us on a daily basis, they are brought to the forefront when used in a theatrical performance.
Learn how to use stage lighting colour theory to help stories play out successfully on stage.
RBG Lighting/Additive Color Theory
RBG lighting is achieved by fading coloured LEDs or lights up and down to mix them together until a specific final colour is achieved.
The primary colours of lighting, which are used to create a wide range of stage light colour combinations, are red, blue, and green. The majority of LED and RBG lights are made up of these colours to help create different combinations:
- Magenta is created when blue and red lights combine.
- When red and green lights combine, they form yellow.
- Cyan is formed when green and blue lights combine.
You can further expand these colour options by adding amber or white light. When you direct the various lights onto a backdrop, the resulting colour is ideal.
CMY Lighting/Subtractive Color Theory
A lamp that produces white light is common in moving lights and other colour-mixing engines. These lamps are typically outfitted with three colour filters — cyan, magenta, and yellow. When light passes through one of the filters, it is blocked in its complementary colour while allowing the other light to pass through. A cyan filter, for example, would block red light while allowing green and blue light to pass through.
Using these secondary colours instead of the primary red, blue, and green results in deeper, richer CMY mixing colours.
Saturation and hue
Lighting colours are determined by two factors:
- Hue: The hue of a colour specifies what colour it is. Lime and pine green, lemon and goldenrod yellow, and cobalt and navy blue, for example, are all different shades of the same colour.
- Saturation: The level of saturation in a colour determines how much pigment is present, distinguishing pastels from deeper colours. High-saturation lighting colours are richer and more intense than low-saturation lighting colours.
Temperature of Color
Different light sources have different color temperatures, which is a white light factor. The lower the color temperature of the light source, the more yellow the white light appears to be. White light will appear bluer as the colour temperature rises.
Consider the distinction between fluorescent and traditional incandescent light bulbs. Fluorescent lighting has a much higher color temperature, giving it a brighter, bluer appearance, whereas incandescent lighting has a yellower, warmer appearance.
Gel Colored
Colored gels are the most commonly used subtractive lighting method for non-LED lights, and they produce an intriguing and natural effect.
Colors for stage lighting can be provided by placing a ‘gel’ — a colored plastic filter — over a fixture to tint the light. However, gels produce muddier colors than CMY lighting, making it difficult to achieve the desired colour.
CMYK and RGB
One important distinction to keep in mind is that while CMY colour wheels subtract from white light, RGB colour wheels add colour. Depending on the exact outcome you want, you may prefer one stage lighting method over another in some cases.
For example, if you want to make a deep red, you must first decide how bright you want it to be. Using RGB, creating a deep red is as simple as bringing up the red colour. However, using CMY to create deep red by subtracting magenta and having yellow at full exposure will result in a deep colour but dimmer light.
APPLICATION OF STAGE LIGHTING
Basic lighting theory, as previously discussed, necessitates the proper use and placement of lighting equipment. When it comes to staging lighting, it’s critical to know what kind of equipment you’ll need and where to place each fixture to achieve the desired effect. This section discusses additional factors to consider when planning a stage lighting application.
Determine What You Will Be Lighting
Lighting an indoor stage will necessitate the use of multiple lighting fixtures. Basic theatrical lighting fixtures are typically designed to emit light in a radius of 12 to 14 feet. When lighting a large area, such as an entire stage, it’s best to divide the total area into multiple focus sectors.
For example, 8-foot to 10-foot squares necessitate the overlapping of 12 to 14-foot beams, requiring a minimum of four focus areas to illuminate the entire area on a 16-foot wide by 16-foot deep stage.
This basic setup will differ from stage to stage depending on the size and viewing points. If you have a three-quarters view of the stage, you will need more fixtures than if you had a straight-on view. Because there are fewer focal points on a smaller stage, fewer light fixtures may be required.
Determine What You Will Be Lighting
Lighting an indoor stage will necessitate the use of multiple lighting fixtures. Basic theatrical lighting fixtures are typically designed to emit light in a radius of 12 to 14 feet. When lighting a large area, such as an entire stage, it’s best to divide the total area into multiple focus sectors.
For example, 8-foot to 10-foot squares necessitate the overlapping of 12 to 14-foot beams, requiring a minimum of four focus areas to illuminate the entire area on a 16-foot wide by 16-foot deep stage.
This basic setup will differ from stage to stage depending on the size and viewing points. If you have a three-quarters view of the stage, you will need more fixtures than if you had a straight-on view. Because there are fewer focal points on a smaller stage, fewer light fixtures may be required.
Determine the Lighting Fixtures Required
Because there are numerous fixtures available, it is critical to carefully consider which ones will best meet your lighting requirements for the space and performance:
- Floodlights: Floodlights are used to create a wash of illumination across the stage’s background and foreground. They can be symmetric or asymmetric.
- Spotlights: These fixtures direct a beam of light to a specific location.
- Fixed-focus lights: These lamps direct light beams over large areas.
- Soft lamps eliminate shadows and diffuse light while keeping direct lighting focused on a specific area.
- Broad lights: These figures aim at specific areas of the stage to reduce shadows.
These broad categories contain many specific lighting fixtures that can assist you in achieving the desired look. While a single spotlight can certainly add drama, most productions will require a variety of lighting fixtures.
Lower Lighting Noise
Because of fans, radiators, and movement, lighting fixtures can produce a variety of noises. Noise interference is unavoidable regardless of the type of lighting fixtures used. However, it is critical to reducing noise as much as possible so that it does not distract from the performance.
Keep lighting fixtures away from the walls and ceiling to help reduce noise. Maintain a relatively cool environment for them while they are in use, and ensure that the ventilation holes are clear and unobstructed.
Some newer lighting fixtures include a quiet mode that can be used to help reduce noise in theatrical settings. While these fixtures may still produce noise, they are more likely to be quieter than other models.
ILLUMINATED INTEGRATION CAN HELP YOU LEARN MORE ABOUT STAGE LIGHTING.
Lighting is so important in our world, both inside and out. Trust the professionals to assist you with whatever type of lighting you require.
We are committed to providing superior lighting designs at Illuminated Integration. Our design experts will guide you through the entire process. When you work with Illuminated Integration, you will have the following experiences:
- Meeting with us for a comprehensive consultation
- Discussing the lighting requirements for your stage
- Exploring and mapping the location
- Creating unique designs using cutting-edge technology
- Examining final draughts and providing feedback on changes
- The lighting system was professionally installed, and ongoing support was provided.
When it comes to stage lighting for your venue, Illuminated Integration has the knowledge and experience you need to get the job done right. We are there for you every step of the way, from start to finish, with unbeatable customer service. Please contact us today for more information on how we can assist you in making your stage lighting dreams a reality.