Lighting
What you need to know
What is lighting used for?
• Lighting is used to create atmosphere
• To focus our attention to a particular actor, event, or area on the stage.
REMEMBER: too much light is better than too little, so when in doubt, add more light!
Fading in and out
• Fading is used as a transition.
• You can fade out slowly at the end of a performance to leave the audience thinking about it.
Lighting without lanterns
Lighting with candles…
Lighting with candles
• Give atmosphere
• There is always a fire hazard
• Extra light is needed because candles are not strong enough
• Shining a flashlight on the actors face always gives an interesting effect
Finding your light
• Certain parts of the stage will be more lit that others
• It is important to go to these parts
• They may be marked on the stage
House lights
• Houselights are the lights in the auditorium, both on and off the stage
• Turn them off when you start your production
• If they are not on a dimmer, turn of the lights that are farthest away from the stage first
The Lanterns
• There are three main types of lanterns:
• The profile spotlight• The fresnel spotlight• And the floodlight
The profile light
• It creates a focused beam of light
• It has a hard, clearly defined circumference
The Fresnel spotlight
• Lights an area with a soft edge
The Floodlight
• The floodlight is used to give general lighting, by flooding the stage with light
Safety chain and ‘g’ clamp
• Used to keep the lanterns from falling
• Never hang a lantern without them
Barn Doors
• Four metal hinged flaps
• Used to focus light by not letting the light spill out of a certain area
Gels and Color
• You can use gels to give the light a certain color and change the atmosphere of the play
• It is inserted into a bracket at the front of the lantern
• If there are a lot of trees, you could use a green gel.
Gobos
• Gobos are metal cutouts used to create effects.
• If you add bars to a gobo, it will make it look like a jail.
Special Effects
• Strobe lighting• Cyclorama• Lasers
Strobe lighting
• Gives the effect of slowing down the action
• Very effective in fight scenes, or action packed sequences
• You should always warn the audience if you will use strobe lighting, as it can induce epileptic fits
Cyclorama
• A large screen placed upstage where you can shine a light on.
• It is used to represent a feeling or a place
laser
• Used to distract the audience
• Do not let it get into someone's eyes
The control desk
• Can be computerized or manual
• The sliding switches are used to control the strength and actions of a certain light
Upper deck
Lower deck
CROSS OVER• When you have two decks – upper and lower deck,
this allows you to set the lower deck and then CROSS FADE using the MASTER control
• PRESET – You can preset lights to a master preset desk – this allows you to cross fade with ease.
• FLASH LIGHTS – This gives you instant light as long as you keep your finger on the button
let the PATCHING
• A patching board (Dimmer rack) connects the lighting board with the lanterns • There is a on/off switch which helps prevents fuses blowing because they are too hot.•There are two plugs for each channel•Each channel on the lighting board is linked to 2 plugs on the patching board.•These plugs are linked to sockets where the lanterns are plugged in.•This allows the lighting designer to change the combination of paired lighting.
The Cue sheet
• This tells you what lights need to be used and when
Cue # Cue Channels/levels deck
1 Jack: I never thought it was possible. (laughs)
1,3,4,5,7
1,3,7 at half/ 4,5 fullupper
2 Exit Jack All fade to black lower
bibliography
• McGuire, Brian. Technical Companion to Drama. Cambridge: Pearson Publishing, 2000.
• Images.Google.com search
• By Sam Cohen
• SRC productions limited