A basic introduction to stage lighting for theater, dance, and musicals.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Scenario Assessment
Step 1. Know the genre of your presentation and the simple principles behind lighting the genre
A common play has many dialogues. The audience's ability to understand dialogue is directly linked to their visual connection to the speaker's face. Make sure you have a lot of light focused on the actors' faces.
- In dance, the movement of the body is the most important. The side light is the one that best highlights the fluid movements. Experiment with the side lights at different heights and angles.
- Musicals are a fusion of both, as they contain elements of drama and dance. Usually, the principles of both are fused in the same lighting design.
- The concerts are characterized by their colors and effects. Often times, you will have pale-hued reflectors chasing your artists, but most of the lighting will focus on color, movement, and effect. Think symmetry: bold colors and LED lights.
Step 2. Think about your setting
This will help you determine how many lights you need and where you can place them. Notice where the lighting rods are. This gives you an idea on where you can hang things. Can you put the lights on stands on the floor or on a vertical beam and hang them on the sides?
Step 3. Research the resources you have on your stage
Most stages have basic equipment. Make sure you know what they are and what they do. Don't focus on technical names if you're not sure what they mean. There are two major differences: FRESNEL reflectors are dimming lights. They have a specific type of lens (called a fresnel) that causes the light to have a diffuse edge and usually covers the entire area. You can often adjust the size of the focus, but the edge will always be fuzzy. These lights are usually smaller than ELIPSOIDAL reflectors. Ellipsoidal reflectors are used when you want to illuminate something specific (a person in a certain place, for example). They have the quality of having a defined edge. Some have the ability to change focus, which means that you can alter the size and edge (diffuse or sharp) of the light output. They are normally longer and thinner than FRESNELS.
Method 2 of 3: Consideration of the event
Step 1. Think about your script, dance pieces, musicals, or type of concert
For the scripts in particular, think about the moods, the atmospheres, the locations, the times of the day. Lighting can help establish some or all of these things.
Step 2. Think about how you need to illuminate
Lighting is based on angles, particularly in plays and dances. When we say angles, we mean the direction the light is coming from and how it is focused on the subject. Get a small directional light (like a torch), and notice how, shining from different directions, it creates different atmospheres around the subject. Reflect on how these angles can complement your presentation and where you would use them in the script.
Step 3. Think of the colors to help you create the mood and atmosphere
Use deep blue lights for night scenes (especially when used from above or behind the actors as "fill light"), yellow for warm, sunny scenes, and so on. You can get a color swatch book from any theater supply store and choose your colors.
Method 3 of 3: Installing the lighting
Step 1. Decide which lights to use and where to put them
It is always good to draw a picture of the stage and all the lighting rods that you can use to hang your lights. Then, based on this, decide where you want to place them, where they will point, what color they will be, etc. If you have the facilities, you can add more poles or use supports on the ground. If your stage doesn't have enough lights, find out about companies you can hire to rent for a fee.
You can also install a DMX controller after you've hung your lights. Connect the lights by a DMX cable and assemble your scenes, including the brightness and the color that you consider best for your event
Step 2. Hang your lights and plug them in
This is usually done through a lighting control panel, also called a DIMMER RACK. Dimmers allow you to smoothly dim lights using a lighting console.
Step 3. Focus your lights where you want them to go
ELIPSOIDAL reflectors have grooves that you can use to make the beam of light rectangular. FRESNELS have an accessory called "cutters", which has a similar purpose.
Advice
- Research as much as you can! If you really want to do a good lighting design, you need to know a lot more than what is in this article. The best way to learn is to volunteer with companies and watch what the lighting designer does.
- Experiment.
- Make questions.