BELLAHOUSTON ACADEMY
Drama DEPARTMENT
THEATRE PRODUCTION SKILLS
LIGHTING
Why do we need stage lighting?
Light is a source of energy. We need it and use it daily in our lives. Together with colour, we react to light in many different ways. It can affect our mood and our emotions.
We use light primarily in the theatre so that we can see what is happening on stage. If we can’t see what is going on, our understanding and enjoyment of the play will be non-existent. You don’t go to the theatre to sit in complete darkness for 2 hours!
However, lighting in the theatre doesn’t stop at the audience being able to see what is happening on stage. Lighting design is far more than switching on a light. It is a creative art. Lighting generates mood, creates dramatic tension and stimulates the audience. Lighting determines whether it is day or night, morning, noon or evening. Even the weather is depicted - whether sunshine or storm. The stage can do without scenery - but never without lighting!
We have the added possibility of adding lighting effects. This allows the audience to be given extra information about the play. Listed below are some of the extra clues we can give an audience through lighting:
v We can tell the audience what time of day the act or scene or moment is taking place.
v We can help the audience to understand the mood and atmosphere of a particular scene or moment.
v We can focus the audience’s attention on a specific area or character on stage that is important to the story.
v We can provide the audience with further information that reinforces the themes and issues of the play.
REMEMBER – the lighting in a production affects the whole impact of a performance. If it is used well, it can turn a good production into a brilliant one. Visual clues (like the ones theatre lighting can provide) are some of the most powerful devices we have in theatre, for instance a red spotlight on a dangerous character.
The role of a lighting designer/technician
It is the lighting designer’s job to design the lighting for the play and it is usually the technician’s job to operate the lights during the performance. They are frequently the same person in a theatre production team so for the purposes of the course we will refer to them as the same person.
Their role is simple.
· They have to design and plan how all of the lights are going to be used during a production.
· They have to ensure the actors are always properly lit and can be seen by the audience.
· By using the lights properly, they have to contribute to the mood, tension and atmosphere of a play.
· They are responsible for the maintenance and safety of all lighting equipment and for the smooth running of rehearsals and performances.
· They should complete a comprehensive lighting cue sheet.
· They are responsible for operating the lights during the performance.
The Lighting designer/technician works closely with the Director, the Set Designer and the Costume Designer. Teamwork is everything.
What equipment does a lighting designer/technician use?
· Lanterns
- Fresnels (pronounced fre-nells)
- Profiles
- Floodlights
- Spotlights
· Gels
· Gel frame
· Gobos
· Barn doors
· Lighting bars
· Strobe lights
· Control board
· Dimmer packs
· Lighting cue sheets
Lanterns
A stage light is called a lantern. There are many different types of lanterns available to the lighting designer/technician.
- Fresnels (pronounced frenells)
A fresnel is a lantern which gives only a pool of soft edged light. You can focus the pool of light onto a specific area. The size of the pool of light can be increased or decreased. It is used for general lighting purposes to light the stage.
- Profiles
A profile is a lantern which offers the choice of a hard edged or a soft edged pool of light. The profile has shutters that can alter the shape of the beam. The profile is a multi-purpose lantern that can be used to light a very specific area of the stage to focus the audience’s attention.
- Floodlights
A floodlight is a powerful lantern that spreads a huge amount of light over an unspecific area. The floodlight is most commonly used to light the back wall or cyclorama. By using a particular colour, the lighting designer/technician can give an indication of mood/atmosphere or time of day.
E.g. - Bright red suggests danger, love or passion
Blue is a cold colour suggesting nightfall, frosty relationships or even the sea
Green suggests the forest or fields.
Yellow is a bright colour suggesting sunlight, warmth of feeling or cornfields.
- Follow spotlights
A follow spot as it is known, is usually operated by one of the backstage crew. It projects a very powerful beam of light that can be moved by the operator to follow a character or a piece of action on or offstage. Again, this focuses the audience’s attention on one specific area.
Gel frame
In front of every lamp is a slot for a gel frame. A gel frame is a metallic sleeve for a gel
Gels
A gel is a translucent plastic sheet. The gel can be virtually any colour you choose. They usually come in large rolls or sheets and are cut to size to fit the gel frame.
When the white light of the lantern you are using is projected through the gel, it shines a beam of that colour onto the stage. Gels can be used in any theatre lantern.
Gobos
A gobo is a piece of metal with a shape cut out in the middle of it. The shape can be anything you want from church doors to skyscrapers to numbers to words to faces.
Once the gobo has been put into a gobo holder, it is placed into a profile lantern. When the lantern is on, the gobo projects the image of your chosen shape onto any surface of the stage you want.
E.g. - A stained glass window projected onto the back wall/cyclorama to suggest a church or place of religion.
An array of stars projected onto the floor of the stage to suggest romantic nightfall.
Prison bars projected onto a flat to suggest imprisonment
A gobo can be used in conjunction with a gel to add colour to the effect.
The image can be naturalistic or abstract.
E.g. - An image of a stained glass window shows a naturalistic image of a church wall.
An image of a stained glass window in a prison reminds the prisoner of his lack of faith.
Barn doors
These are metal flaps that are attached to the front of fresnel lantern to change the shape of the beam. Barn doors are used to help focus the fresnel onto a specific area of the stage using straight lines.
E.g. - A window frame can be lit in isolation, focusing on the kidnapped princess shouting in vain for help.
Lighting bars
These are the metal bars that the theatre lights are hung on. They usually have sockets where the lights are plugged in.
Dimmer packs
The cables from the bars are then connected to a dimmer pack. This is where the lights are provided with their power. The dimmer pack is usually connected to the main electrical supply.
Control board
The dimmer packs are then connected to a control board. This is a control panel with faders that switch the lights on and off. Faders are buttons that control the brightness of each individual theatre light. They usually have a master switch that controls all of the lights at once.
Strobe lights
These are continually flashing lights that give the impression of stuttered movement.
Lighting cue sheets
These are the sheets that a lighting operator will use in conjunction with the script to operate the lights at the correct time and at the correct level.
How can a lighting designer be creative?
By using all of the equipment mentioned above at appropriate moments will help the lighting designer to be creative.
They might also want to consider the use of:
· Colour
· Brightness
· Blackout facilities
· The time taken to fade up or fade down the lights.
Who does a lighting designer/technician work with?
The Director
The Director will have an overall vision for the play. This may involve specific lighting effects being requested by the Director. The lighting designer/technician would need to work closely with the director to ensure they found suitable lighting effects. The lighting designer would also have a major creative input to the process and this would be done with the opinion of the director taken into account.
The Costume Designer/Technician
A particular costume may look different when light is shone upon it. For example, in pantomime, the hero may have a yellow/gold follow spot on him/her to highlight his white cloak and show his/her warm personality. The villain may have a green follow spot to accentuate his/her lurid green and black cloak and highlight their dark side. These two team members should work together to ensure that lighting and costume support and complement one another.
The Actor
The actor must know where the lights are placed/directed and when they come on and go off. An actor must always ‘find their light’. For example, if there is a profile spot DSR and he/she is standing USL delivering a huge speech, the audience won’t be able to see him/her.
The Set Designer/Props Master
A set can be enhanced and made to look far more effective if lights are used properly. The lighting designer must work very closely with the set designer to discuss where and how the lights would be best used.
Name each part of the lighting control board.
Power indicator light
Please answer these questions in your jotters:
1. Write down, in your own words, what you feel the main roles and
responsibilities of a lighting designer/technician to be.
Write them down as bullet-points, for example –
· Read the play and analyse it, making notes about where lighting effects are required.
2. Why is lighting essential to a theatrical production? (Why do we need this
skill?)
For example –
· Lighting helps to define the location in which the action is taking place
3. Write down the members of the theatre production team that the lighting designer/technician has to work/liase with and why this liaison is necessary.
For example –
· It is important that the lighting designer/technician liases with the director to make sure that their plans support the director’s interpretation of the play and the style of the production.
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