Lighting Design

BSc Sound,Light and Live Event Technology
Stage 2 -Live Event Techniques

5EJ 040
Lighting Design
- a brief introduction
Lighting Design
Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Electronics & Sound Subject Group
October 2009
Introduction
• This lecture will cover:
– Why the correct positioning of lights is
important
– How this creates a basic method of lighting
– Some conceptual issues on lighting design.

October 2009
Direction and Focus
• The most vital decisions in planning a
lighting design are:
– Where we place the instruments
– What we point them at
– How we adjust the beams of the
instruments

October 2009
Direction and Focus
• Where we place the instruments
• What we point them at
– Creative decisions
• How we adjust the beams of the
instruments
– Technique, although should be considered
at the design stage

October 2009
Direction and Focus
• Front light, side light, top light, back
light, three quarter back light
– all describe lighting positions
• Lecture will look at these terms more
precisely.
• The example of theatre is used
– could be any performance environment

October 2009
What is Lighting Design?

October 2009
What is Lighting Design?
• Selective Visibility
– “Each member of the audience must

be able to see clearly and correctly
those things that he is intended to
see.”
– Richard Pilbrow, Stage Lighting Design, 1997

October 2009
What is a Lighting Designer?

October 2009
What is a Lighting Designer?
• The lighting designer needs to develop and
maintain the visual logic of the piece, working
with and enhancing the visual languages of
the production
– Nick Moran, Performance Lighting Design, 2007
• The lighting designer should reveal the narrative of

the event using the medium of light

October 2009
Lighting the Performer
• Unlike television or film, the audience at a live
performance can look at the entire stage
– In TV/film the camera shot tells the viewer what to
look at
• One function of lighting is to direct the audience
where to look

October 2009
Lighting the Performer
• Generally we wish to make the performer/s distinct
from the background
– Ideal would be lighting for performers independent
of lighting for scenic elements.
– Often desirable to highlight features of the set
– Usual to try and stop spill and shadow as this is
distracting and visually undesirable.

October 2009
Top Light
• The most natural place to put an
instrument it may seem
– Fixtures in rooms generally in the centre
above.

October 2009
The Method
• A method of lighting the theatre stage
was first codified by Stanley
McCandless
– McCandless, Stanley, A Method of
Lighting the Stage. 4 Ed. New York:
Theatre Arts Books, 1958.(first ed 1934)
• Not the only way, but a good basis

October 2009
The Method
• McCandless proposed that :
• The stage be broken down into areas
– 3m-4m wide, depending on luminaires
available
• Each area is lit from two sides
– 900 apart
– 450 from the horizontal
• One unit in a cool shade
• The other in a warmer shade
• All units to have separate dimmers
October 2009
The Method
• Added to this “general cover” or “wash”
• Light from where the audience is
– lower angled front light
• Light from the back
– adds form and atmosphere
• Light from the side
– emphasises form

October 2009
The Method
• Motivating light
– any light source used onstage
• Motivated light
– any lighting required to give the illusion of
light coming from an offstage source
• Specials
– lighting required for a special effect; often
merely a single luminaire.

October 2009
Motivating Light -1
• Multiple sources
trying to be point
source
• Motivational light is
the bare lamp
• Steep lighting
angle(note
shadows)
emphasising the
Othello - LD Ken Coker hanging lamp
October 2009
Motivating light - 2
Othello, The Cochrane Theatre, London/Dir:Chris Geelan/ Des:Bridget Kimak/ Photos:Bridget Kimak/Images: Ken Coker

October 2009
Motivated Light
• Good example of
motivated light and
special
• Dramatic moment
emphasised by
white light through a
doorway.
Sleuth - LD Nick Richings

October 2009
Special
• A special, a
backlight-all single
point
• Combining to make
striking image
• Starcloth in
background
• Isolates a very
small area
Romeo & Juliet - LD Patrick Woodroffe

October 2009
Top Light
• Unit 5
• May seem a
natural position,
but creates heavy
shadow under
eye sockets,
nose, chin.
• Dramatic but not
helpful for
definition.
http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~pacshop/lab/lab.html
October 2009
Top Light
http://lupus.northern.edu:90/wild/th241/ld02a.htm

October 2009
Front Centre
• Unit 2
• A useful position
• Shows the important
features of a face
• Looks relatively natural
• Danger of flattening
features
• Can “merge” figure into
back ground
October 2009
Front Light
October 2009
Front SR
• Unit 3
• Start of the modelling
process
• Good for features
– At least on one side
• Does not flatten figures
into scenery
• Can, depending on
elevation and angle,
miss any scenic
elements.
October 2009
Front SL
• Unit 1
• Complements Unit 3
• Slide 10:
Each area is lit from
two sides
– 900 apart
– 450 from the
horizontal
• Frequently only
imperfect positions
available.
October 2009
Side SL
• Unit 4
• Not great for facial
features
– Shadows of nose etc
• Good for revealing form
• Note emphasis on body
shape
Definition of flower vase
on the SL side.
October 2009
Side SR
• Unit 6
• Complement to unit 4
• This is high/pipe end
side light
• Can be varied in
position from Pipe end
to shin
October 2009
Side/ Cross Light
• The figure on the left is
side lit by two lamps.
One mounted on a boom
in the stage left entrance
and the other hung on a
boom in the stage right
entrance. Notice the
edges of the figure are
well lit, but the front of
the body is in shadow.

October 2009
Side Light
• Even and from both
sides
• Emphasises the
line/movement of
the body
The Seasons - LD Mark Jonathan

October 2009
Backlight
• Unit 8
• Dramatic
• Often a heavier colour
than front/side light
• Emphasis on shape
October 2009
Backlight

October 2009
SR ¾ BL
• Unit 9
• Not good for features
• Excellent for form
• Dramatic
• Useful dance angle
– Remember benefits of
seeing beam
October 2009
SL ¾ BL
• Unit 7
• Complement of Unit 9
• Often used in
– contrasting
– complementary colour
October 2009
Uplight
• Another dramatic
position
• Used for effect
• Throws large
shadows behind
figure
– Depending on
closeness of unit
October 2009
All
• Balance is the
essence
• Often trying to give
sense of light
direction
– Can be achieved by
balance of
– Key
– Fill
– Backlight
– COLOUR
October 2009
Some Examples
(With that the
sun came out
between the
clouds…)
CUE 18
Rosco 07 pars
very strong
over the back
of the barrells
stage left,
giving the
sunlight
direction.
Playboy of the Western World, Liverpool Playhouse/Dir:Robert Delamere/ Des:Simon Higlett/ Photos:Johanna Town
October 2009
Some Examples
• Strong point source
from stage left
• Clearly some light
from right
• Harsh dramatic
shadow
Wozzeck - LD Rick Fisher

October 2009
Some Examples
• Motivated light
• Daylight
– diffuse light
from an
unseen sun
• Note light fading
away downstage
away from the
Popcorn - LD Johanna Town window.
October 2009
Some Examples
• Same setting
– small hours of
the morning
• Hint of dawn or
city through the
window
• Shadow from
unseen light
sources -
Popcorn - LD Johanna Town
through door?
October 2009
The Plan
Plan

October 2009
Aims of Lighting
• What are we trying to achieve when we
light an event/show?

October 2009
Aims of Lighting
Gillette Pilbrow Reid
• Composition • Selective • Illumination

• Visibility Visibility • Sculpture
• Revelation of • Selectivity
• Modelling form.
• Focus • Atmosphere
• Composition • Interaction
• Information: • Mood • Fluidity
• Mood • Information • Style

October 2009
Aims of Lighting
Stanley McCandless Richard Palmer
• Composition • Selective Visibility

• Visibility • Establishing Given Circumstances
• Naturalism • Colouring the Stage Picture
• Atmosphere • Shaping Space and Form
• Focussing Attention
• Composition of the Stage Picture
• Establishing Rhythm
• Establishing Style

October 2009
Aims of Lighting
– “Each member of the audience must

be able to see clearly and correctly
those things that he is intended to
see.”
– Richard Pilbrow, Stage Lighting Design, 1997
• The LD’s first and most important task is to achieve

visibility (ibid)

October 2009
Aims of Lighting
• Only for effect should the audience need to strain to
see
• Balance is a key concept
– Each object should receive the proportionally the correct
amount of light
– This balance is reflected in our use of lighting angles and
positions and other dynamics
• This balance is altered to emphasise different parts of
the performance area

October 2009
Aims of Lighting
• Revelation of Form
• “Shade and shadow are equal in importance to light itself”
– Adolphe Appia
• Performers and objects should be lit adequately and correctly
• Their shape and form should be revealed as desired by the
visual team
• People generally do not speak in the dark
• Scenic elements are there to give their own visual clues

October 2009
Aims of Lighting
• Composition
• “The intensity,colour and distribution of the light create
compositions of light shade and colour in the performance
space.”
– Pilbrow
• Pilbrow goes on to say that an LD should never sacrifice
visibility for the sake of an attractive visual picture
• I would disagree
– Brighter and different instruments
– Visually more literate
• Images from music videos, advertising

October 2009
Aims of Lighting
• Composition
• By lighting design the overall visual aims of the design team are
achieved
• Light is used as an element of design in space,but it is dynamic-
unlike painting
• Lighting design is visual design in space and time

October 2009
Aims of Lighting
• Mood
• Mood should be the result of getting visibility,form, and
composition right
How sweet the moonlight sits upon this bank

Here we will sit, and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears; soft stillness and the night
Becomes the touches of sweet harmony.
Sit Jessica. Look how the floor of heaven
Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold
• A hard task
• By using intensity colour,distribution and movement the LD can
exploit the fundamental emotional and psychological effects
inherent in light; we can mirror the complexities of the text.
October 2009
Aims of Lighting
• Information
• Lighting supports the storytelling/information that the event has
• We can use what the audience expects to see
• We can jog their visual memories
• We can surprise them by showing them the unexpected

October 2009
Texts – Must Reads!
• Performance Lighting Design : how to light for the stage,

concerts, exhibitions and live events
– Nick Moran, Methuen
– ISBN 9780713677577 (2007)
• The Stage Lighting Handbook

– Francis Reid, A & C Black, Sixth Edition
– ISBN 0 7136 5396 5 (2001)

October 2009
Texts
• Stage Lighting Design
– Richard Pilbrow,Nick Hern Books
– ISBN 1 85459 273 4 (1997)
• The Lighting Art : the aesthetics of stage lighting design

– Richard H. Palmer,Englewood Cliffs
– ISBN 013536566X (1985)
• Theatrical Design and Production

– J. Michael Gillette, 4th edition.
– Mayfield Publishing Company. (1999).
– Chapter 12: Lighting Design

October 2009
References
• http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~pacshop/lab/l
ab.html
• http://lupus.northern.edu:90/wild/th241/l
d02a.htm
• Both links, sadly, now expired

October 2009
Light A Car
• KC has been asked to light a car reveal
– One speaker at lectern
– One car on riser

October 2009
Light A Car
• Before I start
– Ascertain physical resources
• Place;budget;kit; duration ……
• Then apply • Selective
Visibility
• Revelation of
form.
• Composition
• Mood
• Information

October 2009
Light A Car
• Who has got to see what, when?
• Revelation of form.
• What are we trying to show?
• Composition
• Overall stage picture
• Mood
• Quiet?
• Brash?
• Information
• Speaker needs to be seen + heard
• Car needs to be seen

October 2009
Exercise
• You have been asked to light a small
conference/presentation for the UOD
• Stage is 10m x 8m x 0.6m
• Two tables
• Lectern
• BP Screen – short video only
– 4m x 3m
October 2009
Exercise
• Create a list of questions you should
ask the client
• Create an initial lighting design
– Assume lighting positions, power are Ok
– Budget reasonable….for UOD

October 2009
Layout
10m
Screen
8m
Lectern

October 2009

Lighting Design

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BSc Sound,Light and Live Event Technology

Stage 2 -Live Event Techniques

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

– “Each member of the audience must

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

• The lighting designer should reveal the narrative of

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

The Seasons - LD Mark Jonathan

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Wozzeck - LD Rick Fisher

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Gillette Pilbrow Reid

• Composition • Selective • Illumination

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Stanley McCandless Richard Palmer

• Composition • Selective Visibility

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

– “Each member of the audience must

• The LD’s first and most important task is to achieve

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

How sweet the moonlight sits upon this bank

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

• Performance Lighting Design : how to light for the stage,

• The Stage Lighting Handbook

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

• The Lighting Art : the aesthetics of stage lighting design

• Theatrical Design and Production

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

• Both links, sadly, now expired

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

Ken Coker University of Derby Faculty of Arts Design and Technology

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