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Quick Tips for Lighting Your Dramatic Productions
By Janet Beasley
Not all of us perform dramatic productions every week. It may only be once or twice a year - indoors or out. If this is the case then you have experienced the dreaded task of researching and re-learning the basics of lighting for a production each time you begin your adventure. Relax! The Beasley's are here to help you through the basics of production lighting and alleviate having to constantly research and re-learn every production.
Often times the basics are the best to remember when preparing lighting for your dramatic production. In the following we will give you a top 10 check list to make certain you get the results you are envisioning. Things such as a reference guide to what fixtures do what, what angles create what effects, and power issues just to name a few.
You may want to clip this list out and keep it on hand for future reference.
Basic Fixtures
PAR - provides a stage wash only, no focusing or shuttering capabilities, will take a color gel, will take up to a 1000 watt lamp
Ellipsoidal - provides mulitiple choices which can be manually changed at the fixture itself, offers both focusing and shuttering, will take a color gel, will take a gobo (a small metal or glass disc inserted into the fixture at a designated point to give texture to the beam)
Fresnel - a fixture most commonly used in theatre and television, produces a focusable wash with a shuttering capability of the iris to make the beam wide or narrow and have a sharp or "fuzzed" edge
Moving Lights - moving mirror or moving yoke fixtures are both excellent ways to change colors/focual points/gobos/and other features with the push of a button.
Cyclorama Lights - used to uplight or downlight an area of the stage, popular to use to light up back drops and cyclorama curtains
Spot Lights - These are best used as extra illumination on singers and solo dancers. Everyone wants to use them on their narrators who are standing still, however you will find if your tech operating the spotlight is not used to doing such, the light will become a distraction rather than an enhancement. Spot lights should be operated by someone with a steady hand and the ability to stay focused on what is taking place. The slightest movement during a stationary scene creates what we like to call the "may day" effect or the "grand opening" effect.
HINT: Never use green as a front color on performers!
Atmospheric Effects
Smoke - a puff of white similar to a cloud which in time dissapaits and enhances light beams cutting through the air
Fog - low flying ground cover, usually created by a special unit using dry ice
Haze - pre-dissapaited smoke which can be turned on before the beginning of a production to gradually fill the air. Haze will cover an entire room evenly in time as opposed to a smoke machine which produces a "cloud" - one puff at a time.
Snow - perfect for winter scenes, use a light blue or light pink color gel in a stage wash type fixture on the snow to enhance your flurry or blizzard.
Scrims - (a specialty theatrical fabric used to create multiple scenes without changing your sets; it's done with lighting)
Light on the front = you cannot see through
Light shown from behind = you can see what is taking place behind the scrim and the scrim will have the effect of "disappearing" from the scene.
Special Effects
Lighting bolts - if you've been to our special fx class you know what we're talkin' about! PVC pipe and a strobe tube system will become the most effective lightning you can produce on stage
Strobe Lights - make certain they are bright enough to carry your auditorium (hint: don't buy the $20 version at your local superstore!)
Color Changers - excellent for creating an endless selection of color to project onto curtains, back walls, and more! Each fixture boasts 3 dichoric lenses. Each fixture will take up 4 channels on your console: 1 for on/off and the other 3 for the 3 colors. By sliding the 3 color designated levers individually on your console up and down you can mix virtually any color of the rainbow spectrum.
Shimmer or Water Effects - rippling water creates wonderful movement adding to any scene taking place "in" - "on" - or near the water.
Fake Flames - the best source of liability free fire you will find! Commercial units are your best bet. (hint: Once again, don't fall for the $20 model at your local superstore!) Great to use for: campfires, temples, volcanos, distant forest fires, couldrons and more!
Lighting Angles - Front lighting should be done with a 2 light minimum per focal point. Each light shining onto the subject from a 45 degree angle alleviates shadows. Back lighting enhances performers and gives depth to any scene. Steep overhead lighting creates an effective shadowing for those dark scenes in a subway station and such. Direct uplighting when standing close enough brings out the ever popular scary ghost story effect (similar to that of holding a flashlight at your chin while seated around a campfire trying to scare your listeners!)
Console - the big intimidating board with a bunch of knobs that looks like it should be in the audio booth! A lighting console is from where all the lighting is programmed and operated. With the right console you can create more lighting scenes than you have dimming channels. Remember:
- Keep console tape on hand to mark your console
- Keep your console well marked
- Always leave some sort of warning so people will not touch your console. Here is an example of one we finally found works! We made up a sign and taped it to the lighting console that said:
"BE SURE TO CONNECT GROUNDING WIRE BEFORE TOUCHING ANY PART OF THE CONSOLE TO AVOID SEVERE ELECTRICAL SHOCK!"
Now obviously, there is no grounding wire un-done on the console, but you would be amazed at how many folks step back instead of "playing with the buttons!" When we returned from our errand, all the faders and buttons were in place and un-touched!
Dimming - the apparatus which is the "hard drive" of the lighting system. A dimmer allows for the creation of beautiful fades and design of lighting scenes. They are manufactured in "watts per channel." If you see a dimmer listed as a 12 x 2.4k this means you are looking at a dimmer which has 12 channels each channel able to handle 2400 watts.
Power Requirements
Lighting takes a lot of power.
A general rule of thumb to embed in your brain is this: 1000 watts = 10 amps. This formula keeps it simple. Example: If you will be operating 20,000 watts of light (which is normally only 20 fixtures@1000 watts) you will need 200 amps. You can now see why larger theatres are all about electrical power!
Clean Power - it is best not to run your lighting power on top of your audio power buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!
Circuits - just because you have 10 outlets scattered throughout your sanctuary does not mean you have a whole heap of power! Most likely those 10 outlets are hooked together on 2 - 20 amp circuits. So in this case if you go plugging your 20,000 watts of lighting equipment into your 10 outlets you will definitly find yourself in the dark - because you will be blowing circuits right and left!
Rental Tips
• SHOP EARLY!
• Know your power limits before you get carried away
• Check around for the best price (normally any rental is based on 10% of the sale price of an item: i.e. $3000 would be $300 per day) Oftentimes 3 days constitutes a "week" rental.
• Make certain you have technicians who are confident in operating what you are renting
• Allow for plenty of set up and rehearsal time
Well, there you have it: the top 10 basic neccessities to any dramatic lighting adventure. Sure, there's more, but these things should keep you in check and help you produce a successful performance.
As always - we certainly hope you keep it fun and wish you the best on your production journeys!
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