The Theory and Practice of Stage Lighting

1. The Theory and Practiceof Stage Lighting Gordon Hughes SCDA Workshop – Feb 2010

2. Background • These slides were originally used for a workshop at St Serf’s Hall given in Feb 2010 for the SCDA. • The workshop was highly practical, and the slides only indicate the structure of the talk, rather than a complete training course. • After the talk this presentation has been extended to include other useful information in line with the discussions at the workshop. • The dominance of Strand equipment in the presentation reflects the equipment available in Edinburgh Theatres.

3. Contents • Introduction • Theory of Stage Lighting • Coffee Break • Lighting Design in General • Lighting for the SCDA 1-Act Festival • Questions and Wrap Up

4. Introduction • Stage Lighting has been around since the beginning of theatre, and used the lighting technologies of the period • Sun • Candles / Fire torches - floats • Oil / Paraffin • Gas - size of lighting bars • Electricity

5. Process Flow for Show Lighting

6. Resources • Equipment • Budget (money) • Time (design time + theatre time)

7. Equipment Resources • Theatre lanterns available • Lanterns owned by the theatre • Group or Personal lanterns available • Borrowed or Hired lanterns available • Number of dimmers + control circuits available • Other equipment required • Accessories (depending on Lantern) • Coloured Gel • Rigging equipment • Cabling + Adaptors

8. Types of Lantern • Flood Lights • Par Cans (and Birdies) • Spot lights • Soft edge – Fresnel Spots • Hard edge – Profile Spots (fixed or variable) • PC Spots and Beam Lights • Intelligent Lights – multiple controls per lantern • LED based technology • Moving Head and Moving Mirror • Effects • See also: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stage_lighting_instrument

9. Flood Lights • Optical system of Lamp + Reflector • Covers a wide area • Limited control over shape/area covered • Good for • Colour washes • Lighting cyclorama (from top or bottom) • Working lights

10. Examples of Flood Lights • Old Strand Patt 137 + Patt 60 + Patt 49 • Newer Strand Coda/Nocturn 500/1000 • Grouped together to form Battens for lighting cycloramas or acting area washes

11. Par Technology • Appeared during the 1970s when range of sealed lamps with Parabolic Aluminium Reflector were developed. • Made popular with pop concerts, then started to appear in theatres • A cross between a flood light and spotlight • Asymmetric bright region • Different sizes and powers available

12. Examples of Par Lights • Par 64 – 1000W • Par 56 – 500W • Par 16 – Birdie • All lamp sizes available with different beam angles • Now available with LED based white lamps

13. Soft Edge Spot Lights • Addition of a low quality lens • Light gives a bright area and a spill area • Control over area covered by moving lamp position relative to the lens • Bright area can be shaped by barn doors • Used for general lighting • In larger theatres also used with wide angle beams like flood lights

14. Examples of Soft Edge Spots • Old Stand : Patt 123, Patt 223, Patt 743 • Newer Strand : Patt 803 • Recent Strand : Prelude F, Cantata F, (also Quartet F, Harmony F, Alto F, etc.) • Many others makes including CCT Focus Spot range

15. Hard edge Spot Lights • Profile spotlights • Better optical system to give a well focused beam • With multiple lenses can give variable beam • Accessories such as Iris or Gobo or shutters • Used for: • Highlighting action • Projection of gobos • Follow Spots

16. Examples of Hard Edge Spots • Old Strand: Patt 23, Patt 264, Patt 764 • Newer Stand: Prelude, Cantata, Alto, etc. Prelude 16/30 + Prelude 28/40 at St Serf’s • Recent Strand: SL range (fixed and variable beam models (e.g. CHT)) • ETC Source 4 – more modern profile range

17. Other types of Spotlight • PC Spotlights use a Prism-Convex lens and can offer a wider range of beam angles. The Festival theatre has some, as well as a number of schools, but they are not common. • Beamlight or Pageant lanterns give a very intense soft edged beam of light. Adam House Theatre has some old Patt 58 ones.

18. Intelligent Lights - LEDs • Allows colour change control + flashing • Many options available for number of control channels used • E.g. • 1 – Red Intensity • 2 – Green Intensity • 3 – Blue Intensity • 4 – Preset colour settings • 5 – Strobe Control • 6 – Sound to Light control

19. Intelligent Lights - Movers • Moving Head • Moving Mirror • Come in soft and hard edge versions • All use multiple control channels

20. Lighting Effects • Mirror Balls • Fire Flickers • UV Tubes and UV Spots • Disco Lights • Practical Lights (e.g. Standard Lamps)

21. Process Flow for Show Lighting

22. Requirements • Read the Script • Discuss with Director • Discuss with Designers (esp Set Design) • Results of Research into time or location

23. Constraints • Limited Number of Circuits • Limited Number of Lanterns • Limited Power available (per dimmer) • Limited Power available (total) • Limited Budget • Limited (unrealistic) time schedules • Communications Issues

24. Outputs from Design Process • Lighting Synopsis – what effects and moods are required during the show • Lighting Plan – • what lanterns are required • where are the put • what will they do • what colour will they be • what accessories are required

25. Making the plan a reality • Physical/Engineering • Rig – mount on the rig (2 mounts/lantern) • Cable – connect each lantern to a dimmer • Colour – Add colour and other accessories • Artistic – likely to need input from director • Focus – Make each light point as required • Plot – record all states required for by show

26. Effect of Angle of light • The angle at which the light points towards the actor or the stage will affect the mood created by the lighting (examples in reference books) • Beware of actors facing downwards where all the lighting is from above, e.g. most raised stages where audience look upwards • Remember to consider where the spill from the light will fall (examples of effects from the recent drama festival)

27. General Lighting • Idea of Splitting the stage into areas and lighting each area with one or two spotlights depending on resource. • 9 Areas (3 x 3) typically used at St Serf’s for SCDA Drama festivals. • Floods or Pars to produce colour washes

28. Specials • A “special” is any light which is used for a special purpose, usually a special effect, in other words that is not part of the general lighting. E.g. • Highlighting actors or items of set • Projecting images such as gobos

29. Historical Bibliography • 1930s • C H Ridge and F S Aldred: Stage Lighting Principles and Practice, Pitman 1935 • 1950s • S Selden and F S Sellman: Stage Scenery and Lighting, Harrap • 1960s • F Bentham: The Art Of Stage Lighting, Pitman, 1968 (2nd ed 1976) • 1970s • R Pilbrow: Stage Lighting, Studio Vista, 1970 • F Reid: The Stage Lighting Handbook, Pitman, 1976 (2nd ed 1980s) • 1980s • T Streader and J A Williams: Create Your Own Stage Lighting, Bell & Hyman, 1985

30. Other Information on line • Wikipedia: Stage_lighting_instrument • The Strand Archive • http://www.onstagelighting.co.uk/ • http://www.blue-room.org.uk/ • Beware that some on-line resources use American terminology which does sometimes differ from European terms.