On
the modern stage, lighting is no longer a case of illumination.
The lighting designer is a highly skilled professional who must
meet multifocal needs portraying messages to the audience via
the lighting design. It is now considered to be a field where
sciences merge with art.
Early
Stage Lighting
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Early
Greeks built their theatres as open-air theatres using natural
light. Plays were presented at various times of stage in relation
to the sun's position in accordance with the style and needs
of the play.
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This
indeed was early stage lighting and the Theatre of Dionysus
(Athens, 330BC approx) is but one example.
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Lighting
evolved from the use of natural light to that of candles,
oil torches, gas (extremely odorous) electric arc and lime
lighting.
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The
Renaissance period in Italy saw much of modern lighting design
being established.
Modern
Stage Lighting
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Began
to flourish with the development of the incandescent lamp
in the late 1800's
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Allowed
for small, safe and portable fixtures that could be placed
anywhere on stage and controlled via a remote electrical dimmer.
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1900's
saw the development of lighting industries influenced by stage
lighting design.
The
Future
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Stage
lighting was revolutionised in the 1930's by the development
of the ellipsoidal reflector (Leko) fixture and then in the
1960's, the SCR dimmer provided another innovative change.
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Automated
lighting fixtures (1970's) revolutionized the system again
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New
technology offers an abundance of new colours and new light
sources (Xenon, Fluorescent, Induction and Sulfur lamps, Metal
Halide, fiber optics, liquid crystal projection)
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Design
software for the computer is the new innovation allowing untold
possibilities for the lighting expert. 'Touch screen' and
'speech recognition' are but two technologies to be considered.
Objectives
of Stage Lighting
Stage
lighting may be defined as the use of light to create a sense
of VISIBILITY, NATURALISM, COMPOSITION and MOOD.
(Reference:
McCandless, S. 1933, 'A Syllabus of Stage Lighting' in Williams,
B. 1997-1999, 'An Introduction to Stage Lighting' http://www.escape.ca/%7Ewilliams/sld/sld-3f00.htm)
Visibility
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The
most basic function of stage lighting depends on factors such
as contrast, size, colour and movement
Naturalism
and Motivation
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Provides
a sense of time and place
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Stage
settings can be varied - realistic, abstract, absurd or stylised.
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Motivation
can be provided by lighting which exemplifies sunlight, moonlight,
firelight, lamplight
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Style
on stage can be enormously varied and stage lighting must reflect
the genre of the play.
Composition
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Refers
to the overall pictorial aspect of the stage as influenced by
the lighting
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Stage
scenes may need soft flooding of light, highly localised lighting
and so on.
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Concepts
of composition include balance, unbalanced, symmetrical, asymmetrical,
simple, complex, abstract, geometric, fragmented, symbolic,
dynamic, linear, random, crude, horizontal, vertical, diagonal
and so on.
Mood
and Atmosphere
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The
basic psychological reactions of the audience is important here
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Effective
lighting ensures the mood is appropriate for the play and the
audience is then more easily able to engage with the dramatic
form.
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Feelings
of happiness, sadness, depression, contentment, horror, etc
depend on the lighting design.
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This
includes the need to create mood and atmosphere of sunny days,
rainy days, cloud etc
Qualities
of Light
In
lighting, the lighting designer's tools are INTENSITY, FORM, COLOUR,
DIRECTION and MOVEMENT.
Theatre
Lighting Design
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As
you are aware, theatre productions can take place across a wide
array of venues and budget.
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Small
productions may make use of 12-20 lighting fixtures whilst a
professional production might use 48-200 fixtures
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Large
scale musical productions can use up to 500 or more lighting
fixtures.
Theatre
Hanging Positions
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Most
equipped perfomance areas have fixed mounting positions and
can include front lighting above the audience ('Ceiling Coves')
or 'Box Booms', (vertical pipes adjacent to the proscenium)
and 'Balcony Rails'.
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Other
positions for lighting include above the stage on fixed grids
or counterweight pipes.
Theatre
Lighting Techniques
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In
brief, most theatre lighting today is based on the McCandless
method: light the actor, light the scenery, and then the backgrounds
for atmosphere.
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This
enables the lighting designer to divide the stage into segments
to allow control of the lighting dispersion.
(Reference:
Williams, B, 'An Introduction to Stage Lighting'. See above)
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