What are the Basic Rules for Lighting a Stage?

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In the stage performance, stage lighting design is a very important part. LED stage lighting is an art form used to illuminate performance venues and have an impact on an event, providing visual direction and shaping the environment. To some inexperienced, it can be overwhelming since the stage lighting and theatre lighting can seem like an extremely complicated job. Because there are many types of stage lights and lighting effect settings, and they need to consider the purpose of using lighting design and how to set the scene lighting. So it's important to know the basic principle for stage lighting service. The stage lighting design is to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the stage lighting system, etc., and the process requirements allow the use of various types of lights and other auxiliary equipment. We will introduce the basic rules and design principles of stage lighting. Follow me and read it!

To help you make a better decision, here we've put together a checklist of three basic rules for stage lighting.

1. Basic Rules of Stage Lighting

(1) Tailor-made lighting effects for your show

The most important principle is that lighting on stage should be completely optimized for the type and genre of performance. Considering the different lighting requirements for kinds of performance, let's see the lighting design rules from the following examples of some common lighting scenes.

    &#; Dance lighting

In this case, the rule of thumb is to choose black curtains and side lighting to keep the stage evenly lit and the performers visible under the black curtains. Dance performances are all about fast movements. Therefore, good lighting is required so that the audience can capture the difficult dance moves that require hours of practice and effort. These side lights have a natural ability to accentuate the performers' movements, so these lighting fixtures are highly used in dance performances.

    &#; Play lighting

In this case, headlights are more often used for higher clarity. The whole point of practicing for a few months is for the audience to see and cherish the little details in the play. So, having said that, the headlights are very effective at capturing the little details of drama.

    &#; Live music

When the music on the stage sounds, colored stage lights are very commonly used in music performances, and the lights will change with the melody of the music. Because it is known that color changing lights can attract more attention.

(2) Choose the right lights

It's also important to find the right lighting fixtures to achieve the required functions and uses. And for reducing purchasing risk, please always get them from some reliable and trusted stage lighting supplier. Shenzhen Suntech LED is a professional LED light manufacturer and one of the top entertainment lighting companies, specialized in indoor and outdoor entertainment area lighting.

    &#; Fresnel light

Fresnel is a type of spot light with softer edges and generally covers a larger area but the beam angle is usually  narrow then the flood light.

    &#; LED Floodlight

The LED  floodlihgt produce a fixed beam of light and the install angle can be adjustable, resulting in a soft and even light.The floodlihgt produce a fixed beam of light and the install angle can be adjustable, resulting in a soft and even light.

A spot light on stage can focus the light to a small area to display the details of the stage or theatre performance, and this can also happen to differentiate the main performers from the other performers.

(3) Consider viewing effects

For stage lighting, different performances will have different lighting effects. A good lighting designer will design a variety of lighting methods to bring different viewing experiences to the audience.

   &#; Partial visibility: The audience misses a lot of the performer's action if the light is not enough.

   &#; Mood: The incorrect light scene may not be able to create a specific mood that must be brought to the viewer's attention in that particular scene.

   &#; Texture: The texture needs to be shown to audiences sometimes. The prop is still somewhat hidden from the audience in low light situations.

2. Principles and process requirements

(1) Stage lighting design principles

The design of the stage lighting system is configured in accordance with the rules and special requirements of stage art performances. The purpose is to design and configure the lighting technology equipment required for the reproduction process of various performing arts according to the system engineering, so that the accuracy and integrity of the stage lighting system.

Create a complete free space for stage lighting to meet all natural stage lighting requirements. In order to enable the system to continue to operate, appropriately increase the reserve and expansion space. Anti-interference ability and system safety are important design indicators, new high-efficiency and energy-saving cold light lamps are introduced into the system design, and DMX512 digital signal network technology is introduced into all aspects of the system design. The DMX LED lights is more and more popular in stage lighting since their stable signal transmission and cool lighting effects.

(2) Process design requirements for stage lighting systems

• The process design and equipment configuration of the system has the function of using the integrated theater, and can rotate various lighting for different types of lighting in theatre programs in a very short time.

• System designs can be quickly converted from one lighting solution to another, and the changeover time is completed within 2 hours.

• The stage lighting system allows the use of various types of lamps and other auxiliary equipment.

• The system is designed with adequate safety and storage capacity. The entire lighting system performs continuous diagnostic checks at the main console to avoid interrupting mains power.

3. Which Suntech products can be used for stage lighting?

For more information, please visit stage light manufacturer.

(1)

LED wall washer light

When there is a stage scene performance, there are some wall-like props that need to use color changing LED wall washer, This luminaire shines on the wall and the light produces a water-wash-like effect. The wall washer is mainly used as decorative lighting to outline the outline of building walls. It creates another effect for the stage lighting, and also brings a different visual experience to the audience.

(2)

Stage LED Floodlight

Flood light is mainly used for outdoor stage lighting and decorative effects, and they are often compatible with the DMX control system. The shape is round, which is to fully consider the heat dissipation effect, so it is still different from traditional floodlights. The stage DMX LED floodlight sold on the market today are basically high-power, using high-efficiency lenses. Due to the excellent heat dissipation technology, 36W or even higher LED floodlights have been selected. This is more suitable for large-scale event venues for light projection, such as large outdoor stages.

(3)

Flexible LED Mesh Screen

 

Sometimes background LED screens are essential for stage performances. The video played on the screen can be integrated with the performer. This is a kind of LED product commonly used in indoor and outdoor scene performances. The stage operator performs the programming and control, and beautiful moving images are displayed on the screen. Then with the media facade lighting, the LED screen can act as a multimedia player to play advertisements and any creative images, creating a wonderful viewing experience.

With the development of LED lighting techinogy, stage lighting has also shown a booming momentum. Shenzhen Suntech Company is a premier and reliable and stage lighting manufacturer and specializes in DMX stage lighting system, and has more than ten years of experience in LED solutions, and we can also provide lighitng design for stage, theater, and other building lighitng. If you are looking for stage lighting manufacturers, welcome to contact Sunetch at .

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What is a General Cover? 

A general wash of light, appropriate for the event, which provides basic illumination of the stage, evenly.
The main job of the lighting designer, for any kind of event, is to enable what&#;s happening on stage to be visible to the audience. Of course, different degrees and styles of visibility are appropriate for different kinds of work. A general cover for a piece of drama will be different from one for comedy, or for dance. 
The following assumes you&#;re lighting for a live audience. An event that&#;s going to be televised (or which will be recorded for broadcast / live stream) will need a more consistent lighting approach than it&#;s possible to use for a live show, as video cameras are much less forgiving when there are irregularities in the wash. 

This page assumes that automated lighting / moving lights are not in use.

Decision One &#; How should the stage be divided up? 

If you have an end-on open stage with no set, the stage should be divided into equal bays or zones across the stage, and also up/down stage. 
Always use an odd number of bays across, so that you always have centre stage well-lit, as this is where actors will tend to gather. 

However, where you have an uneven set, or particular &#;rooms&#; or areas that the stage is divided into, these will dictate the position and size of the zones you should divide the stage into. 

Why divide it at all? If you have a very small space, it may be possible to use a pair of wide-angled wash lights to illuminate the whole stage. However, once the stage gets more then around 5m wide, you&#;ll need multiple zones to ensure effective use of the lanterns you have. 
Dividing the stage up will also give you plenty of flexibility if you need to emphasise a particular area at a particular moment. 

Decision Two &#; Which lanterns should I use? 

For a traditional proscenium arch venue and an end-on audience, profile spots (aka ellipsoidals) are the best way of getting light onto the stage from above the audience. 
However, in a smaller venue or in a studio theatre, fresnels (soft-edged wash lights) may be a better solution. Wash lights will also be more effective in non-standard seating layouts. 

Ensure that all of the lanterns doing the same job are of the same type &#; don&#;t mix and match different types or brightnesses. 

Decision Three &#; Which positions work best? 

For traditional end-on lighting, as a general rule, each zone of the general cover should have two front lights and one backlight. The front lights should be at a vertical elevation of 45 degrees from horizontal &#; this ensures the actors&#; faces are well-lit, including the eyes, and reduces unsightly shadows under the chin (see diagram below). 

A pair of front-lights are used on each zone to ensure the stage is well-lit for all of the audience, and often two contrasting colours (&#;warm&#; and &#;cold&#;) are used for naturalistic lighting. These should be 60-90 degrees apart.
Always use a backlight from above or slightly behind the actors to help even out shadows and to help sculpt the actor and to separate her/him from the environment. 

For any audience layout other than end-on, think about the view from each audience location. What is a front-light for some audience might be a backlight for others. 
The ABTT has hosted a seminar on Lighting-In-The-Round during the Coronavirus pandemic (click image to view).  
For Traverse, the audience is on opposite sides of a long thin performance area. Light from above each audience is likely to shine into the eyes of the other audience, so cross-lighting from above the stage area is the best option. This works very well for dance / movement-based work. You may need additional face lighting from above the audience, depending on the size of the space. 
In-The-Round &#; The audience is on all sides of the space. Each part of the stage should be treated as an acting area with light from 3 angles. Each source will be a front light for some audience, and a backlight for others, so these should all be gelled similarly, with stronger colours from (for example) directly above the area. 

Dance Lighting
For dance lighting, or for musical numbers (or concert lighting) you may not need much (if anything) from above the audience. Dance shows are usually lit from booms (aka trees) in the wings, giving a sharp cross-light to illuminate the dance space without lighting the floor of the stage. Dancers then appear as brightly-lit bodies in a dark space, enabling you to have absolute control over their lighting vs the set or any other visual elements. The eyes / faces of dancers or musicians are often not as relevant as those of actors. 
There are often 3 different heights of sources used on each boom, named after the parts of the dancers they line up with: heads, mids and shins. The number of booms needed depends on the depth of the stage &#; often three or four &#;bays&#; are used, to cover dancers from upstage to downstage. 
Back in the pre-LED days, lighting designers who wanted variety specified that the gel colours in each boom should be changed at specific points during the performance, sometimes at great speed in short blackouts between dance sequences, with a crew waiting for a exact moment to silently take the old gels out and put new ones in. 
Now it is more efficient to use LED profiles in these locations, to enable instant infinite colour shifts. 

Decision Four &#; Which Colours Should I Use? 

Traditionally, a general cover for a drama for an end-on audience has two front lights and one backlight per area. 
In order to make the lighting more dimensional, it can be helpful to have slightly different colours in each of these lanterns. 
The front lights should be pale colours, so that the actors&#; faces can be clearly seen, and should be chosen to fit the show. 
If you know you have a lot of night-time scenes, and a lot of sunny day scenes, you can look at pale blue for one front light and a yellowy (&#;straw&#;) colour for the other. 
A comedy may be better with pink and straw. If you have performers with varying skin tones, looking at colours in the lavender range will be a better choice. 
The backlight can be a slightly more intense colour (if you want) &#; I&#;m a fan of lavender backlight. 
Of course, the colour choice may be completely different if you need a more stylised look. And sidelight (either from the wings, or a steeper angle from above) is better than front light in some situations (particularly musicals / opera / dance). 

Focussing the General Cover

Rule One &#; Don&#;t light the floor &#; ensure you always check the light is doing the right job at performer head height. Use someone to &#;walk&#; around the stage as you focus each light to check shadows and correct overlap between beams. If you don&#;t have a walker, check it yourself, using your shadow to judge how well-lit you are. You can also use your hand as a reference as you walk around the stage, watching your hand held at head height, to check for dark spots. Avoid looking into the light while you&#;re focussing &#; always use your shadow to see where the beam goes. Remember to look at the stage from the audiences&#; point of view, and ensure you concentrate on actors&#; head height &#; also be wary of very light-coloured costumes &#; these will clearly show up any hard lines, or dark spots, as the actors move around the stage. To avoid dark spots, make sure there is enough overlap between acting area coverage, and ensure the corners of the stage are adequately lit. 

Rule Two &#; Check for stray light &#; make sure the proscenium arch, orchestra pit, audience seating areas are not illuminated. Use the shutters on profiles or the barn doors on fresnels to cut-off any unwanted light. Also check the coverage on the set &#; the general cover should be just for the actors. Lighting for the set should be separate, so that you can adjust the levels independently from the acting areas. 

Rule Three &#; Avoid hard-edged beams on acting areas. These will look odd when actors move across the stage. Use focus controls on the lantern to soften the edges of the beam, or keep the hard focus and use a light frost in the gel holder to soften the beam. 
Don&#;t use frost that is too heavy, as you&#;ll find the accuracy of your wash is compromised. Frosts scatter the light, and can end up lighting up the auditorium more than you intend.

Rule Four &#; Check the wash from all audience locations. If you&#;re lighting for a video camera as well as a live audience, ensure you&#;ve arranged to have the cameras available during your lighting focus, to ensure that the lighting looks even on camera. 

Rule Five &#; Don&#;t focus with the working lights on &#; you should also avoid having anyone else working on stage during the lighting focus, so you can see everything without distractions. 

See also Focussing Lighting page.

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Created 8 April
Last updated 12 December
Written by Jon Primrose
Please send comments via the Contact Us page

Keywords: split upstage downstage, function warm cold, certain part of the stage is lit, lighting in the round, lighting in-the-round, in the round lighting, end on lighting, arena lighting, how can you avoid dead spaces in your light on stage, lighting for dancers, dance lighting design

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