Stage Lighting Technology and the Design Process

STAGE LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN PROCESS

EL Abquina

Background

Based from the THE AWARENESS OF LIGHT 2007 workshop c/o Shoko Matsumoto

Compressed for Teatro Tomasino participants

Agenda

Provide a background to Stage Lighting and its functions

Introduce the basic lighting terms and equipment.

Be familiar of the technical aspects of Stage Lighting

Show the Lighting Design process

Pre-Test

Introduction – Stage Lighting

University of CincinnatiCollege-Conservatory of Music

Lighting Design & Technology

Stage Lighting Function

To make the actors clearly visible so that their expressions and emotions can be easily projected to the audience

To give actors and action a suitably dramatic appearance within the play’s mood and setting

To compliment and highlight the sets and costumes.

Functions of Lighting c/o WIKIPEDIA

Illumination: The simple ability to see what is occurring on stage. Any lighting design will be ineffective if the viewers cannot see the characters, unless this is the explicit intent.

Revelation of form: Altering the perception of shapes onstage, particularly three-dimensional stage elements.

Focus: Directing the audience's attention to an area of the stage or distracting them from another.


Mood: Setting the tone of a scene. Harsh red light has a totally different effect than soft lavender light.

Location and time of day: Establishing or altering position in time and space. Blues can suggest night time while orange and red can suggest a sunrise or sunset. Use of mechanical filters ("gobos") to project sky scenes, the moon, etc.

Projection/stage elements: Lighting may be used to project scenery or to act as scenery onstage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobo_(lighting)


Plot(script): A lighting event may trigger or advance the action onstage.

Composition: Lighting may be used to show only the areas of the stage which the designer wants the audience to see, and to "paint a picture"

Qualities of Lighting - INTENSITY

Intensity to measure the amount of light output. Unit of measures are lumens or lux Can be described as Brightness

Qualities of Lighting - COLOR

Color Determined by the use of colored gels

or color filters (Known brands are LEE, Rosco and Apollo.)

To mix colors in order to produce desired effect

Qualities of Lighting - PATTERN

Pattern Refers to shape of the lighting output

(gobos)

Qualities of Lighting - FOCUS

Focus, position and hanging Point of Lighting Fixture Measured in Degrees (Angle), Height

from Stage Floor, sharpness and size of beam

Stage Lighting Equipment

There instruments to produce light, sometimes called as Lights, Fixture or Lantern

Old stage lighting use Candles, Fire torches with mirrors, or the Sun

Components of a Fixture

Housing Known as the BARREL, BOX or CASING

Lens or opening Reflector Yoke

U-Shaped bar (C-Clamp) Attachment apparatus

C-Clamp or G-Clamp Lamp or arc source

The bulbs, lamp, or device that produce light Accessories

Gels, screen, gobo, barn-door, hat,

Components of a Fixture

Types of Lighting Equipment

Flood Lights Spot Lights Intelligent Lights HMIs Other special lights Lighting Control

Dimmer Pack Dimmer Control


Flood Lights To generally illuminate a wide area PAR Lights, Strip Lights, Cyclorama, LED lights

Types of Lighting Equipment- PAR

Designation Nominal Dia.(inch) Intensity

PAR64 8 2000 – 1000 WPAR56 7 1000 – 500 WPAR46 5.75PAR38 4.75 150 – 75 WPAR36 4.5PAR30 3.75PAR20 2.5PAR16 2

Types of Lighting Equipment- PARDescription Suffix

Very Narrow Spot CP60Narrow Spot CP61Medium Flood 1 CP62Wide Flood CP95


Spot Lights to create a pool of light. Aka Profiles Fresnel, Ellipsoidal Reflector (ERS), Follow spots


Intelligent Lights Aka Moving Lights. Remotely controlled fixtures (via DMX control)


HMIs Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide lamp Mostly used in Films but now used in large

theaters


Other Special Lights Black Lights (Ultra-violet Lights) Rope Lights LED Pins lights


Lighting Control Dimmer Packs, Dimmer Boards (or Control

Board)

Types of Lighting Equipment Dimmer Control

Uses the term CHANNELS. 1 channel, means 1 line in the Dimmer Pack.

Types of Lighting Equipment Dimmer Pack

Set of dimmer modules with a circuit breaker. Can be defined as the “switch” for the lighting fixture

Types of Lighting Equipment - Other Accessories

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stage_lighting_accessories



Electricals in Stage Lighting

Modern stage lighting uses electricity as a source of energy to produce light

The crew and the designer should plan out the electrical details of the stage

The technical director shall oversee the resources of the stage along its safety measures

Electricals - Wattage

Wattage the amount of electrical power

expressed in watts. (1000W PAR64, 500W PAR56)

Electricals - Voltage

Voltage Known as Electric tension Measured in Volts (220V AC, 12V DC) Alternating Current and Direct Current Auto-volt AC 100V – 240V

Electricals - Amperage

Amperage the strength of an electric current

expressed in amperes (10amps) 20KW running over 220V is equal to

90amps Everyday use examples:

Electricals - Amperage

Portable gadgets Hearing aid (typically 1 mW at 1.4 V): 0.7 mA

Motor vehicles – 12 V DC Instrument panel light (typically 2 W): 166 mA. Headlights (typically 60 W): 5 A each. Starter Motor (typically 1–2 kW): 80-160 A

US & Canada domestic supply – 120 V AC 22-inch/56-centimeter Portable Television (35 W): 290 mA Tungsten light bulb (60–100 W): 500–830 mA Toaster, kettle (2 kW): 16.6 A Immersion heater (4.6 kW): 38.3 A

European domestic supply – 230 V AC The current drawn by a number of typical appliances are: 22-inch/56-centimeter Portable Television (35 W): 150 mA Tungsten light bulb (60–100 W): 250–450 mA Toaster, kettle (2 kW): 9 A Immersion heater (4.6 kW): 20 A

Electricals – Wiring and Plugs

We use different cable sizes for different amount of LOADS.

The computation of Wattage, Voltage and Amperage will determine the required Wire and Plug size



Wire Use Rated Ampacity

Wire Gauge

Microdevices 5 Amps 22 GaugeSmall electronic devices 7.5 Amps 20 GaugeLow-voltage Lighting and Lamp Cords 10 Amps 18 GaugeExtension Cords 13 Amps 16 GaugeLight Fixtures, Lamps, Lighting Runs 15 Amps 14 GaugeReceptacles, 110-volt Air Conditioners, Sump Pumps, Kitchen Appliances

20 Amps 12 Gauge

Electric Clothes Dryers, 220-volt Window Air Conditioners, Built-in Ovens, Electric Water Heaters

30 Amps 10 Gauge

Cook Tops 45 Amps 8 GaugeElectric Furnaces, Large Electric Heaters 60 Amps 6 GaugeElectric Furnaces, Large Electric Water Heaters, Sub Panels

80 Amps 4 Gauge

Service Panels, Sub Panels 100 Amps 2 GaugeService Entrance 150 Amps 1/0 GaugeService Entrance 200 Amps 2/0 Gauge

Electricals - Circuit Breakers

Automatically operated switch to protect electrical circuits to be damaged from overload, and short circuits

Purpose of Electricals

It is important to compute your total LOAD for stage safety

The best practice is to give allowance in case of sudden power surges

Ex. 30 1KW PAR64 at 220V will require 136.37A. You will need a 200A Circuit breaker Use 10A Plugs and Gauge 16 or 18 wires Total power is 35KW (+ control)

Exercise: Cable Making

Complete an extension cable with 5M in length, using a male and female plug

Make a Parallel Y Cable Make a Series Y Cable

Question:

How do you use your lighting

equipment and do lighting design

properly?

Stage Lighting Set-up

Control Room/ Tech Booth Stage Area

Audience/ FOH

Avoid Placing equipment that will obstruct passage of audience and performers

Stage Lighting Set-up – 1:1 set-up

LightingFixtures

Dimmer Pack

Dimmer Control

Circuit Breaker

Main Power Source (GenSet or MainLine)

Stage Lighting Set-up - Moving Lights

Moving Lights

DMX Link

Dimmer Control

Circuit Breaker

Main Power Source (GenSet or MainLine)

Direct Outlet

Stage Lighting Set-up - Preparation

Make a list of required fixtures and accessories

Determine the required crew headcount that will operate the set-up

Compute the length of cables to be used

Coordinate with the Master Electrician and Technical Director

Question:

How can you make a good stage lighting

design?

Exercise: Image Training

Discuss why you chose that as your most favorite picture. (A4 sized picture)

Study the image and create a story. Define the character in the image Describe the setting of the picture Provide more details about the image


Discuss and share with everyone your story for this image

Lighting Design Process

• In Stage Lighting, the following are involved• Lighting Designer• Lighting Technician• Master Electrician• Creative Pool (Director Designers)• Technical Director• Stage Manager• Production Manager

Lighting Design Workflow

Make lights breakdown

Rehearsals, record in moving sheets

Start create Lighting Plan

Focusing and Lighting Plot

Final Cue Sheet

Show proper

Lighting Design Process – Papers

Moving Sheets▪ Identify Areas, Cue timing, Color, atmosphere

and priority scenesLighting Plan with Focus Notes▪ Instrument list, Gel color numbers, positions,

focus, channel and dimmer number▪ Focus notes can be a separate document for

complex lighting plans that includes precise angle and height computation

Lighting Design Process - Papers

Cue Sheet▪ A chart and list for the timings, order,

intensity for each lighting equipment for every cue.

Sequence sheet▪ List and sequence of cues throughout the

performance marked the cue number, with scene descriptions

Theater Plan

The THEATER PLAN is a very important requirement of the lighting design.

It is crucial to obtain the correct measurements of the stage and the specifics of the theater

The layout should include the SET DESIGN

Theater Plan Making

Required to obtain the stage measurements and make the floor plan, elevation and equipment locations. (Ocular Inspection)

Exercise: Make a sketch for the layout of this

theater (or room)

Lighting Layout Making

Be familiar of the symbols to be used for the Lighting Layout

The Layout should be SCALED as it will be used strictly for the positioning of equipment


Using the story you created, make a lighting layout with a limited amount stage resources and equipment

Indicate you focus notes

Equipment

12 Channels, 2KW each8 PAR 56 500W8 PAR 64 1000W4 Ellipsoidal Spot2 Follow Spot ERS 2000W16 PAR 38 150W2 Cyclorama lights (3 color)

Example – Top View

Example – Front View

Execise:

Discuss each design

Lighting Plot - Moving Sheet

For rehearsals, record the movements of the performers, and changes in the scenes via the Moving Sheet along with planned focusing and positioning of lighting equipment

Example: Circle = Cue Number Box = Step Number

Lighting Plot – Cue Sheet

Organize each movement in a list of timings, and which equipment will be used, channel number, and description of the action via the Cue sheet. Arrange the list in a sequential order

Finalize Lighting Design

Complete all paper-works Make an itinerary and schedule for stage

rigging Coordinate with the Production Manager

regarding budget, what to be outsourced (rentals)

Print out copies of Lighting Layout for all technical crew

Provide a copy of Cue sheet to the operator and Stage Manager

Rehearse, rehearse and rehearse.

Exercise:

Transfer your design and translate to you cue sheet and sequence sheet.


Once in theater: Ingress Lights Rigging Focus Lights Cue Plotting Technical Rehearsal Technical Adjustment Lighting Crew Practice Dress Rehearsals (with Technical

Adjustments)


After Dress Rehearsal; LIGHTING DESIGNER work is finished. LIGHTING CREW handles the show.

Lighting Crew

Lighting Designer Assistant Lighting Designer Board Operator Follow Spot Operator Stage Electrician Stage Hand (for lighting cues) Master Electrician

Lighting Crew Tools

Lighting Designer Color Filter Samples (LEE) Scaled Rulers Lighting Templates Flashlights AutoCad, Vectorworks, SketchUp,

Lightfactory Print-outs

Tools and Software

Stage Electrician Gloves (mandatory) Wrench (adjustable) Longnose Pliers and Screwdrivers) Flashlights (Headlights) Magnetic Clip (for Lighting Plan) Electrical and Masking Tapes (always!)

Credits

Shoko Matsumoto Sinag Arts Foundation Rene Cubar Jonjon Villareal Light Fantastic by Max Keller Philippine Education Theater Assoc. Tanghalang Pilipino

FOCUS: Stage Lighting Methods, Theory and Techniques

also by EL Abquina