Lighting Design Resource Sheet #2 Name Page 1 CONTROLLABLE QUALITIES OF LIGHT: INTENSITY AND DISTRIBUTION

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1 Lighting Design Resource Sheet #2 Name Page 1 CONTROLLABLE QUALITIES OF LIGHT: INTENSITY AND DISTRIBUTION This program is all about what to do with your lights. Consult your about any questions you may have. is how bright or dim light is. Intensity is controlled by and. We measure electricity in and. The controller tells the dimmer how much electricity to send to the, where the electricity is turned into inside the. Dimmers have a maximum amount of electricity that they can handle. This is called the, and most commonly 1,200 watts and 2,400 watts in newer lighting control systems. You have to be careful not to your dimmers when you are designing your lights. This means that you need to add up all the wattage of the lighting instruments you want to put into a dimmer, called the, and as long as the number is less than the dimmer capacity, you're good to go. When you have to use extension cables, sometimes referred to as " ", specify what gauge extension you want used. Currently, it's recommended that a cable carrying between 1,800 and 2,400 watts needs to be at least gauge. A cable carrying between 1,200 and 1,800 watts, or less, needs to be at least gauge, and a cable carrying 1,200 watts or less needs to be at least gauge. Using cables that are not heavy enough is a real. Modifying the orange extension cables from the hardware store is not a good idea. Check with your department regarding the local fire and electrical codes. It's a good idea to buy extension cables from a theatrical supply house, because you can get cables that work with your lighting system, and the cable is usually than regular extension cables. When you start the show, you will set the intensity of the lights at any given point in the show. You will also need to decide how fast they get to the desired intensity. An instant change to darkness is called a. A gradual change to the desired intensity is called a, or a. Fades are usually described in seconds, like a 3 second fade up.

2 Lighting Design Resource Sheet #2 Name Page 2 When a light cue goes from one look to another, that is called a. For scenes that follow an actor around the stage, it's a good idea to fade into the area an actor is heading, and once the actor is there, then fade out the area the actor vacated. On computerized controllers, there is usually a fade time you can set, and a fade time you can set for cross-fades. A is when several cues immediately follow each other, and one cue starts as soon as the previous cue is finished. Sometimes the director likes for the light to get a little brighter than it had been. This is called a. It just temporarily brightens up the stage for a big finish. The second thing we can control about light is the distribution of light. means where the light travels. The source of light in a lighting instrument is the. We control the distribution of light by using reflectors and lenses. bounce all of the light coming out of the lamp forward, towards the front of the instrument. And the light is further bent, or refracted by a, or lenses that can give a long or short, which is how far light travels. Lenses can also give a soft or hard edge to the light, depending on how they are focused. The most basic lighting instrument is the. There are 2 types of floodlights commonly used today. One is the, which looks like a big icecream scoop, and gives a very short throw, very diffused light. A scoop is used when you want to flood the stage with light. These are almost always used from the above the stage. A is much like a scoop, but it has a series of several different color lights that can be turned on individually, or in any combination. These are commonly used to light the last curtain on a stage, often made of white or pale blue material, that is called a cyc. A has a lamp like an older style car headlight in it. It is inexpensive, weatherproof, and very durable. The flood focus PAR cans are excellent for washing the stage in light that doesn't have to be tightly controlled, like doing a wash of light in a large acting area.

3 Lighting Design Resource Sheet #2 Name Page 3 A is a medium throw spotlight with a special lens. They can be focused into spot or flood focus, and the edges can be squared off somewhat by using. They are usually used above the stage from the to light the mid-stage and up-stage areas. An, also called an ERS, is a long throw, very controlled instrument that has a special reflector and 2 lenses. It can be from a soft to a hard focus, and can be shuttered inside the instrument to shape the light out of it's normal round pattern into a linear shape, called a. These are generally used from the lighting positions because they have such a long throw, and can be shuttered so that the light stays totally on the stage, not on the audience, proscenium walls, and stage curtains. Ellipsoidals can also use, which are metal or glass patterns, to cast images of light on the stage., sometimes referred to as "wiggle lights", are wonderful instruments. They can be programmed to change direction, color, focus and patterns of light. The other consideration about distribution is the angle of light. not only blinds the actors, but tends to flatten out the actor's features and makes him or her look two dimensional and almost cartoonish. The most natural angle of light is from above and from the sides. This approximates sunlight at 3 in the afternoon, and helps to give natural looking highlights and shadows so the actor appears three dimensional to the audience. Other angles of light are commonly used on stage. tends to cast harsh shadows, and look a little eerie when used alone. The same is true for. highlights one side of the actor, but leaves the other side in darkness when used alone, and is used extensively in lighting dance concerts to highlight and help define the dancer's form. gives an ominous, silhouette effect by itself, but can help make the characters seem to pop out from the background when used with 45 degree angle light to get GENERAL ILLUMINATION, or, the term some lighting designers use to describe a nice, even, natural looking light on stage.

4 Lighting Design Resource Sheet #2 Name Page 4 Divide your stage into areas that your instruments can cover, allowing for the areas to. Come into each area with a warm, at a 45 degree angle to the stage, and one side of the stage. This key light represents the sun at 3 p.m. Come into the same area from the other side of the stage with a cool, also at a 45 degree angle. When the 2 colors of light mix, you have a flattering, natural looking light. If you have enough instruments, double up the warms and cools so when you go to a night scene, you don't have big on the side where you took out the warms. Repeat the process for as many areas as you have on your stage. The lighting instruments you already have will determine how big your areas are, and how many areas you need to light. Ellipsoidals come in different focal lengths that determine how the beam of light will be. These focal lengths are often specified by. The the degree, the wider the area of light covered. The other common way of specifying the focal length of an instrument is by labeling the size of the by the focal length. The thing to remember about ellipsoidals that use this "inch" type of description is that the higher the number, the more the beam of light, so a 6 by 9 ellipsoidal is going to have a wider beam of light than a 6 by 16 ellipsoidal. And an instrument with a more concentrated beam of light will travel further, or have a longer than instruments with wider beams of light. Make sure your areas overlap, so you don't have on stage, where the actor is in darkness. Never look at the light that is thrown on the when deciding which instruments to use, and how many areas to use. Light coming out of an instrument is shaped like a, and spreads out bigger as it goes further. Experiment in your theater by hanging and focusing instruments, and then walk through the to make sure you don't have any dead spots. Next, you need to decide if you need any in your show. Specials can include the use of, or patterns in ellipsoidals, like we saw earlier. Gobos can quickly and easily establish the environment, or create special effects.

5 Lighting Design Resource Sheet 2 Name Page 5 There are many other types of specials that are commonly used. can be very impressive. Dry ice foggers tend to lay down a fog that stays to the ground, and dissipates quickly. Chemical foggers and hazers can spread fog over an, but these may take longer to dissipate. Make sure you use a, non-toxic fluid in your fogger, and check local before using your fogger. Be sure to practice with fog effects during rehearsals. Opening night is not the time to use your fogger for the first time! Lighting fog is fun, because the light is by the fog, and you can actually see the light rays in the fog. This does cut on the amount of light reaching the stage however. One temptation to avoid is overusing fog effects. Be selective, or it will cease to be special. One word of warning, though. You should prominently put a statement in your, your, and in your pre-show that you are using fog effects, in case there is anyone in the audience that may have respiratory problems. And one other thing, use flash pots, smoke pots, or any other type of pyrotechnic effect without having a licensed pyrotechnic technician on site. Again, check with your local if you are thinking about using any kind of pyrotechnics. Strobe effects can be effectively used for flashes and other special effects, like old time movies. Again, you need to put this in your program, lobby, and pre-show announcements. There is the possibility that the use of strobe lights may bring on in some people. And another reminder about overusing special effects. Stage lighting should complement the actors, set, costumes, and props. It should never to itself. The dimmers will be told how much electricity to send out by a lighting operator using a. The last step is to decide on lighting, or how bright the light will be on stage, and, or how fast the light on stage will come up, or go down.