Stage lighting – a crucial component in event lighting
Theatre, a show, a performance- this is one area of eventing that simply cannot go without the enhancement of lighting. There are several things to know about what lighting can offer in terms of its illumination and brilliance on a stage.
With regards to stage lighting as a form of event lighting it has a specific objectives with regards to bringing a show or performance to life. The objectives of stage lighting can be broken up into four different groups:
1. Visibility
2. Naturalism
3. Composition
4. Mood
1. Visibility.
This is the first objective for a very good reason: it is the most important. In any stage performance the most important factor is the audiences ability to see what is going on. Of course, there are moments where darkness and perhaps mystery are vital to the show (this is another form of lighting) but generally you want the features to be visibly accessible the entire time. Visibility depends on the intensity of the lighting, the colour, size, movement and the contrast of the lighting. With lighting and visibility you are choosing which things you would like to the audience to observe.
2. Naturalism.
What is meant by this term is how lighting is used to create a time and a place that is real to the observer. Therefore if the performance calls for a scene where it is meant to look like it is being illuminated by firelight the stage lighting will have to be used accordingly. Naturalism can refer to sunlight (sunrise, midday or sunset), moonlight, firelight and candlelight. When considering this element the lighting is attempting to make the space as realistic as possible (according to the desire of the performance at hand).
3. Composition.
This is what is considered when the overall picture of a scene is taken into account. If you were to “freeze-frame” in the middle of a performance you would look at the total lighting composition to see how it has contributed to the scene as a whole. Again this is depends on what elements you are wishing to reveal and those you are wishing to hide, and then what general tone it evokes. The objectives here are balance or imbalance, realistic or abstract, precise or random, horizontal or vertical, and so forth.
4. Mood.
When we observe a performance we want to be drawn into a story and taken into the time and place that it is portraying, along with the words and emotions that the actors bring to the performance the lighting is the very next main aspect that will help to determine a mood. The mood that we wish the audience to feel depends on both the psychological and physiological factors we induce with the use of effective lighting. Think about a play that entails a fierce storm- the flashes of lightening and the darkening of the sky will contribute to the mood you wish the audience members to feel.
For any performance stage lighting is absolutely imperative, look how undoubtedly you are able to enhance and enrich a stage enactment with the implementation and manipulation of different lighting equipment and styles.