I must have the wrong ideas about stage lighting. I would have thought that some areas of darkness onstage, especially a big stage, would be a good thing, because if you don’t have them, then it’s like walking around Walmart or something like that, where everything is overly bright and nothing is subtle. I guess I always thought that there should be some mystery on a stage, hiding some things. Is this ever done?
HEY, Great video! I'm volunteering to lighting a kids Christmas pageant and for FOH I'm going to use 2 speaker stands, 1 on each side for my front wash, It's a relatively small area so I'm thinking my par 38s with flood bulbs will work well, HOWEVER I can't hang anything. I'll use some of the churches area lights focused on the stage for back light. Please give me some tips, will have 2 on each stand.
I think that's a great idea! Usually the best way to do it in this circumstance is to mount multiple lights on each stand, and then point them so that each light covers the next spot on stage where the previous light begins to fade off. The same principles I teach in this video still apply - do your best to get 2 points of light to each spot on stage - it makes a BIG difference!
Excellent video. What would you consider a good lux level for a cabaret performance lit in a medium sized room lit with 2 pars left, 2 pars right for the wash?
It just depends on what you're doing artistically and how far the furthest audience member is from the stage. You can do as low as 100 lux or lower, and the sky is the limit! There truly are no rules, and if the room is dark and you want it to feel moody, you can go real low!
Well, a batten is going to follow the same principles as this video shows, they just put out a super-long beam of light. I'm not a huge fan of using them for front lighting, but if you must, I would use the same angles I mention in this video - just instead of a "circle" of light, they'll put out a "long circle" of light, so each light will cover a narrow but wide area. Or, turn them on their side (tall ways) and you can use it to light from the sides or back (which is where they're best suited). Thanks! -David
David. Love watching and learning from your videos. Thank you for using your gift to help the rest of us. My question is what fixtures would you suggest to front wash a 12' deep, by maybe 24' long main performance area. Our problem is that our entire drop acoustic tile ceiling is only 11' tall. The stage is 1' tall, so only 10' above the stage. We are streaming all of our services and currently using track lighting temporarily. Also another delima is they would like to have the fixtures have white housings due to the white tiles. Please help guide us. Oh BTW they bought a year ago a couple of the Chavet DJ EVE-TF20 but have not installed yet.
Hey, David. Please send us a email to gear@learnstagelighting.com so we can get some more details from you and get a tailormade solution that will work great for your room and needs.
Hi David! I'm working on a lighting plot for a 24'x24' stage and the grid is 12' above. I only have access to ETC S4's (19, 36, 50, 90). The grid is 35'x27'. I'm really struggling with this and I was wondering what you would suggest
David love your videos you are great at explaining and breaking it down. Our church did a complete remodel, is needing stage lighting but we have no idea what to start with. We only have 4 recessed led cans in the ceiling above it. The stage is 36' long and 12' deep and 1' tall. Our problem is the drop ceiling is only 11' high. Please help. We thought about track lights but would like to be able to control and change colors in future.
I need help lighting up my stage for the live stream, it seems too dark and I’m not sure what to do anymore! I have 8 lights trying to make an even was without lighting the back wall
If it's too dark OVERALL, then you need to work on the camera exposure before you talk about lighting. Auto-exposure will never give you the look you desire. Get that dialed in first, and then look at lighting. :)
Many thanks Dave. There are concrete beams across the breath of our 9 feet high auditorium. How do we manage the lighting. May I also contact you through email?
Dave thank you for all your knowledge. this is truly a amazing Lesson. MrBoston here, be well Dave.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge, we are a growing church I'm making an initiative to get the lights on our stage. This helps me.
This video has helped me tremendously... ‘preciate this...
This is good schtuph!
I must have the wrong ideas about stage lighting. I would have thought that some areas of darkness onstage, especially a big stage, would be a good thing, because if you don’t have them, then it’s like walking around Walmart or something like that, where everything is overly bright and nothing is subtle. I guess I always thought that there should be some mystery on a stage, hiding some things. Is this ever done?
HEY, Great video! I'm volunteering to lighting a kids Christmas pageant and for FOH I'm going to use 2 speaker stands, 1 on each side for my front wash, It's a relatively small area so I'm thinking my par 38s with flood bulbs will work well, HOWEVER I can't hang anything. I'll use some of the churches area lights focused on the stage for back light. Please give me some tips, will have 2 on each stand.
I think that's a great idea! Usually the best way to do it in this circumstance is to mount multiple lights on each stand, and then point them so that each light covers the next spot on stage where the previous light begins to fade off. The same principles I teach in this video still apply - do your best to get 2 points of light to each spot on stage - it makes a BIG difference!
Excellent video. What would you consider a good lux level for a cabaret performance lit in a medium sized room lit with 2 pars left, 2 pars right for the wash?
It just depends on what you're doing artistically and how far the furthest audience member is from the stage. You can do as low as 100 lux or lower, and the sky is the limit! There truly are no rules, and if the room is dark and you want it to feel moody, you can go real low!
Great videos! Do you have any videos with tips about LED battens? I haven't worked with them before but considering getting some.
Well, a batten is going to follow the same principles as this video shows, they just put out a super-long beam of light. I'm not a huge fan of using them for front lighting, but if you must, I would use the same angles I mention in this video - just instead of a "circle" of light, they'll put out a "long circle" of light, so each light will cover a narrow but wide area. Or, turn them on their side (tall ways) and you can use it to light from the sides or back (which is where they're best suited).
Thanks!
-David
Can you get these angles with side mounted PAR lights? We're in a traditional sanctuary and can't hang lights from the ceiling.
David. Love watching and learning from your videos. Thank you for using your gift to help the rest of us.
My question is what fixtures would you suggest to front wash a 12' deep, by maybe 24' long main performance area. Our problem is that our entire drop acoustic tile ceiling is only 11' tall. The stage is 1' tall, so only 10' above the stage. We are streaming all of our services and currently using track lighting temporarily.
Also another delima is they would like to have the fixtures have white housings due to the white tiles.
Please help guide us.
Oh BTW they bought a year ago a couple of the Chavet DJ EVE-TF20 but have not installed yet.
Hey, David.
Please send us a email to gear@learnstagelighting.com so we can get some more details from you and get a tailormade solution that will work great for your room and needs.
Extra question, would fresnel lights also be good for a wash? I assume yes, based on what you said :)
David loves Fresnels
Hi David! I'm working on a lighting plot for a 24'x24' stage and the grid is 12' above. I only have access to ETC S4's (19, 36, 50, 90). The grid is 35'x27'. I'm really struggling with this and I was wondering what you would suggest
David love your videos you are great at explaining and breaking it down. Our church did a complete remodel, is needing stage lighting but we have no idea what to start with. We only have 4 recessed led cans in the ceiling above it. The stage is 36' long and 12' deep and 1' tall. Our problem is the drop ceiling is only 11' high. Please help. We thought about track lights but would like to be able to control and change colors in future.
Lol that sucks
I would look for the widest beam angle in a par or wash light that you can find. That is the only way to make this work! :)
I need help lighting up my stage for the live stream, it seems too dark and I’m not sure what to do anymore! I have 8 lights trying to make an even was without lighting the back wall
If it's too dark OVERALL, then you need to work on the camera exposure before you talk about lighting. Auto-exposure will never give you the look you desire.
Get that dialed in first, and then look at lighting. :)
Many thanks Dave. There are concrete beams across the breath of our 9 feet high auditorium. How do we manage the lighting. May I also contact you through email?
Hi Enttie - I work with people on projects like this through Learn Stage Lighting Labs: www.learnstagelighting.com/labs
3:50 “Zone”
Vertical is more important of the three
6:44 6,8,12 ft zones
Keep zones consistent across the stage