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+ | ====== Lighting ====== | ||
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+ | The area most related to power is that of lighting. Lighting is an important part to any big show, and is often the most important technical aspect in a theatrical production. Lighting can evoke moods such as fear and happiness, or establish a setting such as a moonlit beach or a prison cell. At other times, lighting can add flash, sparkle, energy and life to a performance. Still at other times, lighting can simply provide illumination so we can see what is going on. Though I could go on for pages on lighting and lighting aesthetics, I will again point you in the direction of your local library for some very good books on stage and video lighting. Many of these books have simple, low-cost solutions for achieving effects such as rain or a crescent moon, and also provide examples that you can try. Details such as power and fixtures are often given as well. You may wish to purchase a book for the crew as a reference guide, or make your own from all of your research. | ||
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+ | ====== Incendescence ====== | ||
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+ | Incandescence works by running a current through a filament enclosed in a glass chamber in which there is no air. The current heats the filament to such a high temperature, | ||
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+ | ====== Color Temperature ====== | ||
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+ | Without going into great detail, a light' | ||
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+ | ====== Types of Fixtures ====== | ||
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+ | As said before, the three most common fixture types at L'Am are the ellipsoidal, | ||
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+ | ===== Ellipsoidals ===== | ||
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+ | Ellipsoidals throw a very focused beam of light and work by projecting light through a clear lens. These are also called Lekos (a brand name) or Source 4s (another brand name). They are generally used to light small areas, or are used as part of a lighting effect such as casting the light in shapes. Ellipsoidals produce hard shadows and can be diffused to a point. You can use gobos with these lights to achieve effects such as vertical blinds, the shadows from a tree in the window or an artistic effect such as a swirl or other pattern. While l'Am doesn' | ||
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+ | ===== Fresnels ===== | ||
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+ | Fresnel spotlights have a moveable bulb and lens that allow you to make the beam very wide and diffused or tight and focused. The fresnel is the workhorse of theatre and video lighting, and is one of the most flexible fixtures you will use. Barn doors give you the opportunity to spread the beam more, or make it more focused. Fresnels come in a variety of intensities and are usually hung in the lighting grid. Once you figure out how to control the light from a fresnel, you can make very beautiful lighting designs. | ||
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+ | ===== Scoops ===== | ||
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+ | The scoop light has no lens and uses a reflector that looks like a scoop, hence its name. They generally throw a broad and diffused beam of light, and are usually used to light large areas of a stage or performance area. Right now, scoops on the stage, drama room, and market square. | ||
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+ | ===== Intelligent Lights ===== | ||
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+ | Intelligent lights or Moving Heads are the lights that you see at big concerts, in music videos and at night clubs. They work by using mirrors on stepper motors to aim and focus the light beam, as well as some fancy colour changing and pattern changing hardware to make the light do cool things like scroll through 16 colours. These lights are often controlled with a separate control device and require some extra cabling. Most intelligent fixtures can be mounted easily in a grid, powered and set-up in a short amount of time. They also work on stands and can add snap or energy to your production. | ||
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+ | ===== Other Fixtures ===== | ||
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+ | I'll briefly cover some other lighting fixtures here, and make general references to them as this manual goes on. Again, for a detailed description of these lights, visit the web for more info. Contact the manufacturers as well if you ever have to rent lights. | ||
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+ | Zip lights are smaller and work by internally reflecting the light before it is emitted from the fixture' | ||
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+ | Parkans (a brand name) are often used to provide illumination for a large area such as a stage or the corner of a room. These are usually scaled down ellipsoidals or open lights in groupings of four or eight. They are also inexpensive, | ||
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+ | Strobe lights flash light at a given frequency and can create interesting motion effects on moving objects. (This works well with dancers). Strobes can be gelled with any colour, and are usually mounted on stands. | ||
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+ | Other lighting fixtures are too specialised to list, but they can provide you with a wide range of lighting solutions when putting on a show. Remember though to keep it simple. | ||
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+ | ====== Accessories ====== | ||
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+ | Lights would be boring if all we could do was aim them and only get white light from them. | ||
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+ | ===== Gels/Color Media ===== | ||
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+ | Enter the gel or as it is more correctly called colour media. Gels allow you to colour correct lights to a certain colour temperature, | ||
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+ | ===== Gobos ===== | ||
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+ | Gobos can either be purchased or made with aluminium foil. Also called cookies, gobos are preset patterns that can be projected by a focused beam of light. They are almost always placed over ellipsoidals and can provide effects such as swirls, the shadow of vertical blinds, a city skyline or a general artistic pattern. | ||
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+ | ===== Flags and Reflectors ===== | ||
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+ | Flags are generally used in video productions, | ||
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+ | ====== Controls ====== | ||
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+ | All lighting fixtures require power, and often some form of control. On each fixture in the grid, you will find a power connector (also called a pig-tail) and a data connector which connects to a central dimmer pack that controls the voltage going to the fixture. | ||
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+ | ===== Power ===== | ||
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+ | A dimmer pack is used to control the intensity of the light and is often confused with a circuit. I'll make the distinctions clear in just a moment. Each lighting fixture also has attached to it a safety chain so it doesn' | ||
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+ | ===== Data ===== | ||
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+ | From the dimmer pack(s) comes a multi-pin connector which connects to your lighting control board. Inputs for the lighting connectors can be found in the cafetorium, the Market Square and the drama room. This multi-pin connector can then send data to the lights from the control board. From the board, you can fade individual lights or groups of lights, set parameters for different scenes, set fades to and from blackout, recall scene data and store that data on disk. Some effects such as flashing the lights may also be possible. Check with your board' | ||
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+ | ====== Channels vs Dimmers vs Circuits ====== | ||
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+ | It is important here to make the distinction between circuits, dimmers and channels. A circuit in lighting refers to the physical connections of the wires that make the light go on or off. Circuits don't fade. They can only be opened and closed to turn the light off and on respectively. A dimmer provides the light the ability to vary its output intensity in direct proportion to the voltage at the input. A dimmer is essentially a fancy switch that lets you make the light darker or brighter. A channel is a path on which the data can travel to control a light' | ||
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+ | ====== Lighting Safety ====== | ||
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+ | Even if you aren't the one to mount lights in the grid for policy reasons, lighting safety is important to know. Please check with the school board' | ||
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+ | ====== Tips & Tricks ====== | ||
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+ | * Here arc a few pointers in lighting. If you discover any in your travels with the AV Crew, note them in here, add them to this wiki page and share them amongst your fellow crew | ||
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+ | * Label your power and data connectors clearly. Use big bold printing. Capital letters work best. lie sure that you label the stands and the cool part of fixtures as well. Knowing which light is going where is very important, especially if you have to troubleshoot. This also applies for any extra dimmer packs you may | ||
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+ | * Keep your gels in envelopes when they aren't being used. This will prolong their lives. Be sure envelopes and gels arc labelled | ||
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+ | * Get a light meter or borrow one from the Photography department. It is a good way of checking for uni corm lighting down a key area of your stage. It is better to use a reflected light meter as opposed to an incident light | ||
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+ | * Clip gels to your fixtures with wooden clothes clips. This is much faster than fitting the gel into the light' | ||
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+ | * Tape lighting cables as you would power cables. Be sure that any excess cable is out of everyone' | ||
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+ | * If you arc using a strobe light in a show, be sure to inform the audience that you will be doing so. Stroboscopic effects can cause those who have epilepsy to have | ||
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+ | * Centralize your lighting controllers if you are using more than one in a big show. | ||
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+ | ====== Conclusion & Operating Aesthetics ====== | ||
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+ | Running lights is not as easy as turning on the light switch in your bedroom. Good lighting operators can operate with a smooth and fluid hand, and make subtle transitions that are barely noticeable by the audience. The faders on a lighting board should never be jerked or moved violently. if you make a mistake, correct it as slowly as possible. The audience will not notice a gradual transition. They will notice one that comes up all of a sudden. Trust your director or SM if they give you a suggestion about your operation. If it helps, work with a stopwatch or timer to time your transitions. Mark and label your board as well as your disks. Most of all, keep your eyes and ears open and pay attention to what you are doing. | ||