The Importance of Stage Lighting

Posted by Armstrong Louis on December 18th, 2018

Any event or performance is incomplete without proper lighting. The lighting does not only allow people to see things clearly, but it also defines the mood for the entire show or event. With the proper knowledge of lights, you can use these lights to your advantage to set the tone and bring out the best of an event. The biggest advantage in this is the easy availability of stage lights for sale.

The important functions of stage lighting are as follows: (Information Credit – https://www.soundselect.co.za/lighting)

1. The revelation of Form – The primary function of lighting is to illuminate spaces, objects and people so that they are visible, and their form is revealed. In a stage performance, it is important to carefully reveal the performers and keep the viewers’ attention attracted to them.
2. Selective Visibility – This is undoubtedly the most important function of lighting. Lighting enables you to control what the audience can see and what they cannot. You can brightly light up the areas where high visibility is required and keep the areas you want to hide in dark.
3. Setting the Mood – Proper lighting is very important to set the mood for the entire program. While happy and funny moods can be expressed through a bright-coloured setting, darkness and shadows depict a more tense and sad mood.
4. Establishing the Action – The lighting effects on stage can be used to establish the location and the timing of the action taking place. Different kinds of light can be used for indoor and outdoor settings. Also, the colours of the lighting used can hint towards the timing when it is taking place.
5. Composition and Background – For plays and dance performances, there is generally a background scenery or a fixed composition. For events that lack this, like musical concerts, the lighting can be used to create an overall background picture for the performance.
6. Emphasize the Story – This function is applicable only for dance performances, comedy acts or plays. In many cases, the directors use the lighting to their advantage, to reinforce some parts of their performance.

These 6 functions of lighting in a stage production can create the perfect ambience and uplift the entire event. Now that the functions are clear, let us look at how light should be placed. There are three basic principles for the use of stage lighting. These are:

1. Customise the lighting according to your act – There is no single kind of lighting that suits all performances. It is necessary to customise the lighting for different performances like dance, play or live music.
2. Go with the script – Lighting is much more than just technicalities. If you carefully go through the script, you can use the lighting intelligently to use methods like selective visibility, texture and naturalism to bring out the best on the stage.
3. Understand the basics – Lastly, you should have a decent knowledge of the different lighting positions to be able to implement your lighting strategies. These are: front, side, high side, back and down.

Stage lighting is an important aspect which can make or break a performance. When done well. It could enhance the performance both visually and emotionally. However, when neglected, it could destroy the entire performance.