Church Production Magazine: Our generation is used to bright lights. From staring at our bright computer screens for ten hours a day, watching our huge televisions, attending bright concerts with intense lighting effects, the zeitgeist of our time is “Louder and Brighter”! But is “brighter” really better? Most people do not take into consideration are the more subtle concepts of lighting visibility.
3 comments:
I find this article to be very true and a great lesson for new and young lighting designers that more is not always better. The combinations of the lights and the positioning is more important than the amount. Sometimes when a director or an actor asks for more light on stage taking away a light or changing the positioning will help substantially more then adding any more. Each and every lighting designer needs to understand yes intensity but also contrast and how your eyes perceive the light and how the actor and the costume and design take on and cast the light back to the audience.
Recently, I did a lighting design for an outdoor production of As you Like It. This was my first outdoor design and it turned out very well. I chalk that up to my strong background in lighting and the education about front light that I got from a few very seasoned professors. The article here also strives to provide that advice. Balance the light in the space. Indirect light can alter whatever artificial light is being used. Light from candles can also influence the lighting in the space. Where the article falls short in terms of houses of worship is that some churches have a thing called stained glass. These windows are pieces of art and architecture and they are also a direct source of colored light in a sanctuary. Another aspect is church furnishings. Darker woods will react much differently than lighter woods. Also, the “color” of the wood. A mahogany altar will appear much different under lighting that was set for cherry wood. Reflective objects as well play a role. Everything may be great for the congregation during a low light part of the service and then blind Ms. Evans in the 14th pew back because the center special is reflecting directly off the silver cross into her eyes. As with sound, there are many factors that need to be considered and this article doesn’t even come close, just ask Ms. Evans.
This could be one of the biggest misconceptions in lighting design that I have come across, and I am glad to see it addressed so head on. I feel like not only does it increase visibility when front lights are replaced by side lights, but it also increases the emotional aspect that lights can have. A scene's expression can totally be shifted if it is lit from a different angle with more contrast on the actor's themselves. This can really be applied to sound, set, or really any aspect of tech theatre. Subtlety can be just as effective as huge in-your-face effects.
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