LIGHT AND THE ART OF LIGHTING DEALS WITH FOUR BASIC PROPERTIES . . . OVER AND OVER AGAIN:

COLOR

Here, we refer to color perceived by the human eye, or the spectrum of visible light.
Color is measured in nanometers. Color has different properties:

• Hue: the family of color such as blue, red, yellow

• Saturation: the intensity of a color

• Value: the color’s lightness or darkness in terms of “grayness.”

INTENSITY

How bright is the light? We measure that in terms of foot-candles. A good rule of thumb is that 100 foot candles on stage provides enough light for faces, costumes, & scenery. This is true even when the light is gelled (adding color to the source). If you need more light on a subject, you may simply need more contrast – where the light “isn’t.” Try bringing lights up one at a time and adding, rather than all on full and trying to get rid of light (Less is more).

TEXTURE

What type of light do you want? Is it a soft light or a harsh slash of light, or perhaps just a general “wash” (even coverage with no hot spots). Light texture is, for the most part, determined by which fixture you select. It can also be altered by using special filters and gels such as frosts and diffusion.

FORM

Here, meaning the outline of a light beam, Is it a carefully framed pool of light such as that provided by an ellipsoidal? Or is it the bright oval of light provided by a PAR beam, or a soft feathery edged light produced by using a Fresnel?

HOW TO USE PHOTOMETRICS

A photometric chart can help you select which fixture to use and where to place it. We have provided very generic charts in this catalog; more sophisticated charts are available from manufacturers.

Photometrics tell you three things: how bright a light is (how many foot-candles); how far away the lighting fixture is (called “throw distance”); and how big the pool of light is when it reaches the target (called field or beam angle).

A good way to understand these relationships is to take a standard Mag flashlight, shine it at a wall and slowly step further away from the wall. Three things happen – the pool of light gets bigger, the edges get softer and the light gets dimmer – Voila! Photometrics 101.