Different Types of Theater Spot Lights
Theater stage lighting is essential to making sure that an audience can see the actors on the set and understand what they’re saying. To get the most out of your theater rig, you’ll want to know the different types of front lighting that are available.
Ellipsoidal spotlights are adjustable and can be framed and focused, while PAR lights (aka ‘cans’) generate lots of light and spread it broadly.
Fresnel Spotlights
Whether you are directing a small play or a large-scale theatre production, Fresnel spotlights can be an important part of your overall lighting design. These versatile lights can provide focus and a change of mood to help enhance performances and make them more visually interesting for audiences.
A theatrical fresnel spotlight is a directional light that uses a lens to control the direction and intensity of the beam of light it produces. These lights can be found on many sets, including film and television, as they are a reliable and simple way to light an area. There are both traditional lamp Moving head light supplier and LED versions available, which range from 100 watts to 1000 watts and are often used as the primary source of back or fill lighting.
The lenses on these fixtures are named after Augustin-Jean Fresnel, a French physicist who developed a system of concentric rings that bend light rays to a common focal point. The stepped lens is what gives these fixtures their characteristic look, and it also allows them to zoom from spot to flood by adjusting the relationship between the bulb and the internal reflector.
These lights are not as bright per watt as an open light of the same wattage, but they have greater control over their beam width than a spot or floodlight without a lens. These lights are a staple on most sets and are useful for any type of practical bounce or background lighting.
Followspots
Followspots are a powerful theater lighting instrument that focuses a beam of light on actors moving around the stage. Typically, these spots are used in musicals and other presentational productions where highlighting a mobile individual is critical to the success of the show. They are traditionally operated by a spotlight operator who tracks the actor using the light as they move.
Most modern followspots are designed with ergonomics in mind, as the operator must nearly become one with the tool in order to effectively operate it. They are built with features like zoom control, iris control, shutter control and a douser (allows you to dim the intensity of the spot’s beam). They also often include gel color slots that can be loaded with drop-in color frames to change the look of the fixture on the fly.
The power of a good followspot is in its ability to keep the audience’s attention on the actors. This is made possible by the dynamic range of a traditional followspot’s lamp and the way it interacts with its lenses. LED follow spots allow for more instantaneous color changes as well as an increased focus on the edges of the light, allowing you to soften or sharpen its edge depending on the scene.
Side Spotlights
Unlike flood lights that cast light across a wide area, spotlights can focus their beam on one thing at a time. This is why they are used to highlight actors on stage. They also have the ability to change color, which can help set a mood for a scene. For example, blue lights can suggest that it is nighttime, while warm colors can indicate that daytime is approaching.
Front lighting in theater is very important, as the audience’s understanding of the actors’ Theater spot lights dialogue and emotion comes from their visual connection to the speaker’s face. However, it is critical that designers balance this with side and back lighting to give shape to the actors on stage.
Side lighting can be done with many different angles, such as a cross light hung on box boom positions or the low angle front light traditionally hung on balcony rails. These angles can also be paired with colour changers to create a range of effects on the spot.
Backlights are an essential element in any theatrical setting. They can be positioned upstage or downstage and can be used for many different purposes, including creating shadows, setting the time of day, and accenting performers. They can even be used to highlight a specific aspect of the set, such as a prop or costume.
Back Spotlights
A spotlight positioned behind an actor, object or set is very valuable to the performance because it creates depth and shapes them in front of the audience. It also allows the designer to reveal costumes, action and facial expressions that would otherwise be hidden in shadows.
Some lighting designs may rely solely on side light for visibility, but a back light is still very useful to help define and separate the actor or object from the background. In addition, a well-positioned back light can add a halo effect to the actors which helps them pop out from the stage and appear 3D to the audience.
Back spotlights can be hung in various positions including Front of House (FOH) catwalk and truss positions as well as Box Boom positions. It is important to test your setup before the show begins to make sure you have the correct amount of back light for each actor, as this can drastically change their visibility and appearance on stage.
Flood lights are another type of fixture that can be used for backlighting but they offer a wide angled light which is not suited to highlighting an individual actor or object. Coloured gels are often used to change the overall look and feel of the scene such as using deep blues for nighttime scenes and warm yellows for bright sunny days.