INTRO TO LIGHTING DESIGN

CALEB S. GARNER, MFA LIGHTING AND SOUND CANDIDATE

PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION

• The Elements of Composition in art are used to arrange or

organize the visual components in a way that is pleasing to the
artist and, one hopes, the viewer. They help give structure to
the layout of the design and the way the subject is presented.
They can also encourage or lead the viewer's eye to wander
around the whole design, taking in everything and ultimately
coming back to rest on the area of interest.
UNITY AND HARMONY
• Unity: The creation of a stylistic plan or concept to which all elements of
the production or design conform.
• Do all the parts of the composition feel as if they belong together, or does
something feel stuck on, awkwardly out of place?
• Note that while there may be an overall concept for the production, each
designer will establish a concept for his or her own design discipline. Ideally, this
concept will be rooted in the overall production concept; otherwise, the principle
of "unity" is violated.
• Harmony: The sense of blending and unity obtained when all elements
of a design fit together to create an orderly, congruous whole.
• Note that for some productions, disharmony is appropriate.
UNITY AND HARMONY: IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?

• Unity is achieved when each element of a design fits in with the

overall concept of the production. It is defined by how those
elements relate to the production as a whole. Harmony, on the
other hand, is defined by how those same elements relate to each
other.
UNITY AND HARMONY

UNITY AND HARMONY

UNITY ONLY

NO UNITY OR
HARMONY
UNITY AND HARMONY
CONTRAST AND VARIATION

• Contrast: The juxtaposition of dissimilar design elements.

• Note that elements can contrast with each other and remain
harmonious.
• The Tony Award winning set and lighting designer David Hays once
said that, "The primary tool of any form of design is contrast."
• Variation: Interrupting the harmony
• Too much uninterrupted harmony is monotonous and BORING.
CONTRAST AND VARIATION

CONTRAST

VARIATION
CONTRAST AND VARIATION
BALANCE

• Balance: The arrangement of the design elements to bring a sense

of restfulness, stability, or equilibrium to the design.
BALANCE
PROPORTION AND EMPHASIS

• Proportion: The harmonious relationship (in terms of size) of

the parts to each other and to the whole. Physical beauty in
humans (or anything else) is largely based on proportion.
• Emphasis: Directing the audience's attention to a specific place.
• We can use proportion to achieve emphasis
PROPORTION AND EMPHASIS

PROPORTION

EMPHASIS
PROPORTION AND EMPHASIS
SO HOW THE $%&# DO WE CONTROL
THESE DESIGN ELEMENTS WITH LIGHT?
CONTROLLABLE QUALITIES OF LIGHT

• A lighting designer can ‘see’ how the lighting should look

for a production and understand the elements of design
only if they have an understanding of the controllable
qualities of light. The qualities of light that the designer
can control are divided into four categories: distribution,
intensity, movement, and color.
DISTRIBUTION

• Distribution is a catchall term that refers to several elements:

• The direction from which the light approaches an actor, area, or object
• The shape and size of the area that the light is covering
• The quality of light – it’s diffusion or clarity
DISTRIBUTION
INTENSITY

• Intensity is the actual amount, or level of brightness, of

light that strikes the stage or actor. Intensity can range
from total darkness to painfully brilliant white light.
INTENSITY
MOVEMENT

• Movement can be divided into three categories:

• The timed duration of the light cues
• The onstage movement of the lights, such as a lantern or candle
that an actress carries across the stage
• The movement of an offstage light source, such as a followspot.
MOVEMENT
COLOR

• The judicious use of color can greatly assist the audience’s

understanding of, and reaction to, the play.
COLOR
FUNCTIONS OF STAGE LIGHT

• We can use light to create beautiful pictures onstage, but stage

lighting needs to perform several basic functions in order to
increase the audience’s understanding and appreciation of the
production.
VISIBILITY

• Stage lighting needs to make everything on stage – the actors,

costumes, and setting – clearly visible to the audience.
• At the same time, the idea of controlled visibility dictates that
objects be seen only in the manner that the designer and director
intend.
VISIBILITY
SELECTIVE FOCUS

• Selective focus means directing the spectator’s attention to a

specific place.
• Everyone has a strong instinct to look at an area of brightness or
movement in an otherwise neutral scene.
SELECTIVE FOCUS
REVELATION OF FORM

• Revelation of form is the use of highlight and shadow to

sculpt the various figures onstage.
• The distribution and intensity of light will, to an extent,
determine our visual understanding of the object.
REVELATION OF FORM
REVELATION OF FORM
MOOD

• Creating a mood with light is one of the easiest and, at the same
time, most challenging aspects of stage lighting.
• It is relatively easy to create a blazing sunset effect or a sinister feeling of
lurking terror; the difficulty comes in integrating the effects with the other
elements of the production.
• Effective stage lighting, for the most part, is subtle and rarely
noticed.
MOOD
 WHICH ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES DO YOU SEE?

Unity/Harmony?
Contrast/Variation?
Proportion/Emphasis?
Balance?

Distribution?
Intensity?
Movement?
Color?

Visibility?
Selective Focus?
Revelation of Form?
Mood?
 WHICH ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES DO YOU SEE?

Unity/Harmony?
Contrast/Variation?
Proportion/Emphasis?
Balance?

Distribution?
Intensity?
Movement?
Color?

Visibility?
Selective Focus?
Revelation of Form?
Mood?
3-2-1REVIEW

On a sheet of paper:
• Write three things that
you learned today.
• Write two things you Turn the paper in
would like to know more on your way out.
about.
• Write one question that
you still have.