Lighting and Stage Design
Why
Stage lighting is often a very controversial topic and understandably so, stage lighting done improperly can begin to blur the line between worship and performance and can begin to cause a distraction. However, if done correctly with proper set-up and stage design, we can effectively increase focus and eliminate many distractions.
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The best way to illustrate this is actually with photography. In portrait photography the subject is always very clear and the background is often blurry and out of focus. This is done to bring your attention to only the desired subject. This is the same concept we want to replicate in our stage set up. We want to illuminate the subject whether that is your praise team, pastor, or anyone else, and take away attention to the background.
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Types of Lighting
When it comes to lighting it is important to understand some important key elements and terminology. First there are 3 forms or parts of lighting. The first and most important is front lighting, these are the lights shining onto the stage in front of you, this is what is illuminating you. Having properly set up front lights allows for individual portions of the stage to be lit allowing you to shift focus wherever desired. The second and equally important form is backlighting, this is what illuminates the pack portion of the subject. This is often overlooked and deemed not necessary however backlighting is what makes a subject look 3 dimensional without it the subject will appear flat and non-lifelike. The third and final form of lighting is accent lighting. Accent lighting goes hand in hand with the stage design creating colorful backgrounds and objects around the stage to help generate a desired effect or mood. However, if done improperly, you can cause a distraction or blur the lines between worship and performance. Accent lighting is always the last step in a lighting design as it is far less important than the front or backlighting.
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How to Control
To make stage lighting effective you must have control over each individual light. To do this, we use DMX lighting cables to connect each light to one another forming a chain and eventually connecting to the lighting control device. For lighting control devices the most effective and economical solution is a DMX interface which allows your commuter to be the lighting controller. My favorite of these is the MyDmx 3.0. It is very user-friendly and lower in cost than its competitors.
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Stage Design
Stage design is also a key element in bringing focus to wherever desired. The best way to accomplish this is with a black background. Dark colors often get a poor reputation for making a room feel smaller. However, when a wall is painted true matte black our eyes perceive it as an empty space. This makes the stage seem deeper that in is and greatly reduces the focus of the background, which increases focus on the subjects. Having a black background is also key to good accent lighting because it allows your colorful accent lighting fixtures to stand out while allowing things like mic cables, stands, and other black objects to disappear. This allows for a cleaner less cluttered-looking stage.
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