Inside the Mind of a Stage Lighting Director
Inside the Mind of a Stage Lighting Director
When you’re sitting in the audience watching a show, the hope is that you’ll be sucked into the amazing storytelling happening on stage. After all, that’s why you’re there — to be entertained! So within the blink of an eye, the actors become the characters they’re portraying, and thanks to perfect stage lighting, you instantly feel a riot of emotions. Every detail is magnified; the vibrant colors and seamless scene changes make you forget you’re looking at a stage. Is this real life? It’s truly an out-of-this-world experience, and you should absolutely applaud the actors. But the real hero is behind the scenes: the stage lighting director.
Oh yeah. That guy (or gal)! No one thinks about or applauds the stage lighting director for their role in the performance, whether it was a one-act play, rock concert, event, or conference. But they should. We all should. Not many people realize the time, talent, and skill that goes into stage light design, equipment, and implementation.
When a capable stage lighting director uses the best equipment, that’s working at 100%, stage lighting transforms a good performance into a memorable experience!
Get Inside the Mind of a Stage Lighting Director
Here are some things a stage lighting director thinks about when properly lighting a performance or an event.
- Ensuring everyone and everything on stage is brilliantly lit and visually pleasing
- That their equipment is in good working order
- Utilizing the right equipment at the perfect moment
- Shaping and enhancing the environment
- Telling a story with intentional control over the flow of events
- Guaranteeing the audience feels specific emotions at the appropriate time, even when they don’t know why
- Controlling every nuance, including the mood, location, weather, time, and atmosphere
- Never allowing the audience to lose focus
- Ensuring the audience only sees the part of the stage that’s most important at that time
An experienced stage lighting director knows how important lighting is to a successful event or show. Without it, you’d just have a bunch of people on stage, and while they’d be doing a tremendous job, the audience will instantly feel like something is missing. Therefore, effective stage lighting involves utilizing what’s commonly referred to as controllable qualities of light.
- Intensity — In other words, how bright everything is. If there’s too much light, the audience would be blinded and unable to make out what’s happening on stage. Light sources can vary from pitch black, which can set a rather ominous scene, to varying intensities of light that depict passages of time, emotions, time of day, and even the beginning and end of scenes.
- Color — LED lanterns and other stage lighting equipment can be manipulated using lighting gels and other visual effects to create practically any color a stage lighting director wants. The trick is coordinating those colors to match on-stage elements such as background props, actor costumes, set pieces, etc.
- Direction — When we say this, we are talking about where light approaches the stage. And boy, it can come from anywhere with the right equipment and an experienced stage lighting director! This includes perfectly-placed light in front of or behind the actors, from above or below the stage, etc. Each combination creates a unique effect on the show you’re watching.
- Movement — In a nutshell, this refers to any changing of lighting (intensity, where it’s coming from, and color).
What If Stage Lights Aren’t Working Properly?
That’s a great question! Hopefully, the stage lighting director has determined these issues ahead of time. And if they do, they know there is only one place to send them to – Azar Pixel! It’s inconceivable that anyone would settle for anything less than the best and brightest stage lighting possible, and while you likely spared no expense for high-quality stage lighting equipment, the day will come when all those bright lights will start to dull, sputter out, and not look their best.
This is why maintaining and repairing your stage lighting equipment is a critical step in this production we call life. That might sound complicated and even difficult, but it is essential to getting the maximum life out of your valuable equipment. If you don’t have the knowledge, ability, or time, you can trust the capable folks at Azar Pixel to keep the lights on for years to come.
We can resolve any of these issues with your stage lighting equipment:
- A dull or faded look (loss of brightness)
- Insufficient light or uneven distribution of light
- Burned out lights
- Too much light for what you need
- Improper contrast
- Loose or corroded electrical connections
- Dirty or scratched lenses
- Jammed or damaged color wheels
- Malfunctioning dimmer pack
Never Replace When You Can Repair! Call Azar Pixel Today.
Azar Pixel is your one-stop LED digital display expert in Texas, Las Vegas, and the United States! Do we need to replace a few worn-out pixels on that giant stadium video board? We can help! Are you a stage lighting director in desperate need of repairing, maintaining, or replacing stage lighting equipment for your next concert, or are you suddenly missing an important power cord? Our Azar Pixel LED products are all designed with your needs in mind and assembled in the USA.
When you think of LED digital displays and stage lighting repair, think of Azar Pixel. And then pick up the phone and give us a call.
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