Programming automated lighting requires much more than just pressing buttons on a console. A good understanding of the lighting fixtures and their capabilities is equally as important. In addition, the consideration of the effects of the lighting programming must be considered and evaluated during the programming sessions. The positions of the lights, the actions of the fixture parameters, and environmental conditions all can have an effect on your programming.
Blasting the Eyes
Whether working with incandescent, discharge, or LED light sources, all can be potentially damaging and certainly annoying when pointed directly into someone’s eyes. Many performers are very used to having spot lights pointed at them and learn to look “through” the light so that they are not viewing the source directly. However, you can focus automated lighting into positions that can be very distracting or painful for performers. For instance a floor light might make for great sidelight, but if you focus it towards the performer’s face it will most likely be very bad for the performer. In this case it is much better to focus the center (or hot spot) of your sidelight down off their faces and to a mid-body height. Some light will spill onto their faces, but it will not be as blinding. During pre-production, I always walk up on stage and walk through the lighting looks to feel and see what the performer will experience. Only then can I fully understand how my focusing will affect them.
It is not just performers that often take the brunt of our lighting focuses. Sometimes, you have to consider the consequences on the paying audience of your wonderful lighting positions. I program an annual corporate event in an arena where the LD places many fixtures on the trusses to make static “up and out” looks during the various speeches and presentations. When I make my focus positions/palettes/presets for these looks, I am very careful to ensure that the output of the lights is not terminating in the “nose-bleed” sections of the seating. Instead I will focus the lights very high above or onto architectural locations that do not bother the audience. Although the lighting looks may not be as perfect as I would like, they are more conducive for the audience that is there to look at the action on the stage.
I have also seen productions where very bright and narrow beam fixtures are pointing in a nice downward fan-out into the audience. What happens is that the poor audience members standing in the beam cannot see any of the show for the entire song or scene. Just as laser specialists pay attention to the termination of their beams, lighting programmers need to be aware of where they are pointing the automated lights. Of course, there are moments that it is okay to focus into the audience for illumination or effect, but consideration must be taken in regards to the duration and purpose.
Be Nice to Your Crew Mates
Just as it is important to think about lighting focuses in performer and audience eyes, it is equally significant to consider yourself and other crew members. When I create audience focuses and ballyhoos, I always ensure that the FOH position is not blinded, and this courtesy should be extended toward other crew members as well. In the previous example of the corporate event with high focuses, I had focused some positions towards “dead” areas of the arena ceiling. Then, during the production, I received comments from the followspot operators that all my lights were pointing right at them! It turns out those “dead” areas in the roof where right where the followspots were placed. So by trying to protect the audience, I had actually blinded my crew.
I also did a similar thing on a concert tour where it turns out that some of my positions that pointed just off stage where shining directly in the eyes of the monitor mix. I had pre-programmed in a shop with only the lighting rig and no other crew in place. Once we got to rehearsals, it was obvious that some of my positions were not going to work for the actual show. I had to quickly update these palettes/presets so as not to upset the sound crew. There is always enough tension between audio and lighting crews, and I certainly did not need to add more.
The Power of Light
Today’s lighting fixtures are very powerful, and you must not only consider the damaging abilities on human eyes, but also on other equipment. Video cameras are now more sensitive to light than ever, and shining light directly into these can cause burnouts and other video problems. Furthermore, saturated colors around a performer can negatively affect the video image as well. For instance, I recently lit a performance with an all Congo blue look from about 100 automated lights. The performer was lit with a followspot in CTO, but the high amount of deep blue energy freaked out the cameras and caused the image to look undesirable on the I-Mag. Since this was not a televised production and just one song, the decision was made to go with the look and let the I-Mag suffer. Sometimes, though, you will have to adjust your programming (maybe even on the fly) to work better with the cameras.
There are many stories about lights being pointed at an object located close to the unit for too long, resulting in burned curtains, flats, and even other lights. As the person in charge of the positioning of the lighting, it is your responsibility to ensure the safe location of the output of the lighting fixtures. Recently I programmed some fixtures that were placed on the top of eight-foot floor mounted trusses in a twelve-foot tall ballroom. This meant that the fixtures when pointing straight up were about one foot from the ceiling! Just turning them on for a moment could have resulted in serious fire damage. To help minimize any accidents, I altered the default values for the pan and tilt of these fixtures in my console. Now instead of pointing straight up as a default they always pointed at a 90-degree angle onto the stage area.
Palettes Are Your Best Friends
As you have read, it is very important for a lighting programmer to be aware of where the fixtures are pointing and the damages they can cause. You might not always be aware of potential hazards when creating your initial focuses, so it is best to always make use of position palettes/presets on your console. These references to positional information allow you to quickly make changes throughout your entire show file. Every show should be programmed with the use of position palettes/presets for many reasons, but simply the ability to easily and quickly make changes is definitely a good one.
The next time you are focusing automated lights on a show, consider the output and how it will affect performers, audience and crew members. Remember that light is heat energy and can be damaging to humans, sets and electronics. Use the power of your programming carefully to ensure that the show not only looks great, but also is free from dangerous positions and situations.
