Theatrical manufacturers have gone to great lengths to give us lighting units and dimming systems that permit us to control the elements of light. Every time a designer thinks, "Gee, I would love for it to do this," there is an equal artist out there to manufacture it. While it is not completely necessary for a lighting designer to understand all of the electrical and engineering components of how the systems work, it is important that they understand the basics. Designers should understand that there is a lighting system that enables them to paint their light with different types of brushes. I will use this analogy of painting light because it is how I create the stage picture. Sometimes there is a big lay-in brush to paint the background, a medium sized brush to paint the main source, and then the little tiny brush to add the high lights and shadows.

What kinds of paint brushes (theater lights) are available to us?

Sometimes we need big brushes (strip lights) and sometimes we need tiny brushes ("lekos" and pin spots). If you have to paint a whole sky, you would need a really big brush. If you wanted to add a cloud, then you would use a smaller brush. If you wanted to add highlights and shadow lines to that cloud, you would even use even a smaller brush. A painter has many tools; so do you.

Theater Lights designed for simple color washes.

Par Can - The traditional par can holds a par lamp that in simple terms looks like a car headlight. It produces an

oval shape beam of light. It has similar purposes as the Fresnel in giving bendable color washes. It is very popular in rock concerts as its beam of light may be very tight and (with smoke or haze in the air) show colored beams of light in the air. It is also fairly inexpensive and durable. To change the spread of this style of Par Can you must actually change the lamp. The lamp comes in Wide Flood (WFL), Medium Flood (MFL), Narrow Spot (NSP) and Very Narrow Spot (VNSP). A Par 64 is generally lamped at 500 or 1000 watts. You may spin the axis of the oval by spinning the lamp itself.

There are different sizes of this style of "traditional" par can. The smallest is a Par 16, then a Par 38, Par 46, Par 56 and then finally the Par 64. The larger the can, the higher the wattage. The larger the can the farther away the light can be. A Par 16 is good within a few feet, the Par 38 and Par 46 up to about 12', the Par 56 up to about 15 ft and then the Par 64 up to about 36 ft depending upon the width of the lamp you choose. (These, once again, are my design opinions). You can get Steel cans and Aluminum cans. Both have their purposes. The steel is stronger, but heavier. The Aluminum is lighter but can be banged up more. Newer versions of Par Cans have immerged where there is a singular lamp in the middle of a reflector but the lenses swap out to give you the different width of beam spreads. These are more expensive but do give you a great amount of flexibility very quickly.

Lay-in Brushes (Theater Lights) That Are Designed For Large Acreage

By Large Acreage, I mean large expanses of stage or scenery that needs to be washed with a color, but with very little control. This can mean the floor, cyc or vertical scenery. Overall, this is accomplished with a version of a strip light. Back in my old days in high school, (I do not think it has changed much), in the air were large lines of lights that had alternating colored light bulbs. The red looked great, the blue was "moody", the green was down right ugly and the white, while bleak, gave good work light.

Strip lights are great as long as they are used for the right purpose. There are many different varieties and there have been a few inventive upgrades since my high school days. I will say that the "R40" strip (my high school one) is still alive and kicking and doing its job.

R40 Strip Light - This, in my opinion one, is of the simplest but extremely effective way of lighting floors and drops. It comes in either 3 or 4 circuit versions. This means that you can have three-color choices or four-color choices. Many people believe that they can put the three primary colors in and then mix for an infinite amount of color choices. I would like to share that I do not believe that this is the case. The reasons are that the primary colors would have to be absolutely perfectly the primaries. In the theater, they are not. There is also the issue that as you dim a lamp, it changes color (warmer). This color change would then also affect the color of the filter. I am a firm believer of picking three or four colors that you really want. If you happen to get a good mix out of two of them, you are ahead. The following is some valuable information from the Altman website on the R40 fixture. The R40 border light is a multi-lamp, compartmented strip lighting luminaire designed for use as a general wash of light. It is available wired for either three or four circuit operation for color separation or blending. The R40 border light is manufactured in portable lengths of 6 feet, three or four circuit; 7.5 feet, three circuit; and 8 feet, four circuits. The R40 is also available in custom lengths and custom circuitry with sockets on 6-inch centers. The luminaire can be used as a toning or fill light or for cyclorama lighting from both top and bottom.

ZIP STRIP - If you are in tight places and have very little space in which to light a drop, this is the unit for you. I love these units. You can get them in wide flood or narrow lamps. They take a lamp that is called an MR16 (from the old Kodak Carousel Projectors). One caution, they are wired in series which means that if one light goes out, they all go out in that circuit. Many of the models will give you an indicator light which lamp is out. ***According to information from Altman The Zip Strip is a UL listed multi-lamp strip light using a wide range of 12 volt MR-16 tungsten halogen lamps. It is manufactured of die-cast, extruded and sheet aluminum in four standard lengths. These lengths are related to the number of color washes desired. Narrow spot, medium and wide flood lamps are efficiently incorporated into the Zip Strip without trapping appreciable light from these lamps. Since 10 lamps operate in series for each color circuit, lamp failure is noted by neon indicator lamps. Spring loaded lamp holders with push-on sockets provide secure positioning of the lamps to hold them in place while touring. This narrow luminaire allows it to be used on closely spaced battens or in tight spaces where a general wash of light from the top, side or bottom is desired.

SKY CYC - I am a fan of the Sky Cyc for large stages where you are lighting a backdrop or Cyc that is twenty feet or higher and have plenty of room to adjust the distance of the unit to the fabric. You can get the Sky Cyc in different configurations. You can adjust the amount of cells (therefore amount of color choices) and the configuration (meaning that the cells are side by side or up and down. ***The Sky Cyc is a lightweight, wide spread, luminaire designed to provide an even wash of light on cycloramas; the four light sky cyc, when mounted 8 feet from the cyc, 12 feet on center will typically provide better than 1.3 to 1 uniformity between luminaires with a minimum of 176 foot-candles at the bottom of a 20' cyc. Available in many configurations, it is ideally suited for use in theatres and television studios as a compact, lightweight means of lighting large cycloramas from above.

Focusing Cyc - Allows you to use the "J" reflector technology on curved surfaces. The "J" reflector evenly disperses the light up close to a cyc or a backdrop using the shape of the J to shoot low at the bottom and tall at the top.

Ground Cyc - Gives you the "J" reflector in a straight line. Can be used as ground rows or top rows with Hanging Irons.

Q Lite - A great single unit work light or rehearsal light.

Scoop - A large bowl reflector with a lamp in the middle. It gives a large fairly uncontrolled light. Good for work light, rehearsal light and some applications in a show like a door backing light.

Smaller Brushes - Theater Lights With Real Control (also Known as Lekos):

Ellipsoidals - The ellipsoidal (Leko, for slang) is a lighting unit that has a tremendous amount of flexibility for a relatively small amount of cost. These are the different things you can control with a leko.

Uses of Ellipsoidals (Lekos) Include:

Adjusting the Light's Circle

The light starts out as a circle. You can change the diameter of the circle in a number of ways. The first is by choosing the units focal length. The lenses and their relationship to each other determine this. The throw distance (distance from the light to the object being lit) is a major factor in this. If you have a ten-foot throw distance then you most likely would want a lens system that has a wide spread. The most common unit for this is a 50-degree light. That means that the cone of light that comes out of the front of the unit spreads 50 degrees (pretty wide). Note: a 50-degree light at 40 feet not only would be huge it would also lose a lot of punch. If your throw distance is 40 feet away and you wanted the same size circle that the 50-degree gave you, you would need a different lens configuration that was tighter. For this purpose, you would desire to choose something more in the 19-20 degree range. So as you can see, the smaller the degree, the narrower the cone of light. It could also be generalized that the narrower the cone of light, the longer it can throw while keeping the punch light output at a good level.

Once you have chosen the lens system that you want (size of ellipsoidal) you can make fine adjustments via an iris. An iris (just like in an eye or a camera) adjusts the diameter of the size of the circle by either being fully open or by restricting the size of the circle by closing in.

The most luxurious way of adjusting the circle of light is by choosing a variable zoom unit. These lekos have adjustable lenses that can change their relationship with each other in order to change the size and sharpness of the circle. The positive side to this is that you are basically covered no matter what. The downside to it is that they are the Cadillac of lekos and carry a substantial price tag.

Changing the Light's Shape

Other shapes of light can be achieved via the shutters (framing shutters) and by lighting patterns also known as gobos. While the unit produces a circle of light to begin with, the shutters give you four straight lines that can move straight in or on a diagonal. Templates, also known as gobos achieve different patterns and images by blocking light and letting other light

Note: Many people say that good lighting is lighting you do not notice. I believe that statement to be too general. Sometimes you need the lighting to be very noticed and other times it should just exist with no fanfare at all. It all depends upon what the piece needs or, in other words, the style in which you are supporting the piece.

through. This can be an abstract shape or something like "Class of 2007". An Iris can adjust a circle to be a smaller circle. You can also change the shape of a light by putting it in different hanging positions. If a light is shooting straight on, it can produce a circle, but if it is shooting from a steep angle, it is more apt to produce an ellipse.

Shutters: A leko has four shutters in the middle of the light. One on top, bottom, left side and right side. These are straight, lined pieces of metal with a handle that can stay in position. When fully open they do not interfere with the original circle of light. Once one shutter is brought in, it starts to change the shape by blocking light. The lens systems of lekos make the light operate backwards and upside down. This means that if you put the top shutter in, it moves the bottom of the light. The left affects the right and so on.

You are not restricted to simply 90-degree angles either. The shutters can be racked which means put on an angle. There are so many reasons that you may want to do this including, but certainly not limited to, matching a shutter cut to a piece of architecture on a set or creating a graphic image of light that needs the shape of a triangle. Shuttering can achieve obvious effects but it can also aid in keeping lighting subtle and unobtrusive.

Not only can you rack the shutters. Source Fours and Shakespeare lekos can also spin the barrel, which means that the whole assembly that holds the shutters and the lenses can spin around giving you an almost infinite position for the shutters to be. Isn't technology great!

Gobos: Another way of changing the shape of the light is by using lighting patterns (Gobos). In its most simplistic form a gobo is a piece of sheet metal that blocks light out in a specific pattern as to create an image with the light that it lets through. The pattern choices are endless because there are many companies out there that have their

own library (Rosco, Lee, Apollo, GAM) while you also have the choice of creating a custom one of your own. Gobos create images by holding back light. The light that it lets through creates the image. For example, sometimes we are not projecting trees but allowing moonlight to pass through the trees creating the dappling environment that the characters go through. Sometimes the use of a gobo is really obvious and sometimes you use it in a completely unexpected way as texturing or inventing something totally new. Experimentation and patience will go a long way in coming up with different effects.

One thing to keep in mind is that when the image is cut out, you must be concerned about the metal that holds the inside pieces together. If you were projecting the letter A, you would need to tab the triangle of the interior top of the letter. Sometimes when you are doing corporate work this tabbing is unacceptable. You would then move to Glass gobos. The benefit is that you do not have to tab, but the price tag goes way up.

Changing the Light's Color

Changing the color of the light in the theater is fairly simple and inexpensive. You purchase "gel", which is a plastic sheet that is colored. The color of the sheet is basically the color of light that is allowed to pass through. In the front of a leko, and most other types of theater lights is a gel frame slot, which allows a gel frame with a gel in it to sit in front of the lens.

Changing the Light's Sharpness

Since ellipsoidals have lenses that can have their relationship adjusted with each other and the actual focal point of the light, you can have either a sharp focus or a fuzzy focus. They both have advantages, it just depends upon your artistic desire. Do note that some of the new units are so good at creating a sharp edge that the fuzzy edge really never gets that fuzzy. A piece of a light frost gel is very handy in this situation. Place it in the gel slot and wa laa, the edge goes away.

Controlling the Light's Intensity

Being able to change how bright the light is, is one of the most important choices you are going to make. The first time you begin to decide how bright the light is, is by choosing the initial wattage of the unit. This is where a little practice and experience will come in handy. I have always been of the opinion to choose the highest wattage the light is rated for and that I have room for in the dimmer. I can always dim it down, and if I am concerned about the change of color while dimming, I can always put a sheet of neutral density in front of it, which will reduce the output while not changing the color.

Pointers

This may seem a little simplistic, but there is a light out there that very specifically points to where the audience should look. It is the good old fashioned classic Follow Spot. I am happy to report that it has not really changed over the decades and really does not need to. They all have the ability to be pointed at a performer and follow him/her with human operation. They all also have the ability to "iris in" and change color. When deciding upon a follow spot for you, the throw distance is what you need to take into account. Some Follow Spots are good at a range of 50 feet while others are good for 200 feet. Be aware though that the 200 feet one is not good for 50 feet and the 50 feet one is terrible at 200 feet. Here are some examples of short throw models and some long throw models.