Theater Spot Lights
Theater spot lights are powerful stage lighting instruments that can illuminate a specific performer in a powerful circle of light. They are a great tool for drawing attention to an important moment in the show.
Backlights, positioned high, highlight contours and give a frame to the character and set dimensions to the scene.
Front Lighting
Front lighting illuminates actors on stage from the front. It is often a key element in many theater shows and plays a major role in the design of the set. It reveals costumes and character elements, sets the scene, defines dimensions, and illustrates architecture.
There are many ways to achieve front lighting in a theater, including the use of spotlights with different color filters and effects. The ERS (electronic red shift) spotlight is a popular choice because it is able to shine a tight beam across long distances. This makes it ideal for highlighting an actor during a big number or adding a splash of color to the lighting.
Another option for front light is the follow spot booth, a raised position in the back of the auditorium where ellipsoidal spotlights can be operated to “follow” performers around the stage. When lots of coverage is needed and framing isn’t a concern, PAR cans are an excellent option as well. They provide plenty of coverage, but they aren’t as adjustable as ellipsoidal spots. Fresnel spotlights are also an excellent choice for front light because they can be adjusted to frame and highlight actors with different angles, and they have great flexibility when it comes to changing color.
Follow Spots
Follow Spots, also called “Limelight” (a reference to the original lighting technology from theatres and Music Halls of the 1800s – jets of oxygen and hydrogen were concentrated onto a rotating cylinder of lime to produce light) are used to highlight a specific performer in a powerful circle of light. They are usually operated by hand and can be positioned in a variety of ways to achieve different effects.
A key factor to consider when choosing a follow spot is its throw distance. This can be determined with a laser tape measure or some good old-fashioned algebra and is an important specification to take into account when selecting a spot.
Some Follow Spots can be controlled via a chopper, which closes Stage Lighting Supplier a gate of opposite shutters on the top and bottom of the beam to allow the lighting designer to create different shapes in the light and/or to cut off part of the spotlight’s light source to stop it from being too bright. Some Follow Spots also have features like gobos, dichroic color filters, iris adjustment, and blackouts (dousers). Check out BulbAmerica’s complete lineup of follow spots to find one that meets your theater’s needs!
Elliptical Spots
Many of the lights hanging above a theater’s stage are designed to illuminate the entire performance area with general light. But actors’ faces, bodies, and costumes are often masked by shadows that can’t be easily tamed by other lighting gear. That’s where the elliptical spot (also known as an ERS) comes in.
ERS fixtures look like cannons that shoot a tight beam of bright light over long distances. They can highlight performers for their big number or turn a nighttime scene into a sunny summer day. They can also shine splashes of color or fun special effects on stage.
A type of profile lantern with a gate that allows you to vary the size of the beam of light (aka its focus) by moving the lamp and reflector closer or farther away from the lens. ERSs can also have barn doors that can be used to cut off the ends of the light beam.
PAR Cans
Simple stage lighting tools like PAR cans are a staple for LED Strobe Mobile Light many theater productions. This classic fixture is essentially a hollow, closed-off cylinder that concentrates light using a reflector and can be used with a variety of bulbs to produce different effects. These lights come in a wide variety of sizes, from the tiny PAR 16 to the huge 1000 watt PAR 64.
They are often used to create backlighting effects in the theatre, as they can be positioned behind performers and objects to create silhouettes and add depth and dimension to the space. They can also be adorned with colored gels to generate different moods and atmospheres throughout a performance or event.
Currently, most PAR cans in the theater are LED, which offers a number of benefits over traditional lamp versions including lower running costs and virtually no heat output making them safer for use on stage. LEDs are also capable of being dimmed and adjusted to produce colors which can be useful in a theatrical setting, and most LED PAR cans come with warm and cool white options, as well as red, green, and blue.
Colored Lights
The color of lighting is an important aspect for the overall look and feel of a theater. Choosing colors that compliment and enhance performers will make them look life-like and animated during a performance. The color of the stage lights also effects how well actors appear in the video projection system, so careful consideration must be taken to choose colors that aren’t too bright.
Theatre lights come with various color filters for adding different colors to the light beam. Many of these color filters are designed to work with different skin tones. For example, lavenders and pinks work better on darker skin, while straw and yellow works well on lighter skin tones.
Theaters need lighting for the lobby, concession area, hallways and restrooms, as well as individual theater spaces. Using smart LED strip lighting, you can create unobtrusive pathway lighting that illuminates steps and hallways to help guests navigate throughout the complex before or after a movie. The lights can even be programmed to change brightness levels depending on the type of film being shown or intermission time.
