Drama: Lighting

What is a blackout?

A lighting cue where all stage lights go off simultaneously.

What is a house light?

The lights that illuminate the auditorium before and after the performance and during intermission.

What are backlights?

Light coming from behind scenery or actors to make the actors stand out against the background, or create a silhouette effect.

What are barn doors?

A rotatable attachment fixed to the front of a fresnel spotlight. It consists of two or four metal flaps that are hinged so that it is possible to cut off the beam in a particular direction(s)

What are colourfilters/gel?

positioned in front of a lantern to change the colour of the light. It is often used where digitally controlled LED lighting is unavailable or unsuitable.

What are crossfades?

Bringing another lighting state up to completely replace the current lighting state. (can also be for sound)

What is downlight?

A light from directly above the acting area.

What is a flood?

to wash the stage with general lighting.

What are fresnel spotlights?

Adjustable spotlight giving a diffused light, created by the construction of its lens of ‘concentric circles’. Used with barn doors.

What is a gauze?

drop made of fabric that seems almost opaque when lit from the front but semi-transparent when lit from behind. Also known as a scrim.

What are gobos?

Metal stencil placed in front of the lens of a lantern and used to project images or patterns on stage.

What is intelligent lighting?

Stage lighting that has automated or mechanical abilities to enable versatile and complex effects. Intelligent lighting is also known as automated lighting, moving lights or moving heads.

What are lanterns?

The generic term for a stage light source.

What are LEDs, why are they special?

LED stage lights use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a light source. LED lights are an alternative to traditional stage lanterns that use halogen lamps or high-intensity discharge lamps. LED lanterns can provide easy variation in colour without the need for colour filters.

What are parcans?

lantern is basically a tin can with a lamp inside. The lantern is a sealed beam unit consisting of a lamp, reflector and lens in one.

What is a bifocal spot?

Profile lantern with two sets of shutters, one of which produces a hard edge, and one a soft edge.

Spotlight.

you know this one