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Stage Lighting Design
Edition 2.d – (1997-1999)
Copyright (c) by Bill Williams
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PART 1 - AN INTRODUCTION TO STAGE LIGHTING

1.01 The Joy of Lighting Design
1.02 Evolution of Stage Lighting
1.03 The Lighting Designer
1.04 Objectives of Stage Lighting
1.05 Qualities of Light
1.06 Intensity & Brightness
1.07 Form & Distribution
1.08 Color, Chroma, Hue & Value
1.09 Direction & Movement
1.10 The Language of Light

[pic]1.01 - THE JOY OF LIGHTING DESIGN
1. Introduction

One of the most rewarding professions today can be that of the lighting designer working in the arts. It can also be one of the most frustrating professions on the planet.
The lighting designer will never stop learning. Every production or project will present new challenges, new obstacles, new human dynamics and new problems to solve. There can and should be many failures along the way. This is part of the artistic process. The lighting designer shouldn't hesitate to make as many mistakes as possible - just don't make the same mistake twice.
There is great satisfaction is designing the lighting for a production that fulfills the needs of the playwright and also meets the objectives of the director and other designers. There is however far greater satisfaction in knowing that you have succeeded in your goals and objectives and that you have emotionally 'moved' an entire audience through the controlled and planned use of light.
Stage lighting is no longer a matter of simple illumination as it was less than 100 years ago. Today, the lighting designer is expected to be a master of art, science, history, psychology, communications, politics and sometimes even mind reading.
The stage designer quickly learns that things are not always what they appear to be. A director who asks for 'more light' on an actor, probably doesn't mean that at all. Instead he really just wants 'to see the actor better'. The designer might chose to reduce the lighting contrast around the actor, or