Lighting for Directors

Lighting for Directors

When talking to new Directors I often hear that one of the things that scares them is lighting and how to discuss it with the Lighting Team, as well as how to involve lighting in their vision of the show.

Too often this leads new Directors to largely ignore this vital element of the creative concept, leaving it to the Lighting Designer to pick their way through the scenes and largely guess at what might be required. Sadly this also often leads to last minute issues when the new Director sees what has been created and finally realizes it isn’t what they wanted!

Lighting for Directors is a half day workshop that concentrates not on the science, electrics or technical functionality of different lights, boards and packs etc., but instead focus’s (pun intended) on how Directors can use lighting to change the way audiences feel – and therefore how they react.

Whilst is does by necessity include some simple knowledge of what the equipment does, it is largely a demonstration of how different lighting shifts our interpretation of a scene / song / moment in time, and how to use this understanding to influence an audience. It also includes some hands on time on a lighting board and if available, a follow spot.

At the end of the day the participant will feel more confident about communicating with lighting designers and operators, as well as more able to include lighting as a key part of their vision.