The Big Picture - Laying Out Your Lighting Positions

The first part of any good lighting design is to get the overall angles and lighting positions right. Here's how I think through a lighting design for a band, church, DJ, or theatre show.
0:00 - Introduction
1:04 - Front Lighting
4:12 - Back Lighting
5:12 - Effects Lighting
8:53 - Wrap Up
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Thanks for understanding!,
-David

[@calebreid4398]

I love this yt channel, im interested in all things technical theatre

[@Rricdiculos]

Thanks for info bro. I find your videos helpful so I will be on the lookout for your series.

[@LearnStageLighting]

Glad to hear it!

[@Espresso101]

Great video, i know the principle applies to most situations and this video covers about 90% of what I'm about to ask but for tribute/top 40 bands playing dive bars, many, many times they're bringing their own lights. I'd love to see you do a video specifically on how you would approach a typical 3 or 4 piece band playing on the floor or maybe a stage that is only a foot off the floor. Maybe more like a roadmap for those bands on gradually building up a rig, what lighting console would be ideal and when would be the right time to consider budgeting for a dedicated LD to run your rig.

[@brett-westgrove-country-music]

I’ve been looking for this too. I almost exclusively play venues with full production provided but I got pulled into some corporate stuff lately and I’m bringing my own lighting for the first time. My first event will be (6-8) Par38s for front wash and (8) RGB LED fixed fixtures for backlighting… and I need to get the best show with a 6-piece band on about a 16x24’ stage. Super minimal rig, and with no experience I feel like I may miss some obvious configurations

[@EricduToit]

Your 45° angle for front lighting - where do you measure from on vertical (floor/feet, waist, head)? My assumption is from the average 5' 5" individual's head as that is what you'd really want to light correctly, but I may be wrong. On a stage with a lower ceiling truss system - say 14' above the floor - this may mean a difference of 3-4' further away depending on what you are going for. It also may mean the lights are more directly in the eyes of the performer.

[@khadisonduwai9681]

Bro, thanks for your videos, what lighting design software do you use...?

[@LearnStageLighting]

This is the Capture visualizer

[@brett-westgrove-country-music]

Your front wash looks higher on the color temperature, whereas I’ve seen recommendations of 2700k ish for front. What do you recommend for a band and why? I’m thinking best experience (in terms of blending and letting colored backlight pop) but also good color rendering on camera…

[@LearnStageLighting]

Yeah, it's a little high in this one, the lights I am using are at a higher color temperature. I'd say, anywhere from 2700k-4000k looks good for most bands. If there are video screens, you want to aim higher to make the colors look accurate in the camera shot

[@shannonstephens7718]

So what if you're not trying to light up a person lighting to music like a DMX light show how do you set rigs up for that my name is Shannon Steven

[@Ginoskojournal]

Hi,. Good tutorial, what software is this ?

[@LearnStageLighting]

This is Capture: www.learnstagelighting.com/want-lighting-visualizer/

Wich software is this?

[@Gabe-reis]

what is the lighting program your using?

[@LearnStageLighting]

I use many, here's how to choose: www.learnstagelighting.com/first-lighting-console/