Key terminology-Lighting Flashcards
Backlight
Light coming from upstage, behind scenery or actors, to sculpt and separate them from the background
Barndoor
A rotatable attachment consisting of 4 metal flaps (hinged) which is fixed to the front of the lantern to shutter the beam off from certain directions, such as the audience
Blackout
A lighting cue where all stage lights go off simultaneously
Build
Increase light levels
Colour
In generic lanterns it is made with a gel, in intelligent lanterns LED’s are used. If you can’t see the lantern, just refer to the colour
Cross-fade
Bringing another lighting state up completely replacing the previous state
Direction
If the light is shining from above or in front of an actor it will have a different effect. Light from above will light upper parts of the body, but the face may be in shadow
Fade
A light coming in and out of use, fade in or fade out, and you can also state how long this will take, ‘ a fade in time of ___ seconds/minutes.’
Flood
Fill the whole stage with light
Focus
Where on stage the light is shining and how hard an edge the pool of light is (a tight focus on an actor’s face for example)
Gels
A coloured film placed in front of a generic lantern that changes the colour of the light
Gobo
A small piece of metal with a pattern cut out of it. When placed in generic lantern or moving head, it creates a pattern of light
Intensity
How bright something is
Lantern
A stage light
Moving head
A type of ‘intelligent’ lantern that has multiple abilities, the primary one being that it can move on an x and y axis. Only refer to this lantern if you can actually see the movement.
