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Greatest Stage on Earth: “Rule #1”

What is Lighting Rule #1?  Always light the talent. It doesn’t matter how flashy your show is if the talent is in the dark. What is Lighting Rule #2?  Rule #1 applies to your show too.

Whether you’re lighting a corporate meeting, a rock concert or a church pulpit; your client has to be visible.  This is especially important in the HOW market and the interaction it creates with the congregation (the audience).

The preacher at most house’s of worship (HOW) has the goal of connecting on a personal (and to some degree emotional) level with the congregation.  To facilitate this, he must be properly lit.  The goal is to create an imposing, but not frightening, image that will help him to inspire his audience.  The best way I have found to accomplish this is to fall back on the McCandless Method.

The McCandless Method stated simply is to light your subject from opposing angles with a warm color and a cool color.  This magnifies the natural shapes of the face and increases the depth that the eye sees.  In its most basic form, it can be accomplished with two leko’s: One gelled Lux 302 and one Lux 53 (my defaults, you can pick any warm and any cool).  The more color you add, the more dramatic the look will be.  If all you have is PAR can’s you can still get it done, just buy narrow lamps next time around.

The addition of a dark blue or purple back light can also drastically increase the presence of the talent on stage.  It will fill in the shadows and give tone where there was none.  It’s one of the first tricks you learn in theatre. In the best of all worlds, use the same method to cover the entire stage. It’s the same design 80 to 90% of professional theatre’s use every day.

OK.  So what’s Rule #1?  Always light the talent! Remember this and the rest of the gig will be a breeze.  Mess it up, and it doesn’t matter if you have the best light show in the world, you’ve missed the target.

Coming next time: How to use color to set an emotional tone.

“Let there be light” Was Only the Beginning

In the beginning, God commanded “Let there be light” and it was good. Since then the history of light and lighting technology in the church has always been at the forefront of the industry. After all, if all the world’s a stage, the pulpit commands the most power.

At their start, churches have traditionally used light not only to be able to see, but to set mood and tone. Ages before Genesis and Vari*Lite had their own “in the Beginning,” churches were being built with massive stained glass windows that not only visually portrayed their message. They danced multicolored light throughout the sanctuary creating a powerful emotional current that is still invoked today.

As time moved forward the church has been a historical early adopter of lighting technology. From gas lanterns and early electric lights to ellipsoidal and moving lights, some of the largest installations of these technologies are in the HOW (house of worship) market. This creates one of the biggest challenges and best tools that a worship lighting designer will encounter.

Over the course of this column, we’ll discuss everything from using the newest and best of the lighting world to how to properly execute a church lighting plot. All the while keeping in mind that its not about the toys you have, its about how you use them to create the environment your HOW client(s) are looking for. After all, to borrow from the Ringling Brothers, the church will always be the Greatest…Stage…on Earth.

John Hathcock is a a contributing writer here on iSquint.net and the author of the column, The Greatest Stage On Earth.

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