Brief and visual goals

The lighting design starts with defining what the light is supposed to achieve during the event. Only then can one decide what equipment will be needed.

The brief should describe the nature of the event, the program, scenography, performers, the way the stage will be used, and the expected visual style. Different tools are needed for a conference with several speakers, a different one for a gala with an awards ceremony, and yet another for a concert with a dynamic show.

It is also necessary to determine which elements are a priority. Is correct face exposure the most important? Should the stage work strongly with color? Will there be entertainment? Does the lighting need to work with the cameras and LED wall?

A good brief does not need to specify lamp models. It should primarily define the tasks that will later be translated into technique.

The process of selecting functions is described more broadly in the material about how to select stage lighting for a concert or event. 

Stage plan and scenography

The stage plan is the foundation of the project, as it allows for the determination of the actual placement of people, scenography, LED wall, equipment, and structural elements.

The designer should know, among other things, the width, depth, and height of the stage, the location of screens, platforms, podiums, instruments, and the main traffic routes.

Scenography has a direct impact on possible directions of light.

A high wall can block side light. A suspended element can interfere with the moving head. A shiny surface can reflect front light directly towards the cameras. The LED wall, on the other hand, requires control of the light direction to limit unnecessary lighting on the screen.

The plan should also take into account other industries.

PA, video, construction, scenography, and lighting often use the same mounting spaces. A problem that does not exist in the light drawing can appear immediately after overlaying the plans of all systems. 

How to define the functions of light?

It is best to assign a specific function to each group of fixtures, instead of designing the system based solely on the number of devices.

Functions may include light for the leads, key light for cameras, front of the team, backlight, side light, wash of the scenery, beam effects, decorative light, or specials for specific positions.

This makes it easier to assess whether the system is complete.

If the project includes twenty moving heads, but no group provides controlled light for the lead, the mere number of devices does not solve the problem.

Dividing by function also helps with budgetary changes. If the system needs to be reduced, one can consciously decide which layer to eliminate, instead of randomly removing devices.

This approach also facilitates later preparation of lighting in accordance with the artist's lighting rider, because it is immediately clear which functions the local system can provide.

Choosing lighting positions

Positions should arise from the needed directions of light and construction possibilities.

Typically, front, side, rear, top positions, and devices set on stage as a floor package are analyzed.

The same fixture installed in two different locations can serve a completely different function.

A wash hanging high above the stage gives a different effect than the same model placed behind the performer on the floor. Profiles from a good front angle can be a useful key light, while positioned vertically above a person will create a completely different face modeling.

Physical obstacles must also be taken into account.

The position should provide the required direction, but at the same time not interfere with the PA, screen, scenery, and movement of devices.

With moving heads, additional space must be left for the full range of pan and tilt and for cable management.

Selection of fixtures

Fixtures are selected after determining the function and position, not vice versa.

For each position, it is necessary to check what type of light we need: wide wash, controlled beam profiles, effective beams, or hybrid constructions.

Parameters such as are also important:

beam angle, zoom range, photometry, color mixing, framing shutters, frost, gobos, and source behavior with cameras.

For example, profiles may be more suitable than washes, if the light needs to be precisely cut off from the LED wall. On the other hand, using multiple profiles for wide, soft coverage of the stage may be unnecessarily complicated, if that function is better performed by a wash.

Therefore types of moving head fixtures should be treated as a set of tools, not a hierarchy of devices from "worse" to "better".

Lighting plot – what should it represent?

A lighting plot is a scaled drawing showing the physical layout of fixtures in the system and the information needed for their proper installation and identification.

ETC describes a light plot as a scaled plan showing the positions of individual fixtures in the rig and data such as channel, DMX address or dimmer number, color, and function or focus position. The manufacturer also indicates instrument schedule and patch sheet as typical elements of documentation complementing such a plan.

The lighting plot should allow the team to answer primarily three questions:

where the device is located,

what type of device it is,

how it is identified in the system.

However, one should not try to place every possible piece of information on a single drawing. If the plan becomes unreadable, detailed data is better transferred to the fixture schedule, patch, or other compilations.

The drawing should be to scale and based on the current scene and construction plan. If the scenery or the position of the truss changes, the lighting plot also requires updating.

Fixture schedule

The fixture schedule is a compilation of devices used in the project. It complements the lighting plot with data that does not need to be placed directly next to each symbol on the drawing.

ETC refers to the instrument schedule or equipment list as a compilation organized by hanging position, used by the team during assembly.

In practice, the table may include fixture number, type and model of the fixture, mode of operation, mounting position, universe, address, function, and necessary accessories.

The fixture schedule facilitates the preparation of equipment even in the warehouse.

If it is known that there will be eight specific moving heads on a specific truss in a specific mode, the devices, configuration, and part of the addressing can be prepared in advance.

This reduces the number of decisions made during the actual load-in.

Rigging and structural loads

The lighting design must be feasible on the actual structure. It is not enough to indicate where the lamp would visually look best.

It is necessary to consider the weight of fixtures, cables, and accessories as well as requirements regarding mounting points and the entire structure.

The lighting designer should therefore provide information about the layout and weight of planned devices to the individuals responsible for construction and rigging. The assessment of permissible loads should not arise from intuition or from the load capacity of a single truss element.

The sharing of the structure is also significant.

The same truss can carry fixtures, video elements, cables, or other devices. A change in one area can therefore affect the available options of the others.

The lighting design should be coordinated with the installation and configuration of the stage lighting system, as the order of rigging, cabling, and raising the structure directly affects the time of execution.

Power plan

The power plan should specify where individual groups of devices will receive power and how the distribution will look.

The starting point is the actual power consumption of the devices and their layout.

It is not enough to state that "there is power on stage." It is necessary to know the available connections, protections, the location of the source, and other loads using the same installation.

The design should also limit unnecessary lengths of cables and provide logical distribution points close to groups of devices.

If lighting shares infrastructure with audio and video, the division must be coordinated at the level of the entire production.

The electrical project and safety requirements should be verified by individuals with the appropriate competencies. The lighting designer defines the needs of the system, but should not replace the person responsible for assessing the electrical installation.

DMX universes and patch

The patch should be prepared so that the console knows which device it is controlling and to which address data should be sent.

ETC defines a patch as the association of a control channel with DMX addresses and the appropriate type of device. For multi-parameter devices, the fixture mode in the console must correspond to the mode set on the actual fixture.

Each DMX universe contains an address space designated for devices. A specific fixture occupies a number of slots depending on the selected mode.

Therefore, it is advisable to plan the addressing well before installation.

If addresses are accidentally assigned on stage first, and then an attempt is made to match them to the show file, it can unnecessarily complicate the entire system.

A better order is:

first the selection of fixture mode, then the structure of universes, then the patch, and finally the configuration of physical devices.

Control network

In larger systems, lighting data is often transmitted between the console and the stage via Ethernet, and then output from nodes as DMX.

The diagram may look like:

console → network → node → DMX → fixtures.

The project should specify where the switches and nodes are located, which devices are connected to them, and where the main and any backup routes run.

One should not assume that since audio, video, and lighting use Ethernet, everything can be connected into one random LAN.

Systems may have different requirements regarding addressing, multicast, bandwidth, and redundancy. Therefore, integration points must be established consciously.

The prepared network diagram allows the team to solve the problem much faster than trying to recreate the topology by tracing cables after installation is complete.

Focus plan

The focus plan describes where specific fixtures or their groups should be directed after installation.

It may pertain to stage zones, leads, musicians, elements of the set design, and basic positions of moving heads.

An example project may include prepared positions:

CENTER,

LECTERN,

PANEL,

DRUMS,

STAGE LEFT,

STAGE RIGHT.

However, it is not just about the names.

For static fixtures, it is important to know what area the source should cover and where its edges should be located. For profiles, the framing shutters may matter, and for gobos, the orientation of the projection may also be significant.

Thanks to the focus plan, the team does not have to ask the designer every time during the focus session, "where should this light go?".

The session itself is still necessary because the final setting depends on the actual set design and the positions of the performers.

Previz – when is it worth using?

Previz, or previsualization, allows you to see a virtual model of the stage and start part of the programming before the physical installation of the system.

The greatest value is given in more complex shows, especially when access time to the stage is limited.

In the previz environment, you can prepare among other things basic positions, groups, colors, effects, and part of the cue.

You can also check if the planned positions of the devices provide logical directions and if the design visually corresponds to the concept.

However, previz has limitations.

The virtual model will not perfectly replicate all the properties of the real scene, such as accurate material reflections, the characteristics of fixtures, haze, or the behavior of the image in cameras.

Therefore, previz speeds up programming, but does not replace focus or rehearsal on the actual system..

Preparing the show file

It is worth starting the show file even before the load-in, when fixtures, their modes, and the planned patch are known.

Earlier, you can prepare the structure of the console, groups, layout, color and position palettes, part of the effects, and cue.

The larger the production, the more time can be moved outside the stage.

However, not everything can be completed offline.

After physical assembly, it is necessary to verify the actual positions of the devices. The preset "vocalist" prepared in previz may require adjustments to pan and tilt, as the truss may have ended up slightly differently in reality or the position of the riser has changed.

The show file should therefore be prepared early enough, but treated as a document that evolves along with the execution.

How to prepare documentation for the assembly crew?

The documentation should allow the crew to build the system without the need for constantly recreating the designer's intent from conversations, messages, and individual drawings.

The most useful set includes a lighting plot, fixture schedule, patch, power plan or diagram, control structure, and focus information.

It is also important to maintain consistent naming.

If a device on the lighting plot has the number 121, it should have the same number in the fixture schedule, and it should not suddenly operate under a completely different identification in the console without a clear reason.

Technical documentation should also use correct and unambiguous industry terminology to reduce errors in interpretation between teams.

Well-prepared documentation should not be as large as possible. Its task is to quickly convey the information needed by a specific person during a specific stage of assembly..

What needs to be verified during the site visit?

The site visit primarily serves to check whether the project assumptions correspond to the actual space.

On site, it is necessary to verify mounting positions, heights, access to the structure, actual stage dimensions, the location of the LED wall, scenography, and FOH, as well as possible power and data routes.

Seemingly simple obstacles are also significant.

A structural beam may obstruct the front direction. A decorative element may end up exactly where the profiles were supposed to hang. The available FOH position may be outside a reasonable line of sight for the operator.

The site visit also helps assess logistics.

It is necessary to check how the equipment gets to the stage, where flight cases can be unloaded, and whether access to mounting points will be possible within the time scheduled.

For simple or well-documented objects, part of the project can be prepared without a personal visit. However, reliable plans, photographs, construction information, and technical data are needed.

What should be ready before load-in?

Before load-in, all decisions should be resolved, that do not require physical presence on stage. The assembly day should mainly serve for construction, verification, and corrections, not for starting the project from scratch.

Before the arrival of the technicians, it is good to have ready:

• approved lighting plot and current stage plan,
• fixture schedule and list of required equipment,
• established fixture modes, universes, and patch,
• rigging plan coordinated with the structure and other trades,
• power distribution and points plan,
• DMX diagram and control network,
• basic focus plan,
• prepared show file,
• agreed changes and equipment substitutes,
• schedule for assembly, focus, programming, and rehearsal.

This does not mean that once load-in begins, nothing can change. The actual stage can always reveal differences from the design.

The point is to solve actual production problems, not issues that could have been resolved a few days earlier.

When executing the lighting design before implementation this stage of preparation most limits chaos during assembly and gives the team time for proper focus, programming, and rehearsal.

Summary

The lighting design for the event before installation should translate the visual concept into a specific, feasible technical system. It starts with the brief, the scene, and the function of the light, and then includes the selection of positions and fixtures, lighting plot, fixture schedule, rigging, power, patch, control network, and focus plan.

Previs and preparation of the show file additionally allow for part of the programming to be moved off-site. The site visit serves instead to check whether the design corresponds to the actual conditions.

The most important practical conclusion is simple: load-in should begin the execution of the project, not its creation. The more decisions that are correctly finalized beforehand, the more time during execution remains for focus, configuration, programming, and rehearsal instead of improvised solutions to basic problems.

Frequently Asked Questions