The controllable properties of light

Directional

All coming from the same sources and hating the object

Movement

Appearance of mouvement. Follow spot. Moving light. Creating a pattern. Is the light still, coming from a stationary instrument, or is it a follow spotlight that moves to follow an actor around on stage? Are they moving lights like used in a rock n' roll concert? It can also refer to the way cross-fades happen--when lights in one area go down as they go up in another area. Is it fast, slow, etc.? The shot to the left is from Pippin, showing a follow-spot used on an actress who moves around the stage in a wheelchair.

Colour

Lighting designer use gels (short for gelatin), a piece of colored plastic placed in front of the light to shine color; color is mixed in warms and cools to produce depth and texture. Humans respond strongly to color. The use of red in the photo on the left adds a sense of menace and intensity to the Nazi salute used in Cabaret, while the blue in the photo on the right contributes a sense of intrigue and mystery to The Threepenny Opera.

Indirectionnal

Many lights Sources

Intensity

Turn 100% potential to 0%. This is basically how bright or dim the light is. The left shot is incredibly bright, with high intensity, adding to the harsh quality of the scene. The right shot has a lower intensity, which enhances the sweet and romantic nature of the scene.

Distribution- Form

What : The kinds. The mixes of lights to do what we want to do. This quality of light refers to the texture of light. Is it a single shaft of light? Or in a pattern, using a gobo (piece of metal cut out to make a pattern on the floor, walls, etc.)? Are the edges of the pools of light soft of sharp? See the gentle pattern of trees (made by a gobo) in this scene from The Shadow Box).

Distribution - Direction

Where: The preset direction This refers to where onstage the lighting is aimed, the way a source of light is placed on or near the stage so that it comes from a certain direction. Most lighting hits from an above, usually at about a 45 degree angle. There is also downlighting, which is lighting that comes straight down from above, backlighting and sidelighting, which is lighting from behind or the side, and uplighting, which is lighting from below. See the photos at left for some examples.