Stage Lighting

11 Basics of General Illumination

 

 

 

 

One of the most important functions of lighting is to provide illumination or visibility to a subject or space. Not very long ago, most lighting designers were concerned solely with this function and strove to bring ever-increasing intensities to a stage or environment. As lighting design has evolved, designers have gone on to consider many more criteria than just brightness for creating quality lighting. In fact, it is often desirable to illuminate only what has to be seen—and only to the degree that a viewer gains an understanding of a subject or environment (selective visibility). A scene where Frankenstein is pursuing several teenagers wouldn’t be as successful if lit with day-like lighting as when ...