The Science of the Show Part 4 - Lighting
by Jim Fuller
Published in Midwest Meetings Magazine
Unless you plan to hold your meeting in the dark - a practice recommended only for nudist organizations and groups gathered to await the arrival of the mother ship - lighting should be an integral part of your meeting plan. Lighting can help make a dull, drab setting seem alive and cheerful (or somber and ominous, if that's what you want). You, as a meeting planner, don't really have to get involved in the "nuts and bolts". But, to take advantage of the potential lighting offers to add dimension to your meeting, you should, at least, be aware of some of the myriad of options available.
Lighting is most effective when the effects it creates are visible and the lights themselves are not. Lights, like speakers, can be hung from ceiling rigging - most of all meeting lighting is hung. This makes the ceiling height of the room as important to the lighting set up as the A/V set up. In rooms with low ceilings, lighting technicians do what they can to make the lights unobtrusive by placing them at the sides of the room, in corners, behind plants, or concealing them in set pieces.
Functional, or "technical", lighting is designed to illuminate something: the presenter at the podium, the area where award winners' pictures will be taken, the stage set, the entertainment, etc. When lighting presenters, a key consideration is whether or not they are being videotaped for on-screen image magnification (i-mag) or for later distribution to the field. If videotaping is involved, the lighting technicians face the challenge of providing adequate light for the camera to capture the presenter on video while not conflicting with the video projectors and on-stage screens.
Once the technical lighting requirements for your meeting are understood and met, you're free to explore the creative possibilities. And they're endless!
There are basically two types of lights - hard-edged and soft-edged. Hard-edged lights, also known as spots, allow pinpoint placement of light from a long distance. Among their many uses are illuminating logos and hitting stages or entertainers with brilliant spots of color. Soft-edged lights, also known as washes, are used to literally bathe large areas in light or color.
Lights are available in two forms - fixed and moving. Either type may be equipped with color changers, which enable one light to be any of several pre-selected colors. Moving lights not only move, they also feature adjustable beam size for more control. They give you more bang for the buck - you can create more effects with fewer lights. All of these features (color, movement, and size) can be pre-programmed and controlled from a single lighting console to produce a dizzying array of possibilities. They also accommodate a variety of add-on effects. Moving lights can accommodate GOBOs - stencil-like inserts that fit onto the lights and is used to project company, product, meeting theme logos. Hazers can create atmosphere and allow the audience to see moving beams of light traveling through the air. The effect is similar to rays of sunshine breaking through a cloudy sky.
Two hot trends in lighting effects today are ultraviolet and fiber optic light. Ultraviolet lights and paints (the "black light" of the late 60s and 70s) make effects seem to appear out of nowhere. Parts of the set or room are treated with ultraviolet paint, which is barely visible under ordinary room light. On cue, ultraviolet light hits it, and suddenly, Halloween ghosts and goblins appear on the curtains or stars of the night sky light up the ceiling. Ultraviolet light is also used to make an entire logo or certain parts of it pop. The colors are brilliant. The effects are sensational. Fiber optic curtains or drapes provide magical backdrops for meeting stages. Their "thousand points of light" emanate from fiber optic strands laid out on a curtain. The fibers are not light sources; they're light conductors. They bundle down to one position where a lighting instrument is attached. You can use a plain light for white fiber optic effects or a color fader equipped light for multi-colored effects.
Effects like the ones discussed don't happen without a plan. Lighting plans for meetings are usually designed on computer. The meeting planner should receive a lighting "plot" showing the location and path of the lights in the room far enough in advance of the meeting to avoid placing room decorations or table centerpieces where they will interfere with the flow of light. Lighting cues are usually programmed into the computer that's running the show on site. So be sure to allow time for both the lighting set up and programming.