Welcome back to this series on the basics of lighting music.  Last time we went over lighting fixture types and their strengths and weaknesses for live music.  This time we will continue by talking about how you might shape your inventory into a plot based off of needs, preferences and use.  As always- there is not a single way to light any event and you need to make the best decisions possible.  Of course, maybe your first gigs will be working with a house plot and you have no ability to change anything. But learning to see the possibilities that lie behind each plot decision is an important step to any design work.

To help you see a range of possibilities, I’ve gotten permission from friends (Michael Lee of Ghostlight Systems and Billy Clare of Outlaw Lighting) to share light plots from their projects as well as one of mine.  Mine is for a small second stage I lit at an EDM Festival.  It was my first time lighting EDM, and looking back, I would change things, but I think that’s always the way.  Billy’s plot (and the generously provided rendering) is for a festival and is on the larger side.  Michael’s plot is for a concert scene in a movie he programmed (and obviously, designed for this segment) and is the mid-range.  Let’s start with the systems of light and what they are good for.  I encourage you to watch some concert videos if you don’t already have a visual vocabulary of music lighting so you can make sense of the descriptions.

Performer Light 

I know Performer light isn’t technically a system of lighting.  But since there are so many ways to accomplish the task, it’s the best title I could come up with.  

If AT ALL possible- you want spot lights for your performers.  That way you don’t need to confine them to a fixed location (which they frequently will step out of no matter how much you’ve discussed it) or program one million cues to try to follow them.  If you can’t get spot lights, my next move would be to light with foot lights and/or side lights.  It gives you much more control over your overall picture and doesn’t wash out all the ”art” lighting you put into your cues.  (If you don’t know what that means, remember that there is no way to stop light.  It bounces and keeps going.)  If all else fails, you will need to use fixed (non-moving) front light.

In theater, we usually want front light at a 45 degree angle from the subject.  In music, it’s not as rigid.  Front trusses can offer a variety of (typically) steep angles.  Spot lights traditionally are a very long throw from the stage, which means the angle tends to be very flat.  Now, with the easy access to remote control spot lights, you can put your follow spots anywhere you wish and even have the operator take control of a variety of moving lights as the show goes on to give you the angle and look you want.  

Be aware there are a wide variety of artists and some don’t like being lit.  When I did the EDM Festival, none of the DJs wanted to be lit while the bands didn’t seem to care.  (If you’re confused as to why there were bands at an EDM festival- so was I.)  You may have a lead singer that wants to be lit, but not during the guitar solo.  There is no substitute for good communication with your artists.  Don’t assume.

Front Light

Not just for face lighting, front lighting is a great position to hang a bunch of spots to wash the whole stage (our the background scenic elements) in patterns and colors.  Unlike theater, where hitting a truss or masking is a no-no, live music expects and rewards this.  Your front truss is also a great position to turn around and hit the audience.  When I did the EDM festival, I was shocked how much the audience wanted me to traumatize their eyes with lighting pointed start at them.  Who am I to not give an audience what they want?

Side Light

Anyone who knows me knows I love side light.  It helps define depth of the subject (whereas front light flattens the subject) and the bounce from the light continues off stage.  I favor soft light (washes and beam washes) for side light in music.  The soft edge helps it blend with the rest of the onstage picture and doesn’t call too much attention to itself when I don’t want it to.  If you are using Beamwashes, you can narrow down the zoom to 4 degrees and make fun light beams that echo the system of Beams you may have in place.

Footlight

Footlight gives a spooky/campfire vibe that is a great choice for many styles of music.  The beam continues up and will likely not wash out your looks on stage.  Don’t think footlights are a one trick pony, because if you balance them with front and/or side lights, it just becomes part of an even face light system.  You ever notice that nearly all stand up comics have footlights?  They aren’t going for a spooky vibe, they are making sure that their face is always evenly lit.  Comedy requires even lighting since so much of the comedy actually comes from the expression of reaction to what they have just said.  Not much is funny if you can’t see the comedian.

Back Light

Arguably, the most fun lights in a light plot.  In music, the lights as well as the lighting are meant to be seen, to be noticed.  I adore the beautiful pictures I can create with back lighting.  It’s no coincidence that back lighting also bounces the light out into the front of house, thus giving you more control over your on stage look.  I love triple systems of back light- one system of washes, one system of Spots (not spotlights- Spots from our last tutorial) and a system of Beam lights.  Arranging and rearranging them in different patterns and colors and having those moves tied to the music is the best part of lighting music.  They can be hung at different heights if you have multiple trusses (or pipes) to hang from.  A normative approach is to lower the trim heights as you go upstage to fill the space with lighting.  This does result in a bit more work as you are creating your looks, since the angles and zooms of each position will need to be customized to match the others, but it’s worth it.  

Back light gives a “halo” effect to the subject that is pleasing to the eye.  I also use these lights to paint the floor with color and patterns.  Within reason, backlight looks better the further it is from the subject.  8’ is a good minimum, but 16’ or 24’ is pretty great.  

Top Light

Honestly, I avoid top light.  It brings raccoon eyes and casts a weird shadow that makes your neck vanish.  I’m mostly mentioning it because many people set up top light positions and call them backlight.  Please do not make the mistake that the one is the same as the other.

I do enjoy using it for specials, though.  Specials are just a way to point out a certain performer or area.  An example- when I did the EDM festival, there were gogo dancers on stage (I assume there is a more current term for the dancers, but I’m too old to know what it is).  I pointed them out with a top light that was ever so lightly in front of them.  In this case, the shadows that were created debatably enhanced certain features and since they were confined to a very small platform, I didn’t have to worry about them stepping out of it.  If you had a DJ who wasn’t against being lit, that would be another special.

Audience Light

This category is vague to me, but it’s all about things pointing towards the audience.  Think of a row of fixed-head (non-moving) LED lights on a truss that point straight towards the audience.  You chase patterns and colors across the fixtures and the whole point is to see that happen- not for these lights to light anybody or anything.  Or think of blinders (an array of 4 to eight lights per unit) that exist solely to punish the audience under the guise of making them feel like they are part of the show).  In many cases, strobes also fit into this system of light.  

These lights are the last things anyone who hasn’t worked in music will think of, but they are important to the form.  You know, unless you are doing a symphony or pops concert.  Side note- lighting classical musicians is a profession all by itself and has so many rules and cultural norms that I warn you to not think any of what I’m saying here applies to them.  

Best Practices

If any of you have a theater background, it may surprise you that live music avoids a center light.  All of the focus palettes and effects are based off of symmetrical movement.  What can you do with the center light during those times?  Nothing good.  So think in even numbers for your systems, though specials are the exception.  I would like to point out the obvious- I did not follow this advice when I was lighting the EDM festival.  I learned.  

Everything gets infinitely more complicated on camera.  Live music lighting tends to be very intense with sharp changes and huge contrast.  Add the motion of the camera into the mix and you have a recipe for disaster if it’s not coordinated to the last detail.  Be sure you and your camera crew agree what is going to happen and when.  Because “on the day” if they can’t deal with corrections to the plan in about twenty seconds, they will have you point all the lights straight down and it will look sad.

When you have budget limitations, the first thing to cut are the moving aspect of the wash back light.  Fixed head backlights are totally fine and far cheaper.  Depending on your musical form, you may decide to cut the spots down to nearly nothing next.  The beam lights might be the most important thing to make things feel light a concert.  There are many variables.

Speaking of limitations- the essence of live music lighting is a front truss and a back truss.  Two positions.  Obviously, if you can get more- do it.  But if you can’t- you should be able to light a band with just a front truss and a back truss.  If you take the time to practice to build out this skill set (and you should- we are what we practice), then I would suggest starting with that simple of a setup.  It’s good discipline to seek out possibilities within limitations.  Scaling up is easy; finding options in a small rig is true craft.

Above all, remember that lighting live music is the act of turning lighting into a visual representation of what the music is doing.  In other words, your lights should look like the music.  That needs to inform every decision you make.  If you are lighting a mid-tempo acoustic act, that will demand a totally different light plot than an EDM or Rock show.  Don’t make generic decisions, make decisions unique to the vibe and opportunities of the artist.  

Wrap up

That’s it for this installment.  Next time, we’re going to get into making references- color and focus palettes, etc.  What concerts have you seen where the lighting blew you away?  My favorite concerts for lighting are Pink Floyd on the Eclipse tour and Lady Gaga on the Little Monsters tour.  Tell me about your favorites in the comments!

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Mark LaPierre is a programmer in film and television based out of Albuquerque.  He grew up in live entertainment and has been a designer/programmer for musicals, concert dance, live music, circus and corporate.  Mark is a proud member of IATSE and an ETC Eos trainer.  If you enjoy his content, please consider commenting on his posts on the website to appease the Algorithm.