Line is a matter of the subject being lit; the subject’s surfaces and edges that are highlighted by light. We can highlight certain surfaces or edges to help tell the story we want to tell. A great example here is dance, which is all about the line of the body rather than the surface of the face; meaning, we want to highlight the edges of the arms and legs.
Direction refers to the angle from which the light comes. This is how we can highlight a certain line or to create a certain experience. A light coming from below a face can make for a very unnerving mood on stage; whereas a light coming from the same direction as the sun feels natural, normal, and safe.
Controlling the Element
Mastering the art of direction and line requires a strong understanding of the science of light and the technical abilities of lighting fixtures. That sounds a like a lot for an introductory course, so I’d like to keep things simple here. Okay?
Fixture
Honestly, at the end of the day choosing the right light has a lot to do with that’s at your disposal; if the ideal light isn’t in your inventory, it’s not the ideal light. Use what you’ve got. And really, a paint roller in the hands of an artist can be the tool used to create a painting that is beautiful.
However, if you want to choose the right light, selection has a lot to do with the quality of light (we’ll talk about that later) and photometrics (the mathematics of lights). I love math and geometry, but that sounds overwhelming here, so I’m going to ask you just to trust science. Mkay? And just start pointing lights at the stage.
Position
Here’s something you probably can control, where a light is hung. This can directly influence the way light illuminates an actor. And if you can’t change where the light is hung, you might still be able to change where it points (or where the light is “focused” as we would say in the industry). The following images come from ETC’s educational resources (specifically the lighting angles poster attached to this lesson) and connect with screen shots from the Concept Project referenced in this course. I would encourage you to try and match the images on your own computer in Augment3d.
Alright. There are a handful of standard lighting angles or directions – front light, 45 degrees, side light, top light, back light, and up light. Everything else is a variation on these primary angles.
Front Light – This is a light coming from the front of the stage and illuminating the actor straight on. It’s nice for illuminating faces (visibility!); however, doesn’t reveal form, creates shadows behind the actor, and is just … boring (we would call this “flat”) … but functional.
Cross Light / 45 Degrees – This is a light coming from the front / side / above. It achieves the same goal as front light, illuminating the face, but creates shadows. These shadows are then usually filled in by a corresponding cross light coming from the opposite direction. This idea comes from McCandless, one of the pioneers of stage lighting. This will use twice as many lights as just a single front light, but it will do a much better job revealing form.
Side Light – This is a light coming from the … drum roll … side. What?! These are often often called “booms” and are are used for dance lighting, for musical numbers, or for interesting angles in a play. I especially like to use these when projecting video on the floor – allowing an actor to float on top of the projections.
Top Light – This is a great light to create isolation as it come straight from above an actor and doesn’t illuminate anyone or anything around them. Used in tandem with cross lights, this can help reveal form. Used by itself it can create a striking image and a bold mood.
Back Light – This type of angle creates a silhouette when used by itself. This can be problematic because it doesn’t show any facial features – or it can be very striking because it hides all facial features. When used alongside front light or cross light, this can do a wonderful job of revealing form.
Up Light – This is a great way to create an unnatural moody effects or mimicking something like a camp fire or television set. If used minimally in tandem with other angles, this is a great way to fill in shadows created by other lights (especially under the eyes) – and I love using this in live stream video, especially for someone speaking at a static podium.
