First, there is a wealth of information about lighting design and terminology that can be learned through the internet and books. Some of those book I have listed to the left with a convenient link to purchase or just check out the summary. I have learned quite a bit just by going to many theatrical sites that sell the equipment. Blogs are also helpful. I would probably by the book and take it with me. Just a note - one of the better books to get would be "The Stage Lighting Handbook" by Francis Reid. It has been kept up to date with most of the new automated lighting products.
You could also take stage lighting and design courses. Most colleges and even community colleges have courses to help you learn about stage lighting.
Of course, the easiest way to learn anything about stage lighting is just to do it. Volunteer at the local community playhouse. They may not know all the terminology either so you'd all get along. Trust me I know this. I gained some pretty good knowledge from the playhouse. Most of the knowledge that I gained was from my church's Vacation Bible School drama presentations. We called it Dramatime. Original isn't it? I was the lighting designer and sound engineer. Oh and also the fill in man when someone couldn't make it. That made it real fun to run the lights.
If you would like a real good tutorial of stage lighting the check out Stage Lighting 101. This is a very good guide for those new to the stage lighting scene. It is filled with very helpful information. The sections are listed below.
1 – Introduction to Stage Lighting - This tutorial starts with some of the history and evolution of stage lighting design. It also explains the job of the lighting designer and some of the elements of lighting design, including the qualities of light such as intensity, color and “movement” (meaning changes of the light quality). Physical light properties such as lighting color theory, primary and secondary lighting colors and additive/subtractive color mixing are introduced.
2 – General Stage Lighting Design Methods - The stage lighting tutorial introduces the basics of lighting design theory such as visibility (being able to see the action on stage) versus mood lighting (pretty obvious). The idea of single source (one light) and multiple lighting sources are explained plus the concept of lighting the “action” using areas. This “area lighting” method is common in theater lighting design. Lighting sets, scenery and backgrounds is outlined along with “specials”, the lighting term for highlighting specific features in a performance.
3 – Applied Lighting Design Methods - This tutorial is split up into separate sections covering different lighting design disciplines such as theater, dance, opera, film and TV lighting as well as lighting outdoors, architecture, landscapes and museums. Each lighting section explains the considerations relevant to each subject, plus some pointers on common practices and lighting techniques.
4 – Professional Lighting Procedure - An important stage lighting tutorial to help you understand the structure of the professional lighting design process, this section starts by explaining the job titles, such as set designer, lighting designer, producer, chief electrician etc. The lesson continues with a flowchart of producing a lighting design – from reading the script through to the opening night.
The section shows the tools of stage lighting design communication such as lighting plans, sections/elevations (side view technical drawings) and lighting design paperwork. As well being both creative and technical, lighting design also involves detailed paperwork such as equipment lists, filter inventories, dimmer schedules and cue/plot sheets as this lesson explains.
5 – Stage Lighting Fixtures - This tutorial is all about the hardware that produces light. Luminaires or lanterns (just words for lights) are split into their basic family types, such as ellipsoidals, fresnels, PC, floodlights etc. Understanding stage lighting equipment is important in the design process and, though a lot of information to take in, the Stage Lighting Fixtures section is well written even if the images of stage lights are not of the most modern equipment. Only basic information on modern automated lighting is included. Although intelligent lighting is an important part of modern stage lighting design, the basics of stage lighting hardware remain the same – however the light is produced.
6 – Stage Lighting Mechanics - The Stage Lighting Mechanics tutorial covers all the physical properties about lanterns, beam angle/spreads, illuminance and electrical power calculations. Not the most exciting part of stage lighting, understanding of the simple physics (even if you can’t remember how to do the calcs) is still important for a successful designer. Using these lighting calculations, a lighting designer can work out which fixture to use and where to hang it. Without this understanding, the lighting designer would have to resort to trial and error (the method most of us started with) – not the most productive method. The basics are not hard to understand if you can cut through all the angles, lumens and watts.
7 – Lighting Design Education - The last section of Stage Lighting 101 is a brief set of notes about learning the basics of stage lighting design. Formal training, with some examples of a stage lighting lesson, versus hands on experience is detailed. While the idea of learning about boring old angles and beam spreads might not appeal, given the option of playing with the more affordable intelligent lighting toys, it is part of the job.
The new stage lighting designer would do well to try to understand what Mr Williams and LD’s of his generation have to teach. Lighting in the 21st century is a mass of technical wizardry, cheaper equipment and rapid development that make learning it an expanding list of things to find out about. Making time for the “old school” stuff is even more difficult.
The basics of lighting design remain the same. As we progress technically – let’s hope that “technical” doesn’t replace “design”.
