The Show Must Go On: Part Two

Lighting Techniques

Lighting bar near the ceiling.

I realize that a lot of bands don't have lights or rely on club supplied lights for their shows. For these bands you may wish to skip this section or print it out and tuck it away for reference at a later date. For the rest of you, setting up lights can be a real hit or miss operation. "Armed to the Teeth" is lucky in the fact that we have lots of lights and people who know how to use them. Our guitar player, L. D. Walter has been heavily involved in theater productions including set design, lighting, and special effects for most his life. Walter's wife Leanne, who runs our lighting show during gigs, is the Theater Director at Farmington High School in Michigan and has a degree in Theater. In writing this section, I have relied heavily on their input, as the band does with the light show itself.

Armed to the Teeth's light show includes 22 par cans (16 set for chase and 6 spots), one main and ten mini strobe lights, a police light, three random beam effect lights set to follow the music, a fog machine, and a laser. This set up is run by two, eight switch, control boards located off stage. For a band of our size, and based on the types of places we play, this is a pretty good setup. However, the thing that makes the Armed to the Teeth light show a big part of the act is the way the lights are used. Using lights in a manner that enhances the show is an art all it own.

"Many musicians don't realize that they are doing theater. If the lighting doesn't match, or stuff is just thrown up on stage, it's not going to work."

Gels are very important in good lighting. Gels are the thin pieces of colored plastic that go in front of the lights in order to give them color. Par cans (spot/flood light holders) are designed to use a white light bulb and have a gel slipped into the gel holder on the front of the can. This is preferable to using colored light bulbs for several reasons. First, you only have to stock one color of replacement bulbs. Second, if you want to change colors, all you have to do is replace the relatively cheap gel. Third, gels come in many colors and can be combined to make even more color choices.

Choosing the color of gels for each light is important. We have two spot lights aimed at the two mic stands and the drum stage. Each two spot pair has one warm and one cool gel color. One spot has a steel blue gel (cool) and the other has an amber gel (warm). Both spots point to the same location. By turning on just one spot we get a desired effect/color, but when we turn them both on they create a white spot light. Even though the light will appear white to the audience, the actually color is superior to a white light. Actual white light tends to make people look flat and washed out whereas the warm/cool light combination won't do that. Other warm/cool light combinations can also be used. A lighting store can usually help you with your gel selection. When setting spot and flood lights, you should have someone walk around on stage and see if there are any dark spots. The goal is to make the light smooth and illuminate the entire playing area of the stage.

Cliff being lit by the chase flood lights.

For our chase lights (flood lights that flash with the music), the gels we use are green, red, blue, and purple. These deeper colors give a special effect without overpowering the stage. By using colors which are very different from the spots lights, these lights really stand out when they are on. This color combination can be a little tricky because blue and green throw farther and are brighter than purple and red. Careful arrangement of the lights has to be performed so that all the colors can be seen. To set up the chase lights, first turn on all the green and make sure they are evenly spaces. Next do the same with the blue lights. Then use the reds and purples to fill in the dark areas. Basically there isn't any magic formula; you just do it till it looks right.

Backlighting in action.

We use back lighting a lot. Back lighting is often overlooked by most bands, even professional ones. These are lights that are set up behind the band and shine out at the audience. We use three special beam lights and ten charge and spark mini strobe lights attached to the drum set for this purpose. This allows the band to go from front lit to back lit quickly for a dramatic increase in tension during more intense songs.

Finally we have special effect lights or "specials". Our specials include an Avenger which sends out dancing beams of light, a Hide-n-Seek which creates a light tunnel effect (used behind the drummer's head), a police spinner light, a Mace which throws rotating spots all over the room, and a laser. The important thing about special lights is that you don't use them too much. Less is more. Keep it simple except for the specials. You will have more impact it they come out of a simple set up and catch people by surprise. I think Leanne said it best, "If you use a strobe sparingly it's really cool. If you use it too much, it ticks people off."

"Specials" can look great, but use them sparingly.

It's important to remember that for beam lights to work well you need to have fog in the air. This allows the beams to reflect off the particles in the air and appear as a long continuous beam instead of a spot on the wall. Or, if you don't have a fog machine, playing smokey venues works just as well. Lots of cigarette smoke in the air works just like a fog machine, only it's unhealthy for you and can make it hard to sing. There are two types of fog machines on the market: one that puts a chemical fog in the air, and the other is called a rumble pot. A rumble pot uses dry ice to fog the floor in a spooky mist. However, a rumble pot will not make beam light work well because the fog never gets more than two feet off the floor. A true fog machine uses a heated element that sprays the fog into the air where it will stay for five minutes at a time. Don't buy a cheap fog machine. The inexpensive units don't generate enough heat to keep a good supply of fog in the air. A descent fog machine starts at about $400.

Here is a quick safety note from L.D. -- don't use more than your trusses (or lighting stands) can support. If you're in doubt, use safety chains hooked to the ceiling. You don't want 400 hundred pounds of lights falling on someone's head.

A couple of more quick tips. First, run all cords in neat lines and tie them down to the stand or trusses. That way, when something goes wrong (and it will), you can easily trace the line. Second, label the light control board and sound board with tape so you can quickly tell what each switch or fader is for. Third, get small lights that clip on your lighting board and illuminate it so that the operator can easily use the board in the dark.

During the show, Leanne is in total control of the band's lights. This is where all the careful planning will pay off. Here are a few tips from Leanne on show performance. Write down cues (e.g. turn laser on during Cliff's solo) when stuff happens. Keep this cue list in front of you at all times. You need to be very familiar with the music. You need to make the lights enhance the music during chord changes or verse to chorus changes. You have to feel the music and make the lights match the mood. Make sure you work with the band in order to get the song moods and make sure you know what the band wants.