The ever-present electric feel of a live concert relies heavily upon the different types of stage lighting, incorporation of color, intensity, logos, lasers, haze, and more to inspire the mood and creativity of a show. It is possible for anyone to achieve a wildly dynamic band performance with even the most simple lighting techniques! With a bit of practice and the right tools, you can throw together the most extreme house show or electric venue concert with these beginner stage lighting tips.
There are an innumerable amount of different ways to highlight and intensify a concert using simple stage lighting techniques. The first point to consider in this element of the stage should be visibility, with proper focus towards the musicians themselves, rather than the audience or venue surroundings. While individual singer/songwriter performances can often be lit using a single spotlight, or fresnel, band sets are much more interactive and intricate. Most often, bands require multiple spotlights at the front of the stage, set upon a truss, focusing upon each member of the band, a method usually known simply as a front wash.
Alongside these spotlights at the front of the stage, a band can use gobos, which project their custom logos, or essentially any desired patterns onto the backdrop, directly behind the performers. A custom gobo can be used to project any image for the band, and is guaranteed to be much easier to carry on a tour bus than a giant banner flag to hang up every night!
Now that you’ve definitely got front wash and backdrop effect lighting down, backlighting must come into play. Almost every show technician considers backlighting a major key to great concert lighting and unique atmosphere. Backlighting separates performers from the stage background to give a 3D effect, enhancing the movement and energy of the band members. Since backlighting is usually what provides the color to a band’s set, it is imperative to choose colors that convey the group’s personality and individual energy to a crowd, as this is the lighting the audience will be seeing for the entire set.
As you may already know, any color lighting can be attained through the use of gel filters! Different kinds of bands desire unique colored backlighting for their distinctive performances, so it is important to understand the type of mood they are looking for. Alongside a proper white light front wash, blue or purple backlighting will suggest to the audience a dark, dramatic, and intimate performance, while adding bright red light to the combination could easily amp up the intensity and energy of the show. On the other hand, a stage lit using warm yellows and orange note a more poppy and rootsy mood to the performance. By using gels, a venue is easily able to change the mood with each individual performance, with customized colors for each individual traveling band fitted to their exact needs!
As color and visibility have now been achieved, perhaps a little less visibility should be allowed, which can be done with the use of fog machines. Essentially every large scale concert incorporates haze into a band’s performance, once again, to increase the aesthetic of the atmosphere. With the use of haze, colored lights and lasers can be seen as beams all throughout the venue, extending their reach to every dedicated patron of the show. However, it is imperative to note that too much haze is a possibility, as it can detract from the light show, and end up taking attention away from the band.
Although much of this process can seem extremely overwhelming at first, concert lighting can be taken to a home or small venue with just a few of these tips and the proper equipment. There are no widespread rules for concert lighting, as it is a creative process which changes and evolves with every performance, so have fun with it! You might even reach to add a disco ball to the mix, only increasing the energy of a show tenfold. Each lighting technician has their own personally derived equation to the perfect stage lighting for concerts, involving different supplies and placement of their equipment, in order to make a personalized atmosphere for everyone to enjoy.
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