Dangly or Suspended Upstage Set Elements Block Effects

This is a corollary to sin #3. Most lighting effects that will be effective for multiple camera angles will come from upstage units. Unless a design has incorporated a decent number of floor lights, the lights dedicated to providing impactful effects will be susceptible to being blocked by upstage set elements. This is particularly true of hanging set pieces and flying elements and soft goods (such as chiffons). A few years ago I created a look for a musical number on an award show that the director was particularly fond of. The look was created by spraying a couple of dozen hanging VariLites in a fully sharp night sky gobo forward into a midstage area around the performer standing in a couple of feet of dry ice fog. We used no smoke in the air, so the beams could only be seen when they hit the dry ice fog a few feet from the ground. The effect was of two to three foot tall razor sharp little shafts of light poking up at a set angle from all around the performer. A couple of years later, the director and set designer wanted to see the same effect for another number, but the set designer had dangled several set elements and a huge draped chiffon between the stage and my upstage units. Neither could understand why the same effect was no longer possible. What is obvious to all of us in the lighting field is apparently a source of mystery to many set designers: Light does not pass through opaque objects!

I must admit that during the writing of this piece I thought of several other equally egregious sins that could easily have been added to this list, and I’m certain you have a few of your own to add. In the end, this is not about railing against set designers. I’m certain many of them could readily compile their own lengthy lists of annoyances about lighting designers. The point is to consider the value of a closer cooperation between set designers and their lighting counterparts and having each do his part, not only to make the other’s job easier, but also to produce a better final product. For my part, I’d like to see a paradigm shift toward all design firms handling set and lighting design for television under the same roof, but for now I’d settle for each having a little more awareness of the needs of the other. In the mean time, set designers should bear in mind that no matter how great a set looks to the naked eye, it’s useless if it can’t be lit for camera.


If you have further examples, advise, gripes or any comment at all regarding the illustrious marriage of set and lighting design PLEASE address them to RobertC@prosoundweb.com and he will post them in hopes that it will be cathartic and healing for all those involved. Thank you.

Related Story