This site focuses on the different types of lighting fixtures used in the modern theatres. Small productions in community halls typically use 12 - 20 lighting fixtures. A typical professional production in a theatre uses between 48 and 200 fixtures. Large Musicals sometimes use 500 fixtures or more. For example, the Broadway production of 'Lion King' used about 700 lighting fixtures. No matter how many fixtures are used, they typically include Paar Cans, LED Cans, Moving heads/Scanners, and Followers/Spots.
Paar Cans |
LED CansLED cans have only been on the market for a few years. They offer great customizability due to the range of colors they can create. When buying LED cans, you have to watch out for the different types. Some LED cans come with very weak LEDs which don't provide enough light for a stage, while others will have more than enough power but create a spot-like effect at closer distances.
LED cans do not need a dimmer, but they do require a modern control desk capable of more than 200 channels because they use many channels (1 for Red, 2 for Green, 3 for Blue, 4 for Shutter, 5 for dimmer). LED cans require a lot less power than Paar cans and they also don't get that warm. |
Moving Heads / ScannersMoving Heads and Scanners can have many different light sources. The most common source of light is still a lightbulb. It sits behind many layers of lenses and Gobo/Color Wheels. The colors are limited to the colors on a wheel. However, these wheels are exchangeable. The Moving Heads and Scanners mostly offer Gobos which are shapes which can be projected. This could be a circle, a sun, stars...
A common characteristic of Moving Heads and Scanners is that they all can move the light beam around the room. The Moving Heads pan (horizontal swing) and tilt (vertical swing) the whole head which houses the light, color and gobo wheels and of course all the optics. The Scanners work similarly by moving a mirror. Here all of the optics are located in the body of the Scanner and only the mirror moves. These lighting fixtures are very interesting in scene design because they add movement and shapes to the scene. These lighting fixtures don't require a dimmer but many DMX channels. They also don't need as much power as a full Paar can but they do need more than a LED can. |
Moving Head WashersThese lights use the same basic idea as the normal Moving Heads do. They have a rotating head, but the difference is not in the moving of the head but in the light source. Instead of using a light bulb as a source, they have many LEDs all over their head. This allows for a much greater color range. The difference here is that they do not have the ability to create and project gobos. The more expensive models can zoom their beam, meaning that they can either function as a spot light or a flood light.
These lights are very versatile due to their zooming and color functions. They require a bit less energy than the normal moving heads, however, they do need more channels for controls due to the RGB functions. |
Follow SpotThese types of lights are usually used in bigger theatres. They allow a specific person to be lighted while they are moving across the stage. These spots come in two main configurations. The first being that you change the color manually by pulling and pushing specific color filters in and out of the beam. The other option uses a digital control interface which can be either manually controlled or via DMX. The follow spots require an uninterrupted view of the stage, as well as enough room for a tripod to be placed because these spots are very heavy.
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The lighting fixtures described above are the ones which you will nowadays find in a theatre. They can all be seen as standard equipment for stage lighting. However, it is not required to have all of them, because even without moving heads or follow spots the show can be lit appropriately.