Visibility is often considered the most basic and most important function of stage lighting. The most important rule is that “Each member of the audience must be able to see clearly and correctly those things that he is intended to see.” (Pilbrow, 1997). As Pilbrow points out, it is important that the members of the audience see the things they are "intended to see". This means that good visibility is selective: The audience should be able to see exactly what you want them to see, but not see those things that should remain hidden. Therefore, we could also use the term "selective visibility" to describe this function of stage lighting.
Studies have shown that visibility affects our ability to understand the spoken word. Therefore, often the actor´s face is the brightest object on stage in order to focus the attention of the audience on him/her.
(Selective) Visibility is basically determined by intensity and clarity. Intensity is a quality of light and can also be referred to as the brightness of a light which is dependent on the number of light sources, their sizes, dimmers, color filters etc. Clarity can be described as how easy it is to see an actor and how much detail is being delivered to the audience. To change the clarity on stage, a designer can manipulate different qualities of light such as visibility, composition or distribution.
The picture below is a good example of selective visibility because it shows the smaller figure which is supposed to be seen but not the bigger figure which holds the smaller figure.
Studies have shown that visibility affects our ability to understand the spoken word. Therefore, often the actor´s face is the brightest object on stage in order to focus the attention of the audience on him/her.
(Selective) Visibility is basically determined by intensity and clarity. Intensity is a quality of light and can also be referred to as the brightness of a light which is dependent on the number of light sources, their sizes, dimmers, color filters etc. Clarity can be described as how easy it is to see an actor and how much detail is being delivered to the audience. To change the clarity on stage, a designer can manipulate different qualities of light such as visibility, composition or distribution.
The picture below is a good example of selective visibility because it shows the smaller figure which is supposed to be seen but not the bigger figure which holds the smaller figure.