When combined with good audio and good screens, lighting is a crucial element for events. It sets the ambiance and tone of the event, and draws viewer’s eyes exactly where you want them to go.
Explore the ways below to see how you can use lighting to enhance any event.
A little something extra
Most venues have general built-in lighting. Only using the overhead lighting, which helps you see where you’re walking, can leave the space looking dull. The added lighting from your AV partner can completely transform the look and feel of the space. You can highlight theme or brand colors, or create a stunning visual effect. Uplighting is dramatically beautiful and cost effective at the same time.
Change the scenes
Lighting is easy to change, allowing you to give your guests different experiences during the event. Changing the lighting allows you to differentiate between speakers, event transitions, and even rooms.
Direct the focus
In addition to safety and mood, lighting is great for directing the audience’s attention to what is important. There will always be distractions at any event, but your AV team can help minimize them with lighting tactics.
Adding a simple spotlight to a dark room will immediately draw attendee’s eyes to that spot. You can selectively choose what people look at at different times of the event. The impact is more significant when you reveal pieces separately as opposed to having everything on display at once.
Video lighting
Filming an event will completely change your lighting needs. Eyes and cameras see light differently, with cameras being far more sensitive to contrast. The main difficulty is illuminating the subject while keeping the background colors bright in the photo or video.
Our Vice President of Production, Jason Showers, notes “Anything with video requires a well-thought out and comprehensive lighting package to support the event so subjects look appropriate on camera. That includes separate lighting for the background and foreground so both areas render properly in the camera.”
Always keep your AV provider informed of all plans for the event, like filming, so they can pull off any type of lighting needed.
Make your attendees comfortable
Public speaking is already an intimidating feat and traditional stage lights can block out the view of the audience, making the task harder. To avoid this, Jason Showers recommends adding some lighting directed towards the audience.
“Putting light on the faces of the attendees can make your speaker more comfortable because they can see who they’re talking to and attendees feel more engaged because they are lit. These lights change the relationship between the presenter and the audience,” Showers says.
View some of Advanced Staging’s best lighting applications here.
