How To Make Lighting Work For Your Event (by Terry Holdershaw)

Lighting is something that is often over-looked which is a shame as lighting can make a huge impact on any event, small or big. Whether you are having a meeting of conference for 50 people or a huge gala for 3000 people, lighting can make a huge difference and impact on your event.

From simply lighting up the podium or stage to adding room ambience and logo projection, lighting is a very important aspect to every event. Whenever you have a presenter or performer you should always have the podium or stage that they will be presenting from lit up, especially if there will be photo or video being taped. Typically you will use a Ellipsoidal lighting fixture, known as a Leko Light to light up a podium or stage.

Leko Lights are adjustable and focusable to light up only the specific area, such as a podium that you want. This is especially important when you also have video projection being used in the room as you don’t want to wash out the screen with the light. Leko’s are very bright and can light up a podium or stage from the back or side of pretty much any meeting room. It is best practice to light up a person or object from two angles, one light from each side for even light and to avoid shadows.

It is also important to use a dimmer pack and control console with these lights so you can adjust the brightness of the light. For lighting a stage there are also Par-Can lights that are often used, you see these most often on music stages and concerts. Par Can’s have to be used closer to the stage, typically they are hung above the front line of the stage and also are used on the back and side lines of the stage as well. Par-Can’s are not focusable or adjustable, you can insert gels into the light to change the colour and that’s about it, but they are very good for lighting up a stage and bands.

The biggest trend with lighting is LED and ambient room lighting. The most popular type of LED Lights right now are LED Pars and LED Bars. The pars are similar to the traditional par-can, but with LED lights, not quite as bright, the white isn’t as white as a traditional light bulb and you can change the colours of the LED’s very easily. The LED Bars are the same idea and concept of the LED Par except they are in the shape of a bar about 3 feet long. LED Bars and Pars are often used and look great for up-wall lighting, lighting up bars, the backdrops of stages, head tables, entry ways, pillars, doors, art pieces, signs and much more.

LED’s are very versatile, you can change the colours, brightness, create colour scrolling patterns, strobe and much more with a controller such as the computer based Martin Light Jockey. LED Technology is advancing very fast and improving, they now have moving head LED Lights and also LED’s that are able to create a white almost the same as the traditional lights, but they are very expensive and most AV companies are not carrying these models yet.

Intelligent Moving Head Lights are very common for larger events, mainly galas, awards ceremonies, weddings, AGM’s, but also can be used at meetings and conferences. Moving Head lights are very useful and versatile lights. They are called “intelligent” lights because you are able to control and program the light to tell it what you want it to do whether it be to change colours, pattern, shape or to move around the room fast or slow, etc. Martin is the industry standard for moving head lights with their most common fixture being the Mac 250, there is also competitors out there, most popular being the Elation Design Spot.

Here are just a few common uses for intelligent moving head lights: pin spot a podium, stage wash, dance floor lighting, ambient room lighting, Hollywood light theme, custom gobo projection and much more. The basic idea of these lights is that the lamp projects it’s light through a circular lens, there is then a colour wheel that you can change the colour of the light and there is also a gobo wheel that you can change the pattern or design of the light.

A gobo can be made of either glass or metal which when placed in front of the lamp, it projects whatever pattern or image is on the gobo, for example you have a metal gobo with a star shape cut out of it, the star is what will be projected by the light. You can have custom gobo’s made with company logos, slogans, etc. made which is popular for corporate events that want to have their company at the forefront of the guests mind.

Custom Gobo’s can be made for all moving head lights as well as Leko Lights and a few other Gobo Projection lighting fixtures such as the Martin PR1. If you are looking to impress your guests at your next event, whether it be a Sales Meeting, AGM, Gala, Awards Ceremony, Wedding, Holiday Party, Customer Appreciation Event or Grand Opening make sure to consider and think about lighting to help enhance your event and make it memorable for your guests. Everybody has been to a boring plain meeting or banquet room and nothing really stands out about that, but you can really transform and add a lot to a room by adding a little bit of lighting.

- Terry Holdershaw
Scotia Entertainment
Terry grew up in Nova Scotia and moved to Toronto in 2001 where he attended and graduated the Audio Engineering Technology program at Trebas Institute. He also took additional courses in the Music Business Management program at the International Academy of Technology. Terry has extensive DJ experience ranging from Bars & Clubs to Weddings, Corporate Events, Award Shows, Gala’s, Festivals, Fundraisers, Stag & Does, School Dances and Proms.