how to create impactful moments with out using haze.
This was great moment to program for. The challenge was to create a dynamic look for this song without using haze. Most church Lighting Designers always use haze when they can because it allows the audience to see the beam of light. In this instance I had to use lighting with no haze.
I challenged myself to think out of the box, and create something that would still move people with the content of the song.
When I worked with a Gaffer, and he showed me how to use one giant light source to light subjects. This floored me because he used one light and bounced the light 2 times to create a 3 point lighting set. In the picture below I am using a Kinoflo 4ft bank, with a frost filter over it, behind a 4×4 250 diffusion.
My initial reaction when I saw him make soft light softer was that it would not make any difference. When I saw what he was able to achieve by this technique I knew I had to try it.
Taking inspiration from this gaffer, I decided to try and replicate that as best as I could for this song.
My main goal was to create this beautiful soft wash throughout the room and to make sure that it looked gorgeous on camera as well.
Typically I would have relied heavily on haze to create this moment. The limitation of not using haze let me experiment, and I am glad I had that challenge.
Design Process
I designed the biggest part of the song first. Then I took all of my fixtures, and threw them into the audience, making sure I had even coverage. I put the frost filter in all of my spot fixtures. Once I created the biggest part of the song. I was able to “delete” or turn off fixtures to create a dynamic build.
The band stood in a “U” shape on stage. I made sure that all of my wash fixtures highlighted everyone on stage. This was helped out by using the JDC1 strobe. I know, right? A strobe. This fixture is awesome because you can use it as a wash light as well.
We toyed around with using the LED screens on stage as a giant wash fixture as well. After demoing what it could do; I made the call that it took the attention off of the singers and the music. We then decided to keep the LED screens black or off.
Next time you are challenged with an unthinkable task of not being able to use haze, turn it into an opportunity to create something unique with new tools.
Check out my this page to see the other photos of this stage design.
Key fixtures used: 20 Martin auras, 8 elation fuse wash, 6 #GLP jdc1 strobes, 6 #Martin vipers, 6 #Chauvet mk2 spots, 6 Chauvet mk2 wash
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