Near shot and far shot for stage of theater-in-the-round

[quan.dangle]

I have a stage 4x5m theater-in-the-round. Now I am wondering for applying near shot and far shot of all led par application. In my understanding, key light and fill light should be optimum 45 degree and the back light should be sharp angle. Anyone help to clarify the purpose of using near shot and far shot and how to use these in combination. My program is for vocal and instrument. Thanks in advance.

 

[microstar]

From your previous posts in the Sound forum, I thought your arena stage was 50 ft. x 70 ft. x 16 ft. Now it's 4x5m. Quite a difference. Sounds like the next class project. Where are you getting the terms near shot, far shot, key, and fill from? Class lecture notes? Sorry to be skeptical but things are not adding up here.

 

[TheaterEd]

He is from Vietnam and not everything translates easily. We have nine different terms for everything as it is. Cut the guy some slack. That said, is it possible that for the sound problem he gave the size of the room, and for this he is giving the size of the stage? There is a lot of room for things to be lost in translation.

 

[kicknargel]

There is not a lot of specific difference in using a near shot versus a far shot, other than the angle you're getting between the light and the stage. With a consistent ceiling / grid height, the farther away you go the lower the angle is going to be. So if you want a 45 degree angle and your grid is 15' above head height, you want to go about 15' away with the light.

Flexibility is always good, and light from different angles is always good, so you might use "near shots" to get high/steep angled lighting ("key") and "far shots" to get low-angle, fill lighting. Sometime very low, far shots are also helpful for getting light onto scenery, etc.

Of course, the longer your shot, the more focussed (smaller beam spread) light you need. The extra lensing will be a bit less efficient, plus you're going to lose more light to refraction in the air, etc.

 

[TheaterEd]

Also, Beware that if you use 'far shots' you will likely spill light into the audience on the other side of the stage.

 

[quan.dangle]

Thank you all for your great advice. That's all I need.

There is a misunderstanding. My room is 50 ft. x 70 ft. x 16 ft., and my stage is 4x5m. Anyway, tks so much.

 

[quan.dangle]

Another question. Because the stage is in the center and the audience is at 4 side of stage, lighting fixture should be arranged symmetrically with the basis of 3 point lighting ? I know some other methods deriving from that basis. Could you give some suggestions for the effectiveness on stage with the enjoy of the audience at 4 sides

 

[Grog12]

I would recommend going with 4 point lighting when working in the round. Remember that down light is the only angle that will look the same to all sides.

 

[RickR]

If you are doing primarily music recital and concert work you do not have all the needs of a theatrical system. Spill is less likely a problem as fine area control is not needed and house lights are often left on. I would also tend to use more smaller fixtures to reduce glare and make sure there are not strong shadows anywhere.

The more theatrical your events (partially staged opera, cabaret soloists) the less my comments should matter.

 

[Scenemaster60]

Lighting in the round is a whole different thing from lighting proscenium and thrust-stage productions to be certain. I have done some designing for Theatre in the Round Players in Minneapolis. That arena has an irregular shape that can best be described as an irregular heptagon that is roughly 25 feet (7.5 M) across at any given point. Grid is at 14 feet.

For your space which is roughly 13 by 17 feetI would say that the minimum number of "areas" that you can get by with is 6. This should work if your cans can give a beam spread of about 40-45 degrees. If you did the most basic 3-point system with lights placed at 180 degree angles to each other you would need a minimum of 18 lights.

If possible I recommend a 4-point system with an additional toplight for each acting area for starters. I like to bring these in at a slightly higher angle than 45 degrees (usually 50 to 55 degrees) to help avoid spill into the audience's eyes. Since the audience is usually very close I find that it works fine. It is best if this system is done at a 45 degree angle (left and right) to a line perpendicular to each of the 4 sides. In a 4-point system I usually pair the lights that are 180 degrees apart with one pair being a pastel warm and the other being a pastel cool. Of course with LED lights you have a lot of options to play here over the course of a program. To this I would then add a top light for each area and use more saturated colors: lavenders, blues, magentas, etc.. For a system such as this you would need a minimum of 30 fixtures. This would be what you have called your "near shot" lights.

Once this is done I would create a secondary system consisting of 6 to 8 lights that are at a much lower angle and further away from the stage. I would bring these in "head-on" (perpendicular to the seating areas) at about a 35 degree angle. These lights, along with the top lights would be used primarily for saturated color washes and possibly bright white when desired for the effect. This system would be the closest thing to what you call "far shot" lights.

Now, If you had any ellipsoidals or moving lights, you could created some tertiary pattern washes at an intermediate angle of 40 degrees or so that would add even more interest and texture.

 

[quan.dangle]

It is 5 star answer, so great advice. Thank you so much.