Hiya,
A lighting design--or
house plot for what you are asking, requires some more information. First--stage size and type...width, depth, and hieght to
grid, plus if its a
proscenium thrust or black box
etc. Do you have a
cyc or backdrop--or is it an open wall
etc? Second--need to know your lighting inventory--# of dimmers, # of lighting instruments and what types (Fresnels, parcans, Ellips/Lekos--and what degree they are), Manufacturer would also help--altman 360,
ETC source 4 or s-4 Jr, or Strand--and what lense degree they are
etc. Third, need to know placement and position in relation to the
stage of your electrics,
grid or pipes you hang from. Is your
FOH position 45feet from the front of
stage edge--or is it 100'? Do you have a
FOH grid or
catwalk, or a front pipe
etc..where is the
first electric pipe located over your
stage and where are the others
etc? Last--what is your console--is it a
submaster or two-scene
preset, or is it a
console that you can set cues and looks? Will this
stage light looks be programed into a house-light
system that sits on the wall for anyone to use, or will it be used from the
console only when events happen on its own?
As for
gel selection--that needs a
base understanding of the events that go on, the attire folks on your
stage tend to wear (street clothes,black suits
etc), and what they need to see while on
stage (like sheet music)--or do they simply need to BE seen and see the audience better? Finally, the ethnicity of those on
stage will also help in
gel selection so you can choose colors that will balance the skin tones on
stage and not make people seem too pink or blue or green or shiney or washed out
etc.
Since you say this is not for drama at this time--it sounds like everything is ungelled... Varying wattages and color temps will give you blue-white to yellow color temperatures.
Gel and
color temperature correction filters can help...but moreso it sounds like the wrong instruments are in the wrong place, focused unvevenly, and not being used to the best of their ability.
In very general description to state
stage lighting 101--you should consider your
stage in AREAS. Draw out your
stage and, given the size and distances, make circles
downstage, mid
stage and upstage. The size of the areas will depend on the instruments you have, the distance they are shooting from because of the beam size and the
foot-candle and beam size they will project light onto. For example--if a 19 degree Source 4
fixture is
FOH and
FOH is 20feet from the
stage floor, you will get a beam size that is smaller than if you used a 26 degree
fixture from the same distance. The
Foot candles will also change as well. Usuallly you can have anywhere from 3 to 8 areas on a
stage in each of those positions (down/mid/up) depending on the size and
grid height. Ideally in each of these areas, you will want to have at least two down lights, and at least two front lights and at least one back light--and they all should blend to the other areas with no shadow
drop outs between areas. Also--high offstage side light can also be helpful for general light, but is more common used in dance. Fresnels make great top and back lights, as do Pars or some lekos. For front or side light--you want
leko's so you do not have any spillage into the audience areas and can
shutter cut the light off of areas like walls,
drapes and stuff. Additionally, you will want to
mark out "SPECIAL" areas..areas that may be used by conductors, podiums etc-usually center
stage or at quarterlines. (You find center and quarters by taking your
stage width, half of that distance at center is your Centerline, and half the distance from center to offstage
edge is your quarterline). These special areas get a spot or solo light to augment--usually with no
gel.
For General
gel color selection--no-color blue (Roscoe 63 type), and a
no-color pink (
Rosco 33), a
no-color amber (Like
rosco 02) or
neutral base chocolate (
Rosco 99) are a basic starting place, and this should be from the front and top or side light to catch the facial features and skin tones--so people don't look
flat and shiney. Down light and back light will help to add depth as well, and you can also do this in pink, blue or amber.
This should give you a lot to think about... Please post back with information I listed and that should help others help you in your endeavor.
-wolf