Stage Lighting Resource Hub
2015-12-31 Post By: Longmangroup
Here is a whole list of collections for stage lighting information, communication and business resources, the purpose is for whoever wants to know about this stuff. I try to collect as many useful and trusted source as possible, but there are chances I might miss something that I don't aware of, if so please contact me and I will consider about your suggestions.
General
Stage lighting on Wikipedia - Before you go anywhere, it is wise to visit Wikipedia page about stage lighting first, to generate the very first intuitive concept and idea about the basic, history, categories, functions of stage lighting. And also you can visit other topics which are related to lighting, such as stage lighting instrument and technologies.
If you are seriously want to devote into this realm, you should consider take corresponding stage classes in college. By finishing your school, you will know what you are going to deal with. Then find a job in a lighting company, crack your way to become an expert after years of experiences.
Stage Lighting Learning Materials
Learning stage lighting is not that easy, obviously some of you need a good tutorials to start.
Stage Lighting Primer - stage lighting primer is a great place for stage lighting students, beginners and teachers, created and maintained by Dr. Judy Kupferman and Jeffrey E. Salzberg. The website discusses all basic meaning of stage lighting glossary, stresses lighting design as an art, specifies all aspects of lighting technologies like DMX512, inverse square law etc.
Learn Stage Lighting - learn stage lighting website was created by David Henry, a great lighting expert. The website can help you know much better about what lighting equipment you have and how to apply them in a smart way. Follow their professional guidance, even a zero experience layman could handle an elementary stage show. They are very good at church, DJ, and band lighting.
Its All About the Light - Its all about the light is hosted on weebly and is an additional recourse for lighting class lectures by Professor Sonia Pasqual. The website talks about lighting instruments like par can and Fresnel, basic electricity and cables knowledge like ampere and voltage, stage and theatre lighting design, and basic stagecraft class. I would say this and the primer would be a great information combination for school teaching purpose.
Lighting Trainer - Lighting trainer provides plenty of tutorial videos cover not only basic theories and concept about stage lighting, but also practical operations like how to handle truss, hang lights, program DMX, etc. Besides basic lights, it provides moving lights and CAD software information too.
Forums and Communities
No matter what your position of stage lighting career is, it is always good and fun to have some companies so that we can keep learning and growing.
Control Booth - Control booth is an active forum for lighting and electrics, there are many lighting gurus online ready to help. You can register an account and take participate in informative discussions such as consoles, LED dimming, ETC nomad and so on. The forum also has other boards like stage management and sounds.
Harmony Central - Harmony central is a large forum for musicians and bands. In their Lighting & Stage Effects sub-board, viewers can ask and discuss auditory sense part of music stage perform. A good show never lack of both proper light and sound.
Candle Power Forums - Candle power forums is a forum specialized in flashlight, like headlamps and spotlights, but also they have places for other related topics such as LED, lasers, transportation lighting, etc. They also provide some boards for markets and deals, if you are a marketer or businessmen, here is your good chance to exposure.
Church Media - Church media is an engaged forum for all kinds of media use of churches. If you have business projects for church lighting, then you are right here. They provide business account plan for advertising and self promoting.
On Reddit, people could ask professional questions and seek for practical solutions in time. On Linkedin, here is a place for professional businessmen and employees of lighting field, you probably would find potential business chances. On Pinterest, people post pictures and photos of their lighting design works or products or infographics.
Facebook Public Group
Facebook group is a wonderful place for concentrated and professional topic discussions. There are three big public Facebook group on the topic of stage lighting, they are listed as below.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lightingtrainer/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1466127483621889/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1665124330378981/
Manufacturers and Online Stores
Longman Stage Lighting - longman stage lighting dedicate to stage and theater lighting equipment development and market for almost a decade. The company locates in Guangzhou, China, probably the best supplier there. Have taken part in many lighting exhibitions and projects, all got great customers' response and compliment.
Chauvet Lighting - Chauvet is a well-known brand for entertainment lighting, first started in 1990 and went online in 1998. Green thinking is now their objective and continue to involve and develop eco-friendly light sources like LED.
Full Compass - Full compass system began in 1971 and founded in 1977, is a time-honored company focused on pro audio, sound, music and lighting instruments. They have been rewarded for many honors, especially the one that is top women-owned business.
International Lighting Exhibitions
There are several influential international lighting exhibitions around the world, such as Guangzhou prolight + sound, Guangzhou international lighting exhibition, Frankfurt exhibition, HKTDC, etc.
History of Lighting
http://www3.northern.edu/wild/LiteDes/ldhist.htmThe link above elaborates on the history of stage lighting, from the year 1580 to now, from very first candle to modern electric-driven lamp, from lime light to LED spotlight. Not only show us the details of the types of lighting, but also introduce readers about those famous lighting designers and educators in the hall of fame.
Books
- A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting Third Edition by Steven Louis Shelley
- Stage Lighting Handbook by Francis Reid
- Set Lighting Technician's Handbook: Film Lighting Equipment, Practice, and Electrical Distribution by Harry Box
Future Development
How will stage and theatre, light sources, lighting instruments, aesthetics design, lighting technologies change over time, what is the future of them? Here are some pages for this question.
The future of LED stage lighting - this thread talks about what is the problem of LED has now and their potentiality.
The Future of Lighting and Power [PDF] - It's a PDF file. The author is Christopher Maione.