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Lighting techniques are paramount for delivering your event's message effectively, much like the subtleties of personal communication such as tone and body language.
Discover why they matter and how integrating LED screens can take your events to new heights.
Types of event lighting techniques
Event lighting has the power to evoke emotions, direct the audience’s attention, highlight products, decorate a space, call attendees to action and increase the overall level of fun... among many other things.
Different lighting techniques can be used and combined in a number of ways depending on the goals you want to achieve at your event.
Mastering general stage lighting
Stage lighting gives presenters and speakers the ability to see where they are, while also enabling the audience to see them clearly. White and neutral light are normally used, though at certain times colours can be brought out to convey different emotions. To frame the stage and give it definition, you must remember to light the front, sides and back, to do away with any shadows and give a feeling of depth.
Perfecting Podium Lighting for On-stage Speakers
Podium lighting is essential for on-stage speakers, providing brightness without casting shadows. It is especially essential when it comes to on-camera close-ups!
Transforming Spaces with Scenography and Furniture Lighting
Scenography and furniture lighting add a unique touch to your event, reflecting your brand's colors and message. You can use back-lit furniture, transparencies, screens, LED integration, etc. If you use the colours of your corporsate brand, you will enhance the message that you want to send out to your audience.
Creating Atmosphere with Uplighters
Uplighters create impactful atmospheres by highlighting specific elements. This could mean lighting the routes along which you want attendees to walk, columns, curtains, walls, entrances, exits or any other element you wish to highlight.
Highlighting key moments with Special Lighting
Special lighting for key moments focuses attention where it matters most.
This involves shutting off or dimming the general lighting of the site to focus people’s attention on a specific spot or area that will be highlighted with special lighting techniques.
Illuminating Product Presentations
Lighting for product presentations uses white or neutral lighting to maintain product colors.
Corporate gobos for Brand Projection
Corporate gobos are used to project logos or corporate visuals on any surface, creating special imagery and leaving a lasting impression. They can be moving or fixed images.
Spectacular Outdoor Lighting
Outdoor lighting signals your event´s presence. It must be spectacular, impactful and elegant. As for design, it has to work even in rain or shine.
If you want to know more about event lighting, you can watch the following video from our channel:
Event lighting categories
Summing up and keeping it simple, Event lighting can be categorized as:
- Functional: the lighting that helps attendees see each other and the space they are in.
- Decorative: the light that gives you the power to radically transform a space in addition to creating amazingly high-impact atmospheres. For example, if the room where your event is held is too plain or simple, you can give it colour and texture with moving lights. You can also use them to give the space depth and dimension. Use them on ceilings, walls, backgrounds, dance floors, stage sets and scenography, etc.
Why Event Lighting Tecniques Matter
Understanding your event's goals is crucial for success. Lighting techniques, along with sound and video, captivates your audience’s attention. Collaborating with an experienced audiovisual partner like Dushow, with a track record of over 9,000 successful events per year, can be your key to solutions and event a success!
4 essential steps for achieving perfect event lighting
To achieve perfect event lighting, follow these four key steps:
1. Analyzing the Venue and Asking Essential Questions
This is as obvious as it is fundamental. It involves visiting and studying the venue where you’re going to hold your event. Make an inspection visit at the same time of day your event is to be held. It’s an important way to get a feel for all the possibilities the venue offers, and arouse your own imagination. This will raise many questions:
- What type of function is it?
- How many guests will be in attendance?
- What are the space dimensions?
- Will there be speakers or entertainment?
- What is the event timeline?
- Who will be setting up and breaking down the lighting equipment?
- What is the budget for the event?
For example, one option is to install lighting around the existing architecture or on-site elements to emphasize certain elements of the entire structure. For a conference, consider installing focused lights on the main stage and presentation areas. For larger spaces, consider installing overhead or hanging lights to provide broad and uniform illumination.
Depending on the answers to the above questions, you will find out which are the best options.
2. Developing a Comprehensive Lighting Plan
Once you’ve decided on a location, draw up an implementation plan with all of the elements to design the lighting techniques best adapted to each space.
Of course, as was said in the beginning, event lighting is another part of the overall communication of your message. That’s why planning this step involves a good deal of teamwork. What do you want people to feel? Where are you going to direct their attention? When will different spaces of the venue come to life?
3. Defining Lighting Effects and Considering Other Elements
With the lighting plan and running order of the event in hand, it is time to define the lighting effects that will be activated at each given moment.
The lighting effects to be created must be in consonance with each of your goals.
For example, you can use smoke machines to create an atmosphere that emphasizes light beams as attendees file into the main room, creating a unique entrance experience.
Having an expert audiovisual partner like Dushow can help you with the creativity and design side of things.
4. Ensuring You Have the Right Equipment
It is essential to have the right equipment to success in lighting techniques (in terms of quality, variety and quantity), as well as a technical crew specialized in this area.
Commonly Used Event Lighting Equipment
No two events are alike, so everything will always depend on the type of event to be held. What you should remember when putting together your event in optimal conditions is the importance of using state-of-the-art equipment; components that offer light and energy efficiency.
In general, the equipment most often used at events includes:
- Moving lights
- LED tubes and strips
- PAR lights
- Follow-Spots
- Lasers
- Table lighting
- Cut-outs
- Desks, dimmers, etc.
- Battery-powered cordless lights
- Sky tracer search lights
- Colour washes
- Ultraviolet lights
From Illumination to Innovation: The Role of Cutting-Edge Equipment
As you delve into the world of event lighting, one thing becomes abundantly clear – having the right equipment is paramount. It's not just about the quantity, but the quality, versatility, and expertise behind it. Your event's success hinges on this crucial foundation.
In the dynamic landscape of event planning, where every occasion is unique, the choice of equipment can make or break your event's impact. It's imperative to leverage state-of-the-art tools that offer both brilliance and energy efficiency. Among the essentials in your arsenal, LED screens emerge as a game-changer.
LED Screens: The Canvas of Innovation
When orchestrating events for sizable audiences, LED screens become your storytelling canvas. Their pixel-perfect visuals enrapture attendees, elevating the audiovisual experience to new heights. Whether you seek to convey your message or craft immersive content, LED screens offer limitless creative possibilities.
As you embark on this luminous journey, explore our article featuring 7 key tips on LED screens will interest you. Let your imagination run wild, and watch as LED screens breathe life into your events, leaving indelible memories in their wake.
This article was first published in Dushow Spain, you can read the original Spanish version here.
