5. Lighting Tips

Before we look at the best uses for PAR cans in entertainment lighting, you may find it helpful to know some of the basics of stage lighting. Most lighting schemes are made up from front light, back light and side light. Front light is used to illuminate the person or object, ideally from an angle of between 30 and 45 degrees and utilising pastel colours or plain white. Back light and side light are used to add depth and texture, positioned at lower angles and using deeper colours.

PAR-64’s in banks of 6

The colour of lighting plays a very important part in the ambiance of your event. Colours can easily enforce the mood or feeling of a piece of music or drama. For example, red symbolises love or anger, blue is calming or cold, purple is mysterious, and yellow is lively and warm. Single colours can be very bold, but mixing colours opens up a new dimension, particularly when one colour is used from the back and another from the side. The combinations and effects on the audience are almost limitless – it’s worth experimenting to get the best results.

So colour is a vital component of a lighting scheme, and PAR cans, with their strong tight beams of light, lend themselves extremely well to providing colour washes when used as back or side lights.

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