Editing Stage lighting (section)

== Functions of lighting ==
[[File:Osamason at Majestic Theatre, Detroit, MI - April 13th, 2025.jpg|alt=Intense lighting effects during a Osamason show in 2025. The image displays bright lights that add a silhouette effect to the performing artist.|thumb|Intense lighting effects during a [[OsamaSon|Osamason]] show in 2025]]
Stage lighting has multiple functions, including:

* Selective visibility: The ability to see what is occurring on stage. Any lighting design will be ineffective if the viewers cannot see the characters, unless this is the explicit intent.
* Revelation of form: Altering the perception of shapes onstage, particularly three-dimensional stage elements.
* Focus: Directing the audience's attention to an area of the stage or distracting them from another.
* Mood: Setting the tone of a scene. Harsh red light has a different effect than soft lavender light.
* Location and time of day: Establishing or altering position in time and space. Blues can suggest night time while orange and red can suggest a sunrise or sunset. Use of [[Gobo (lighting)|mechanical filters]] ("gobos") to project sky scenes, the Moon, etc.
* Projection/stage elements: Lighting may be used to project scenery or to act as scenery onstage.
* Plot (script): A lighting event may trigger or advance the action onstage and off.
* Composition: Lighting may be used to show only the areas of the stage which the designer wants the audience to see, and to "paint a picture".<ref>{{cite book | last = McCandless | first = Stanley | title = A Method of Lighting the Stage, Fourth Edition | publisher = Theatre Arts Books | year = 1958 | location = New York | pages = 9–10 | isbn = 978-0-87830-082-2 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book
| last = Gillette
| first = J. Michael
| title = Designing With Light: An Introduction to Stage Lighting, Fourth Edition
| isbn = 978-0-7674-2733-3
| publisher = [[McGraw Hill]]
| pages = 9–10
| year = 2003
}}</ref>

* Effect: In pop and rock concerts or DJ shows or [[rave]]s, colored lights and lasers may be used as a visual effect.

Lighting design is an art form, and thus no one way is the "correct" way. There is a modern movement that states that the lighting design helps to create the environment in which the action takes place while supporting the style of the piece.  "Mood" is arguable while the environment is essential.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Gillette
| first = J. Michael
| title = Designing With Light: An Introduction to Stage Lighting, Fourth Edition
| isbn = 978-0-7674-2733-3
| publisher = [[McGraw Hill]]
| pages = 10
| year = 2003
}}</ref>