After the light cue sheet, digital lighting keys (drawings that indicate the plan angles and color of the various sources that illuminate the image of light) need to be created. The light keys are great learning tools that help the designer establish what direction the light is coming from and how the light will hit the actor. An example of a lighting key we will use in My Children, My Africa! looks like this:
After the cue sheet and the keys are drawn, the lighting designer can begin to design the light plot. The light plot is a "scale mechanical drawing that indicates where the lighting instruments should be placed." The main purpose of the light plot is to depict the exact location of each light being used in the production. The plot shows the location of the sets in relation to they physical structure of the theater and includes a legend describing each of the symbols used on the plot. In order to draft the light plot, several drawings from the production team are needed: ground plans of the scenic design, sections of the scenic design, a scale ground plan of the stage, a scale section of the stage, and a layout for the stage lighting system of the theater. Here is the final light plot for My Children, My Africa!:
When determining the lighting instrument size for your plot, you need to know the maximum throw distance of the light. The throw distance determines how far light from the instrument travels from its hanging position to the center of its area focus. This is important, because each size of light carries a certain distance.
As you can see, there are many different steps that go into designing the lights of a production. Now that the light plot is completed, we will begin hanging and focusing the lights on the stage!
Information taken from:
-Designing With Light: an Introduction to Stage Lighting, J. Michael Gillette
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