G’day My grandaughter has just set herself up an 8X4m dance studio and I would like to contribute a theatre light to add to the ambiance. Please could you advise me what I should do ?. Thanks mike

What is back lightingin photography

Backlight is a term used in visual arts such as photography, film and stage lighting that simply means “light that comes from behind”. A light source placed on the opposite side of the “subject” (model, actor) from a viewer’s (camera, audience) point of view. On a conventional theatre stage this means lights that are hung upstage (towards the rear of the stage) that shine back towards the acting area.

The Character Rigging department receives meshes and shapes from Character Modeling. They actorize the character with a skeleton, deformers and controllers. They also integrate the CFX rig (clothes and hair). They produce an Actor-Ok for each character that will be used for the Layout and Animation.

Part of the development of the project along with script writing, concept art lays the foundations of our animation design by producing an idea that aims to capture the visual feel of the project, and serves as a point of reference throughout the entire creative process.

All the designs will provide a basis to the characters and sets&props modeling departments. Concerning the sets, the Art Department will also produce Maya scenes in order to establish the volumes for the implementation of the sets.

The VFX department works from Setdress or CFX shots to deliver either to the OCC (pipeline) or compositing department for rendered elements.

Can anyone help me with this difficulty? I need to light the person behind the “mirror” in Snow White. The “mirror” will be made of gauze or similar material ie. almost a one way effect. Would downlighting be the answer? This will give facial shadows I suspect. Advice would be appreciated from more experienced persons!

Backlight can also produce some interesting effects for dramatic lighting, show performer’s forms while hiding their faces and cast menacing shadows on the stage floor. Toplight can produce interesting colour casts (fancy lighting word for coloured light reflection) on performers hair, shoulders. It can also be used to wash the stage floor with intense colour without making your performers look like they have been painted all over.

Relying on the script breakdown, storyboarders produce a series of drawings describing, shot by shot, the action of the film. It is the first version of the movie once edited, the animatic.

Backlight is an important element in 3-point stage lighting that can be neglected on small shows in schools and drama clubs. So what is it, why should you use backlighting and what effect does it have in different stage lighting situations?

Backlighting examples

@ Seamus – try using a cyc light to backlight your sheet – might give an even outline, rather than the “spotty” effect of using a profile… Cheers Duncan

Hi Just googled onto your site. Involved in amateur drama and directing a play at the moment in which I want to have the actor behind a sheet so that his silouette is seen on the sheet before he appears. Going by your comments I think it would mean a low light from behind as near as possible to the subject? I must buy your book, it sounds intersting, and down to earth judging by your site. Regards Seamus PS I’ll buy you a pint of Guinness when my son comes in and I get his paypal code

Stereo is involved in the Layout to set up the stereo camera settings. They define the IOC (inter-ocular), the HIT (horizontal image translation) and the Toe (convergence) to adjust the stereo. They intervene in Animation and finalize their settings in Compositing.

Backlight is extremely important for film and television lighting as it provides depth to the actors on screen. Because the screen is only a flat moving picture, backlight is the way to stop your subjects looking like cardboard cut-outs. Next time you watch television, look out for signs of back or top lighting reflecting off hair and shoulders.

Examples of backlighting in film

I have seen a few LED packages fitted into a Birdie can or something comparable in size. Funny thing is that the biggest things with conventional DMX connections becomes 2 x XLR, usually on flying leads and some kind of PSU. Other systems (like Anolis, by Robe) use RJ45 connectors and separate power supplies to keep the bulk of the the hardware away from the fixture.

You might be able to get some kind of faux theatre domestic light fittings from a furnishing place that looks better than the real thing. Let us know how you get on.

Character Modeling receives the designs from the Art Dep and makes the meshes and shapes of the characters. These meshes will then be sent to Rigging for acting and to Surfacing for texturing.

The Set Dressing Department dress the sets of all shots with props, furniture and vegetation while refining the graphic and dynamic composition of the overall image.

Animation Fixing makes a technical check of the animation plans. It is responsible for all “post-anim” elements for the following departments: CFX, VFX, lighting. He offers solutions to improve the management of problematic shots and to optimize the animation pipeline.

Here is a short description of our production pipeline, in order to show the diversity of departments for which we are hiring.

The Sets and Props Rigging department builds the skeleton of the objects produced by the Sets&Props Modeling department. It installs the system (eg. skeleton, deformers, controllers, etc…) that will allow layout and animation to bring life to those objects.

So we know that backlight can make our live performers seem even more real. But how do you position your stage lights for good backlighting?

Fixtures used for backlighting generally need a brighter light output than front light because much of the light is not directly reflected back to the viewer.

That offer for a pint still available? Would love to meet up to discuss the best way of creating a halo effect – personally I believe the 62 degree angle works better than the 60!!

When lighting an orchestra, don’t forget that the conductor will not thank you for shining the backlight in her eyes but try to throw a bit of light to the face and arms – for the benefit of the poor scratchers trying to follow them.

The VFX department at Illumination Studios Paris not only produces effects (water, smoke, explosions, snow, clouds…), it also produces natural set elements such as trees, grass, vegetation in general, and tools for crowd simulation.

Editorial steps in the moment the first images from storyboard are delivered and operates until the completion phase of the film. Therefore the editor works closely with the director throughout the production process.

@Seamus – sorry – I re-read your question, and I’m talking nonsense! What I should have said was to agree with Rob about how to project a shadow onto an opaque screen (like a sheet). Sometimes the light source can still be visible to the audience, and sometimes it can work well to hide it behind the actor, if it gives you the angle you’re after.

The lighter also supervises the rendering which is calculated on different layers, in order to ensure that the Compositing department, with who he works in pair, can work efficiently.

Hey, Regarding backlights has anyone ever tried to use 10 degree or even 26 degree profiles with no gels just white light as back lighting.I have this idea i want to try out when i get the chance. I want to use profiles as backlights and see what effects come out. I am confident the beams will be seen if focused properly. Well if anyone has already done this then let me know. Thanks By the way this site rocks.

If you don’t work in a traditional proscenium arch theatre but have audiences that surround the performance area, remember that front light for one group of audience can be backlight for others.

Compositing includes grading, integration, optical effects (depth of field, flares, camera lens distortion, etc…), effects (NukeX particles), all that while emphasizing on the character animation and the visual narrative.

Low keylighting

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Hi Seamus, a light source close and low is good for making the subject’s shadow appear huge. The best thing to do is experiment with a portable light source to get exactly the “look” you want, and don’t forget the mark for the actor to hit the correct spot every night. Cheers

The Hair Department works on the meshes of the Character Modeling to install the character hairstyles (cut, volume and shading). The shading will then be sent to Character Surfacing for integration into the Shading-Ok.

One important use of backlight is when lighting orchestras, choirs and other performers that have read while performing. Backlighting or toplight is vital to classical musicians as all those little dots on their scores must be easy to read. Positioning these lights can be a compromise but the important points are:

Stage lighting that shines from the front (audience), lights the subjects on stage so that they can be seen by the paying public. Simple and important. Backlighting doesn’t reflect back to the viewer, it creates a false “halo effect” around surfaces, particularly on curved ones such as the human body. This has the effect of showing the depth and 3 dimensional quality of the actor and making the “stage picture” less 2D. Backlighting also gives the eye some references on stage depth and distances and these visual clues help the audience see the performers as real.

The Technical Layout (TLO) department receives the approved shots from the Layout department. The artists check the conformity of all the elements (characters, sets and props) that appear in the shots to obtain consistent and complete scenes. The TLO also produces the layering in order to cut the shots in different layers of animation for the Crowd Animation department.

At last, alongside the Compositing and Surfacing Departments, the Lighting Department ensures the rendered movie quality, by refining and correcting all the visual details of each shot.

Whyisbacklighting used in films

In character-heavy shots, the animation of crowds and extras is handled by the Animation Crowd. These animation layers follow the same process as a Main Animation layer: VFX, CFX and Occ.

What isbacklight on TV

Set Surfacing receives the meshes from the Modeling Set with a first UV unfolding. They work on the shaders and textures. They produce a Shading-Ok for each character which will be used for the final rendering in Lighting.

Rob Sayer HND PGDip FHEA is a Senior Lecturer in Technical Theatre Production, mentor, and consultant in stage lighting and education. As a professional lighting designer, Rob designed and programmed theatre performances, music festivals and large corporate events for blue chip companies while travelling all over Europe. With a background in theatre, he combines traditional stage lighting knowledge alongside fast moving lighting and video technology in the world of commercial events.

The VFX department works from Setdress or CFX shots to deliver either to the OCC (pipeline) or compositing department for rendered elements.

The VFX department works from Setdress or CFX shots to deliver either to the OCC (pipeline) or compositing department for rendered elements.

Compositors put together the layers coming from lighting and matte painting with the software Nuke, and give the final artistic look to the image, working closely with the director and the artistic director.

Don’t neglect your backlight. It does make up 33% of 3-point lighting and gives your stage lighting more punch, drama and simply looks better. If you have any interesting ideas for using backlight, put them in the comment section below.

The team is responsible for the development and the maintenance of tools that will be either integrated in commercial software (plugins for Maya, Nuke, etc…), or proposed as in-house developed applications, such as the rendering engine or the asset manager.

It also develops several tools intended to the artists (Maya, Nuke, Asset Manager…), to the production team, accounting and archives exploitation.

The Lighting Department works closely with the R&D Department for the development of the rendering software, by adjusting it to the newest technologies and to the specific needs of the film, sequence or shot.

Working alongside the Hair department and in close collaboration with the Art Director and the Lighting department, the Character Surfacing artists will create the textures, the shaders and an appearance that will adapt to 3D rendering, while keeping the conformity with the initial design.

Lighting and Compositing deptaments are always working in pair, on the artistic look of the film, the layering and the different technical issues they might encounter.

The VFX department at Illumination Studios Paris not only produces effects (water, smoke, explosions, snow, clouds…), it also produces natural set elements such as trees, grass, vegetation in general, and tools for crowd simulation.

Hi. My theatre roof is very low (about 12 feet to the grid over the stage) so conventional back lighting is hard because they end up lighting the front few rows of the audience. Similarly, toplights make one spot lovely and bright (if you stand directly underneath) and have no effect everywhere else. So sometimes I’ve used cyc lights as toplights, because the broad and relatively even beam covers more stage more evenly than anything else I can think of. Anyone got any other ideas for toplights with low roofs?

The Lighting Department receives from the Pipeline Department the final shots, including VFX and CFX, and export them to the in-house rendering software. The Lighting team setups the lights and the mood using Art Department references, and then enhances the lighting quality of each shot.

The IT team is responsible for ensuring the development of the information system (workstations, infrastructure servers, storage servers, network equipment, render farm…) and the availability of hardware and software assets for all employees.

The Layout sets up the staging of the scenes (camera axes, rhythm of the main action, sequence of shots…). They work on scenes containing several consecutive shots called Masters. Their movies are regularly sent to the Editorial Department to be integrated into the editing process. The validated Masters then go to the Technical Layout to be prepared for the Animation.

Cameramen are really keen on backlighting so if you are lighting a show that will also be filmed or broadcast, try to use some. Find out beforehand where the cameras will be. Backlight for the camera may not be in the same position as it would be for your live audience. The cameras won’t want your backlights shining right down their lenses. If your backlight is actually lighting up the camera on it’s tripod, you know that it’s also burning a hole in the cameraman’s retina (and making it impossible to set his exposure).

I was thinking about lighting scrims, which are opaque when lit from in front (and hopefully dark behind), but translucent when unlit from the front and the actor behind the scrim is lit. What I was trying to say is that a cyc light is good for front lighting the actor, if they’re close up behind the scrim… And a top light can be nice for outlining the actor without revealing much of their face, giving a “shadow-like” effect…

The Sets & Props Modeling creates the meshes of the sets and props based on the designs and Maya scenes provided by the Art Department. Those meshes are then givent to the Rigging to be actorized and to the Surfacing to be textured.

Production is responsible for the smooth running of the manufacture of the movies. Production supervisors, manager and associate production managers (APM) work closely with the directors, producers and department supervisors. There tasks include the establishment and management of budgets, the monitoring of the teams’ schedules and of the production process.

Editorial is a department in the heart of the production process. It produces the references in terms of shots, timing, sound, etc… and receives shots from the other departments in order to include them in the film edit as the project progresses.

But Sharukh, do you think the intensity of the profiles will be good enough lik pars. Specially wen you are using it from behind.

It can also be produced on a modeled surface to then be projected. It will create parallax in shots that include camera movement.

A good rule of thumb for theatre stages is to position your backlighting lanterns directly upstage of the area that they will light and at a fairly steep angle. A steeper backlight angle (60 degrees or so) means that you get a good “halo” and avoids blinding the audience in the front row. Try to barndoor your backlight off at about the top of the seats in the front row. If you only cut off your backlight at the front edge of the stage, you will not be lighting anyone stood right downstage. Apart from their feet.

The main role of the Research & Development department is to propose new technologies in order to enhance the level of quality of our films, or the efficiency and the convenience of the production.

The Visual Effects department is cross-functional, contributing to the production throughout the process, from effects’ previzualisation to some rendering for compositing.

The Occ 1 is a first technical pass. It is a strange looking animation video that allows you to see if everything is where it should be. From there, the same shot goes through four different departments.

What issidelighting

An illustrator-graphic designer is also part of the team. His role is to design visuals for posters, product packaging, shop signs, user interface designs (control rooms, dashboards, etc…) that appear in the sets of animated feature films currently in production.

The coloring is intended for the surfacing. The Art Department produces reference pictures for the Lighting, Matte Painting and Compositing departments in the form of color scripts and color keys.

The Visual Effects department is cross-functional, contributing to the production throughout the process, from effects’ previzualisation to some rendering for compositing.

Implicated in the creative process from pre-production, the Character Surfacing also provides a technical and artistic oversight throughout the production process.

Avoid the musicians casting a shadow on their score (put lights slightly to the side, lighting over their shoulder or go for steep downlighting if possible). Avoid blinding the musicians on the opposite side of the ensemble.

The first and second assistants are responsible for the importing of elements coming from the other departments. They also publish the editing of sequences and potential changes approved by the director and the editor so that all departments work with updated references.

Finally the Lighting team masters the technical aspects of the rendering software, as they control image quality and rendering duration.

I always use CP 60 pars or else known as aircraft bulb pars in local term (w/out gels). It gives a pencil thin beams and a good effect too. But should be used rarely in some special sequence to make it more interesting

The Visual Effects department is cross-functional, contributing to the production throughout the process, from effects’ previzualisation to some rendering for compositing.

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The Animation realizes the action of the characters. We distinguish between Animation Main, which deals with the main actors, and Animation Crowd, which deals with the crowds and extras. The animation movies are regularly sent to the Editorial Department to be integrated into the editing process. Once the shot is validated (and very often in the process of finalizing the shot), the VFX team takes the scene in hand to install the special effects. Next, Set Dressing finalizes the layout of the set elements to perfect the composition of the frame and CFX verifies the clothing and hairstyle simulations. The scene is then exported for a first verification rendering: the Occ.

The VFX department at Illumination Studios Paris not only produces effects (water, smoke, explosions, snow, clouds…), it also produces natural set elements such as trees, grass, vegetation in general, and tools for crowd simulation.

In order to polish the frame’s composition, the Set Dressing Department finalized the set layout to ensure continuity and to highlight the animated characters’ performance. From the animation main and crowd shots, the Set Dressing team delivers finished shots to the Lighting – Compositing.

The artists have various tools at their disposal to sculpt some type of volume and add numerous details that will bring life to the character.

Backlight makes people on stage or screen look better but it can also “profile” bits of scenery and make ornate costumes stand out. Lights from behind can also used to make things glow, change colour and create special effects on your set.

I came across it as we are researching into DMX & LED lighting for the company that I run Real Oasis. We currently use Par36’s but they are in the main too large to fit into smaller planters and have to be situated outside of the planter. Due to the nature of what we do we need cool running lights and finding small enough products to fit into the planters (that can also be DMX controlled) has become a problem. Birdies (RGB) would be ideal (it’s the effect that we want) we don’t need a great deal of light…any suggestions?

Working from a flat surface, the Matte Painting department paints part of the set of the shot while making sure some empty spaces are left within the image in which one or more shots will be integrated.

The department will also eventually integrate systems that will help some simulations of CFX (Cloth dynamics such as curtains, napkins, etc…), Hair (grass, carpet, fur) and VFX (vegetation, wreckage) departments. The Set&Props Rigging department is also responsible for the pipeline and the Maya tools used by the departments Sets&Props Modeling, Surfacing and Rigging departments.

Back lightingin film

If they are 1kilowatt profiles like the ones I use, then yes. Also 10’are very bright.So yes I believe it should work.Havent tried it yet so lets see. Sharukh

@Mike – Hi. If you are just looking to provide a working prop for a small studio, you are best seeking out a second hand “old” theatre or TV fixture that looks the part. The downside to a lot of these is they are relavtively power hungry and HOT in small studio. 300W is pretty much the as high as I could stand in a confined space.

The angle of backlighting can vary from low down, right up to nearly over the “subjects” head. Light directly overhead is referred to as “toplight” or “downlight” and shares similar lighting qualities to backlight.

Hi Saravanan, Yes I too use Cp60 pars also known as Very Narrow pars. They are perfect for backlighting and even sometimes Foh and side provided you are using it from a distance. However I am planning to try profiles and im quite sure 10degrees will give me an awesome beam show as well.Lets see its just another idea that popped into my head at 2am in the morning. Thanks Sharukh

Occ 2 is the second technical pass that serves as a final verification of the animation before exporting to the Lighting department.