Church Lighting Design and Best Practices | 4-Steps to Pro Lighting
Sintesi
TLDRThis lesson is part of an online course aimed at teaching professional lighting design for churches. It highlights the importance of understanding lighting theory and best practices before assembling a lighting system. The video outlines two main objectives of church lighting: illuminating subjects effectively (such as pastors and worship leaders) and enhancing worship through creative design, like color effects and atmospheric lighting. The instructor demonstrates a four-step process for achieving professional lighting design: 1) using front wash lights for subject illumination, 2) adding kick or hair lights to separate subjects from backgrounds, 3) implementing wall washes to add color to the stage, and 4) using atmospheric lighting effects for dynamic visuals. He emphasizes the role of adequate lighting in improving live stream quality and shares a case study where simple lighting adjustments created substantial improvements. The lesson also covers the nature of light, including concepts like CRI and color temperature, and common mistakes to avoid in church lighting setups.
Punti di forza
- ๐ก Understanding lighting fundamentals is crucial before setting up church lighting.
- ๐ฆ Proper front lighting ensures pastors and worship leaders are seen clearly.
- ๐จ Use color in lighting to enrich the worship experience creatively.
- ๐ฅ๏ธ Good lighting improves church live streaming quality significantly.
- ๐ ๏ธ Most lighting design improvements require aim and control, not new fixtures.
- ๐ CRI value is important for accurate color rendering of lit subjects.
- โ ๏ธ Avoid common mistakes like insufficient front light and complex controls.
- ๐ Wall washes add ambient color effects to church stages.
- ๐ Combine lighting design with live streaming strategies for best results.
- ๐ Lighting speaks to the church's beliefs and atmosphere.
- โ๏ธ Control ambient light to preserve intended lighting effects.
- ๐ท Hairlights help distinguish subjects from the background in visuals.
Linea temporale
- 00:00:00 - 00:05:00
The video is introduced as a free lesson from a new online course on lighting for worship, offered by Worship Ministry School. The lesson focuses on the importance of understanding lighting theory and fundamentals before implementing creative designs, emphasizing the dual objectives of subject illumination and creative enhancement of messages in worship gatherings.
- 00:05:00 - 00:10:00
The instructor explains the primary objectives of a church lighting system: to illuminate subjects and enable creative design. Subject illumination is essential for visibility in worship, while creative design adds emotional and dynamic support through lighting effects, such as color and movement. Emphasis is placed on the importance of adequate lighting for effective live streaming.
- 00:10:00 - 00:15:00
The video discusses a case study at Grace Church, illustrating common issues in church lighting, like poor fixture aiming and control. It demonstrates the impact of adjusting lighting fixtures without new installations, highlighting increased visibility of subjects and improved color dynamics as key outcomes of effective lighting design.
- 00:15:00 - 00:20:00
The instructor introduces a four-step process for professional church lighting design. Step one is achieving proper front wash lighting to illuminate subjects adequately. The demonstration at South Fellowship Church illustrates the importance of light placement to avoid shadows and ensure an even wash across the stage.
- 00:20:00 - 00:25:00
Step two involves implementing kick or hair lights to separate the subject from the background, enhancing visual clarity. The demonstration shows the effect of a subtle glow around the subject's head and shoulders, which provides contrast and depth, preventing the image from appearing flat.
- 00:25:00 - 00:30:00
Step three involves using wall washes to add color and dynamic effects to the stage's background. Demonstrations show how wall washes can enhance the visual appeal with color changes and movements. This step is highlighted as an easy and effective way to introduce creative lighting design in church settings.
- 00:30:00 - 00:36:17
Step four focuses on atmospheric lighting effects, such as moving lights and hazers, to create dynamic visual experiences. The video warns against prioritizing these effects over foundational lighting steps. Finally, common lighting mistakes are discussed, emphasizing the importance of proper fixture use, control, and light quality to achieve effective church lighting.
Mappa mentale
Domande frequenti
What is the main focus of the video?
The video focuses on achieving professional lighting design for churches, emphasizing the importance of proper lighting techniques.
What are the four steps covered in this lighting lesson?
The four steps are: 1) Front wash lighting, 2) Kick/Hair lighting, 3) Wall wash, and 4) Atmospheric lighting effects.
Why is lighting important in church gatherings?
Lighting is crucial for illuminating subjects such as pastors and worship leaders, supporting the message of worship, and enhancing visual communication.
What is a wall wash in lighting design?
A wall wash involves projecting color light onto walls to create ambient effects and enhance the stage appearance.
What are atmospheric lighting effects?
Atmospheric effects include lighting fixtures that create dynamic patterns or beams, often requiring a hazer to see these effects clearly.
Why is a good CRI important for lighting?
CRI (Color Rendering Index) ensures lighting renders colors accurately. A high CRI light makes colors look natural and vibrant.
How does ambient light affect lighting design?
Ambient light can wash out colored lighting effects. Controlling ambient light, often using shades or blinds, is important to maintain desired lighting effects.
Can traditional churches benefit from modern lighting techniques?
Yes, even traditional churches can apply steps 1 and 2 (front and kick lighting) to ensure visibility during services.
What common mistakes should be avoided in church lighting?
Avoid mistakes like insufficient front lighting, lack of kick lights, poor beam control, complex lighting setups, and using low CRI fixtures.
How can proper lighting improve live streaming quality for churches?
Proper lighting ensures that subjects are well-lit on camera, improving visual clarity and engagement for the audience.
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- 00:00:00in this video you are going to learn the
- 00:00:02four crucial steps to achieving
- 00:00:04professional lighting design for your
- 00:00:07local church the video you're about to
- 00:00:09watch is one of the lessons from our new
- 00:00:11lighting for worship online course that
- 00:00:14you will find at worship
- 00:00:15worshipministryschool.com we're giving
- 00:00:17this lesson away free here on youtube
- 00:00:19but if you'd like to access all of our
- 00:00:20courses and all of the lessons check out
- 00:00:22worshipministryschool.com
- 00:00:24and apply to join our program today i
- 00:00:26also want you to check out our worship
- 00:00:27ministry toolkit linked below it
- 00:00:29contains all of our gear and software
- 00:00:31recommendations for worship ministry and
- 00:00:33we recently updated this toolkit to
- 00:00:35include our favorite gear for church
- 00:00:37lighting without further ado let's dive
- 00:00:39into the lesson
- 00:00:41in this lesson you are going to learn
- 00:00:43about lighting theory and best practices
- 00:00:47it is so important before you start
- 00:00:49putting together a lighting system and
- 00:00:50using control software that you
- 00:00:52understand the foundations of lighting
- 00:00:55theory you guys know we are big on this
- 00:00:57if you've taken any of our other courses
- 00:00:59in worship ministry school like our
- 00:01:01audio courses it's all about getting the
- 00:01:03fundamentals right before you try to get
- 00:01:05all fancy because that's not going to
- 00:01:07end up well for you if you skip the
- 00:01:10fundamentals so that's what this lesson
- 00:01:12is all about let's talk about lighting
- 00:01:14objectives for the local church what is
- 00:01:17the purpose of a lighting system in the
- 00:01:20context of a worship gathering both
- 00:01:23in-person gatherings and online
- 00:01:25gatherings there's really two objectives
- 00:01:27in my opinion number one illuminate
- 00:01:30subjects make sure you have adequate
- 00:01:32light so the congregation can see the
- 00:01:35pastors worship leaders
- 00:01:37the rest of the congregation maybe and
- 00:01:39any other people or objects that they
- 00:01:41need to see
- 00:01:42in worship and things that they they
- 00:01:44need to see that's going to support
- 00:01:46what's being communicated throughout the
- 00:01:48service or what you're trying to
- 00:01:51convey to your congregation or have them
- 00:01:53experience
- 00:01:54during the worship service and you can
- 00:01:56get really creative with this but you
- 00:01:58know simply put make sure people can see
- 00:02:00your pastor and the worship leaders and
- 00:02:01the people on the platform who are
- 00:02:03communicating or leading a song or
- 00:02:05sharing announcements or leading
- 00:02:07communion or leading a baptism you want
- 00:02:10people to see people getting baptized
- 00:02:11right we have a sense of sight that god
- 00:02:14has given us and we use that sense of
- 00:02:16sight in the worship gathering in the
- 00:02:18most foundational way we do that is
- 00:02:20through just simply illuminating
- 00:02:22subjects the second objective which is a
- 00:02:25bit fancier and this will be
- 00:02:26contextualized to your local church
- 00:02:29setting is creative design
- 00:02:31it's the ability to enhance and support
- 00:02:34the message in various moments during
- 00:02:36the worship experience and usually we do
- 00:02:39this through color in special
- 00:02:41atmospheric effects the lighting design
- 00:02:44world can get as complex and creative as
- 00:02:47you in your church want it to be
- 00:02:50and that is a pretty important objective
- 00:02:52of our lighting system we want to be
- 00:02:54able to support the emotion and dynamics
- 00:02:57of the songs that we're singing because
- 00:02:59again it's just engaging another sense
- 00:03:01that we have as human beings to speak
- 00:03:04the truths of the gospel whether that's
- 00:03:06through songs or through preaching or
- 00:03:08whatever it is maybe it's just the
- 00:03:09environment of the room the way we have
- 00:03:12the lighting and the aesthetic of the
- 00:03:14room and the stage that that speaks to
- 00:03:16people's hearts even though it's not in
- 00:03:18an overt you know verbal way it's kind
- 00:03:21of more in a subliminal way right so um
- 00:03:24the way you light your church says a lot
- 00:03:26about what you your church believes and
- 00:03:29what your church believes about god and
- 00:03:31we can get more into the nuance of some
- 00:03:33of that design theory later on in the
- 00:03:35course but um
- 00:03:37simply put creative design can be let's
- 00:03:40throw some color in there again color is
- 00:03:42a simple way to
- 00:03:44enhance or emphasize the emotional theme
- 00:03:47of whatever it is you're trying to sing
- 00:03:48or communicate so let's throw some color
- 00:03:50let's throw some
- 00:03:51lighting movement with moving fixtures
- 00:03:53to kind of you know add to the dynamics
- 00:03:56of a song
- 00:03:57that's simply put what the creative
- 00:03:59design objective is i want to make this
- 00:04:02important note too that adequate
- 00:04:03lighting design is crucial for your
- 00:04:07church's live stream cameras need
- 00:04:11light
- 00:04:12even the most high end of cameras out
- 00:04:14there if they don't have light
- 00:04:17that are reflecting the image in this
- 00:04:19case me is being reflected into this
- 00:04:21camera right here that you're watching
- 00:04:23me on um if if i didn't have my key
- 00:04:26light on it's to look horrible actually
- 00:04:28let me demonstrate that to you how would
- 00:04:30you feel if for the rest of this
- 00:04:31training i kept my lighting like this
- 00:04:34maybe you don't want to see my wonderful
- 00:04:36face as clearly as you did a few moments
- 00:04:38ago but it's it's distracting it's just
- 00:04:41it doesn't really capture your attention
- 00:04:43as well you just don't see me
- 00:04:44communicating quite as clearly so a lot
- 00:04:47of churches their lighting design looks
- 00:04:50like this and this is why their live
- 00:04:51stream looks horrible so before you go
- 00:04:53spending a ton of money on expensive
- 00:04:56cameras and lenses and live stream gear
- 00:04:59please please please make sure you have
- 00:05:02adequate lighting
- 00:05:03in that you've configured your lights in
- 00:05:06a way and your cameras in such a way
- 00:05:08that they're actually going to be
- 00:05:09working together the camera side of
- 00:05:12things we definitely cover a ton of in
- 00:05:14our live streaming courses so use this
- 00:05:17course in conjunction with our live
- 00:05:18streaming courses they're going to talk
- 00:05:20more about camera exposure and things
- 00:05:22like that so let's get let's get some
- 00:05:24good lighting back here much much better
- 00:05:26and i want to illustrate for you a case
- 00:05:30study of a church that i go to this is
- 00:05:33grace church i started going here within
- 00:05:34the past year when i moved to florida
- 00:05:37it's an awesome church i love it there
- 00:05:39and they have really a great foundation
- 00:05:41of all the gear that you need in a
- 00:05:44modern worship context and they have a
- 00:05:47really great lighting system like
- 00:05:49whoever
- 00:05:50designed this lighting system the
- 00:05:51integrator who they hired they built
- 00:05:53this church about a year ago
- 00:05:55they knew these fundamental concepts of
- 00:05:58what fixtures they would need and where
- 00:06:00where to place the fixtures
- 00:06:02but there's an issue there's some sort
- 00:06:04of gap in terms of just getting the
- 00:06:06actual worship team and tech tech team
- 00:06:09up to speed on the best practices of how
- 00:06:11to use those fixtures properly so you
- 00:06:14can see a before and after here we did
- 00:06:16not change
- 00:06:17anything about the fixtures or the
- 00:06:19control software um in this setup like
- 00:06:22the same same fixtures were hung before
- 00:06:24and after all we did is we actually just
- 00:06:27re-aimed fixtures and we controlled the
- 00:06:30beam of our lighting fixtures more
- 00:06:32effectively
- 00:06:33and then we did just some brightness
- 00:06:35adjustments at the control software i
- 00:06:37think a lot of churches watching this
- 00:06:39course could be in a similar place to
- 00:06:41grace church where you're going to learn
- 00:06:43about the concepts of great lighting and
- 00:06:45you're going to realize oh we actually
- 00:06:46do have all the fixtures we need
- 00:06:49maybe some of them are kicking around in
- 00:06:50a closet somewhere we need to hang them
- 00:06:52still but maybe you don't need to hang
- 00:06:54any new fixtures you just need to aim
- 00:06:56them and control them properly to get
- 00:06:58better results so before you can see
- 00:07:01here that you know if you just compare
- 00:07:03the images you can see our worship
- 00:07:05leader here asa he looks darker his skin
- 00:07:08tones look a little weird um and there's
- 00:07:11just not much dynamics to this image
- 00:07:14like the the brights aren't very bright
- 00:07:16the darks aren't very dark it's kind of
- 00:07:17flat um and there's not much color in
- 00:07:20the background at all it's kind of green
- 00:07:22but not really and a lot of churches
- 00:07:25will kind of settle for this because if
- 00:07:27this what you see on the left is is all
- 00:07:29you know and what you're used to
- 00:07:31you kind of don't think
- 00:07:33any different like it could be much
- 00:07:34better but i knew when i got there i'm
- 00:07:36like man this lighting needs to improve
- 00:07:38because it looked pretty much just as
- 00:07:40bad in person as it did online actually
- 00:07:42probably looked worse online and there's
- 00:07:44some some weeks during the live stream
- 00:07:46like you just could not see
- 00:07:48basically anything that was going on
- 00:07:50again combination of camera exposure and
- 00:07:52poor lightning but poor lighting is
- 00:07:54where it starts and that's what the
- 00:07:55problem was
- 00:07:56so what we did is we
- 00:07:59just again we re-aimed the lights we
- 00:08:01controlled the shutter on the
- 00:08:03front lighting that they had and we made
- 00:08:06some adjustments to the brightness and
- 00:08:08now just look how much better the
- 00:08:10subject stands out and you can see asa
- 00:08:13as he's leading worship much clearly in
- 00:08:15the background we have much more color
- 00:08:17control so we can actually light up
- 00:08:18these panels in the background and you
- 00:08:20can see kind of that back kind of wash
- 00:08:23atmospheric effect happening with the
- 00:08:25lighting in there so it just looks much
- 00:08:26clearer and here's an example of what
- 00:08:28this change looked like for our
- 00:08:30preaching portion of service this is our
- 00:08:32pastor aaron and before
- 00:08:35you know during the sermon sermon they
- 00:08:36would you know put the lights on full
- 00:08:38brightness so he's actually bright
- 00:08:40enough as a subject but what was
- 00:08:42happening because the lights were aimed
- 00:08:44improperly
- 00:08:45they were flooding onto the back wall
- 00:08:47and that's why the back wall looks flat
- 00:08:48you can just see random light beams kind
- 00:08:50of flooding onto that back wall we we
- 00:08:53don't want it to be like that we want to
- 00:08:54be able to control that back wall we
- 00:08:56want it to be black when there's no
- 00:08:58light we want it to be
- 00:09:00a color when we have different colors so
- 00:09:02here you can see we've got this similar
- 00:09:04blue look it's kind of my favorite color
- 00:09:05for worship is blue
- 00:09:08maybe because it's just my favorite
- 00:09:09color overall but we have this blue look
- 00:09:12and now there's much just better
- 00:09:13separation between pastor aaron and the
- 00:09:16background so again these were changes
- 00:09:18that we implemented without introducing
- 00:09:20any new fixtures it was it was all just
- 00:09:22about getting the aim of the fixtures
- 00:09:24right and the control right here is the
- 00:09:27four step process to professional
- 00:09:30lighting design for churches if you can
- 00:09:33follow these four steps and apply them
- 00:09:35to your context you are going to get
- 00:09:37much better results when it comes to
- 00:09:39lighting so what i'm going to do is
- 00:09:41first i'll introduce the step and then
- 00:09:43i'm actually going to
- 00:09:44illustrate it to you
- 00:09:46in our worship center at south
- 00:09:48fellowship church step number one the
- 00:09:50front wash light this is very important
- 00:09:53to achieving that first objective we
- 00:09:55talked about earlier of illuminating
- 00:09:58subjects properly your worship leader
- 00:10:00your pastor whoever it is they are
- 00:10:02leading at a moment in time in worship
- 00:10:04and for them to communicate effectively
- 00:10:06people need to see them so that's where
- 00:10:09the front wash light comes in that's
- 00:10:11kind of the first half of meeting that
- 00:10:14objective of adequately lighting your
- 00:10:17subject right now i'm sitting at my desk
- 00:10:19and i have one front wash light right in
- 00:10:22front of me it's a nice soft uh key
- 00:10:25light and that's what's illuminating and
- 00:10:28i showed you guys earlier on what that
- 00:10:30looks like when that's turned off so
- 00:10:32that's my front wash light here now
- 00:10:34let's head on over to our worship center
- 00:10:37at south fellowship and i'll illustrate
- 00:10:39this to you there welcome to the south
- 00:10:41fellowship church worship center in
- 00:10:43which i'm going to demo for you some of
- 00:10:45these principles that we're talking
- 00:10:46about first let's talk about front
- 00:10:49lighting so you can see i'm standing
- 00:10:52here on the front little platform we
- 00:10:54have on our stage and i know every
- 00:10:56single stage out there is unique but
- 00:10:58most of these principles will always
- 00:11:00apply to any church context first i'm
- 00:11:03going to go ahead and turn off our front
- 00:11:05lights so now there's pretty much no
- 00:11:07light in the room except for the light
- 00:11:09coming off of the projection that i have
- 00:11:12behind me so we have four primary front
- 00:11:15wash fixtures in front of me i'll go
- 00:11:18ahead and turn those on this is pretty
- 00:11:19much at full brightness so you can see
- 00:11:22these
- 00:11:23lights uh basically you've got one two
- 00:11:26three four so if i'm looking straight
- 00:11:28ahead out to the congregation
- 00:11:30we've got the two lights on the right
- 00:11:32side of me
- 00:11:34they are about a 45 degree angle up and
- 00:11:38that's one important tip i also want to
- 00:11:39share with you when it comes to not
- 00:11:41having weird shadows on your subject
- 00:11:43with front lighting is try to have your
- 00:11:46lights for whatever subject you're
- 00:11:47trying to light 45 degrees vertically
- 00:11:51and then also 45 degrees to the side
- 00:11:53works well especially if you can have
- 00:11:55two front lights lighting one zone kind
- 00:11:58of coming together in one place we don't
- 00:12:00really have as many front light fixtures
- 00:12:02that i would prefer in this space
- 00:12:05but this works pretty well because
- 00:12:07whoever's standing on this front
- 00:12:08platform here is going to get a pretty
- 00:12:10even wash no matter what part of the
- 00:12:13platform that they are on so you can see
- 00:12:15here as i kind of shuffle back and forth
- 00:12:17across the frame sometimes with front
- 00:12:20lights you can get a more dramatic look
- 00:12:22when you only have one of them lit so i
- 00:12:24have this primary key light right here
- 00:12:27that's lighting one side of me and it
- 00:12:28has some pretty harsh shadows on the
- 00:12:30other side and it makes it a bit more
- 00:12:32dramatic so that can be appropriate
- 00:12:34sometimes especially for maybe a worship
- 00:12:36leader if you want the song to look and
- 00:12:38feel a little bit more dramatic
- 00:12:39but usually when we're doing you know
- 00:12:41our teaching
- 00:12:42lighting design for our our pastors
- 00:12:45we're just going to have those full
- 00:12:47front lights on so that there's a nice
- 00:12:49even wash all across the subjects who
- 00:12:52are on stage step number two is to
- 00:12:55implement a kick light or a hair light
- 00:12:58or sometimes it's called a kicker light
- 00:13:01any of these terms are pretty much
- 00:13:03referring to the same thing the purpose
- 00:13:06of a kick light and a hair light is to
- 00:13:09enhance the look of the subject on stage
- 00:13:12you're trying to light like a pastor or
- 00:13:14a worship leader anybody else who's
- 00:13:16talking during worship by separating
- 00:13:19them from their background so that's
- 00:13:21what the kick and the hair light does so
- 00:13:23we've got my front light and then a kick
- 00:13:25light or a hair light is going to be
- 00:13:27above the subject and a little bit
- 00:13:30behind like not too far behind so in
- 00:13:33this scenario here my kick light is this
- 00:13:36little led panel that's right above me
- 00:13:38my hand is pretty much on it right here
- 00:13:41it's probably like a foot or so above my
- 00:13:43head out of frame so you can't see it
- 00:13:46and you can see how it's it's kind of
- 00:13:48has this orange glow around my hat and
- 00:13:51here i can kind of adjust the brightness
- 00:13:52so it's too much if i do that right i
- 00:13:55actually have it on pretty dim i just
- 00:13:57want it to be
- 00:13:58glowing a little bit and then you can
- 00:14:00kind of see again the difference let me
- 00:14:02shut it off so that's no hair light
- 00:14:05notice how
- 00:14:06um kind of flat the image looks and i
- 00:14:08kind of get absorbed into the background
- 00:14:11behind me right and then when i turn it
- 00:14:12on it kind of helps separate me so you
- 00:14:15get the hair on my shoulders and on top
- 00:14:17of my head and that's separating me from
- 00:14:19the background and it's subtle it's one
- 00:14:21of those things where like you kind of
- 00:14:22almost don't notice at all
- 00:14:24until i demo that to you right there and
- 00:14:26you see it before and after and it's
- 00:14:27like whoa that's a huge difference i
- 00:14:29would never want to be without a kick
- 00:14:31light or a hair light so let's head on
- 00:14:33to the worship center and i'll demo that
- 00:14:35for you there so here's what it looks
- 00:14:36like with our hair light or our kick
- 00:14:38lights on at south fellowship let me go
- 00:14:40ahead and i will turn off the front
- 00:14:43lights
- 00:14:44and now i'm going to only turn on the
- 00:14:46back hair light so now you can see
- 00:14:49there's sort of a glow around the top of
- 00:14:51my head and my shoulders here and it's
- 00:14:54creating that separation between me and
- 00:14:56the background and here is what that
- 00:14:59hair light looks like
- 00:15:01from the side angle here so you can kind
- 00:15:02of get a better picture of where this
- 00:15:05light is placed notice it's not
- 00:15:07necessarily a 45 degree angle behind me
- 00:15:09it doesn't need to be it can be you know
- 00:15:11above me in a little bit behind me i
- 00:15:13think it's around like 16 to 20 degrees
- 00:15:16or degrees or something like that so
- 00:15:18it's not as far back
- 00:15:20when you're having the kick lights and
- 00:15:22again it's going to create that nice
- 00:15:24kind of silhouette look it's going to
- 00:15:26separate me from the background so now
- 00:15:28i'm going to combine the front lights
- 00:15:30with the hair light behind me and here's
- 00:15:33what it looks like when i shut off the
- 00:15:34hair light you can see it just kind of
- 00:15:36like loses that separation of uh from on
- 00:15:39the back of me and then i turn the hair
- 00:15:41light back on and then that kind of
- 00:15:43comes back a little bit here we don't
- 00:15:45always have the hair light on 100 full
- 00:15:47sometimes around 60 to 70 percent and
- 00:15:49let's go back to the front angle here so
- 00:15:52you can kind of see the combined results
- 00:15:54of these
- 00:15:56two lighting fixtures working together
- 00:15:58so let's go ahead and turn off
- 00:16:00the hair light so no hair light
- 00:16:03and now bringing the hair light back on
- 00:16:06so that's the hair light or the kick
- 00:16:07light demoed in this space we also have
- 00:16:10some colored kick lights or hair lights
- 00:16:13so if i go ahead and i turn on behind me
- 00:16:16here there's a kind of blue you can see
- 00:16:18the blue cyan colors behind me and let
- 00:16:21me just turn down my front lights just
- 00:16:23so you get a better
- 00:16:25look at what that looks like here so
- 00:16:27this kick light look if you use some
- 00:16:29blues or purples in combination with
- 00:16:32those front lights it can look really
- 00:16:34sharp i think especially for a worship
- 00:16:36leader setting i think for like teaching
- 00:16:38pastors i usually like to have a more
- 00:16:41you know kind of incandescent
- 00:16:43warmer look to that kick light that's
- 00:16:45why we use our regular fixtures for that
- 00:16:47but we do have the blue look here and
- 00:16:49then let me go ahead and bring in our
- 00:16:52front lights and that's a pretty
- 00:16:53pleasing look to have the natural front
- 00:16:56light
- 00:16:57lighting the front of me and then having
- 00:16:59the the blue kick light that again it's
- 00:17:01creating that separation between me and
- 00:17:03the background step number three which
- 00:17:05is very easy to implement in most
- 00:17:07churches is a wall wash so whatever
- 00:17:10platform or stage you have at your
- 00:17:12church you most likely have some walls
- 00:17:15at the back of that
- 00:17:16space or that stage and one of the
- 00:17:19easiest ways to have some some color
- 00:17:22lighting design on your stage is to
- 00:17:24simply wash color light onto the wall
- 00:17:27behind your band i've done this in many
- 00:17:29church contexts and now i'm going to
- 00:17:31turn on my led light that i have here in
- 00:17:33my studio and you'll kind of get a sense
- 00:17:35of what i'm talking about so this is an
- 00:17:37led light tube i like to use it for
- 00:17:39youtube videos and stuff like that it's
- 00:17:42a nan light pavo tube 30c i think they
- 00:17:46do make dmx enabled ones if you ever
- 00:17:48wanted to integrate that into a dmx
- 00:17:52lighting system for your church i would
- 00:17:53love to get a ton of these sometimes but
- 00:17:56in terms of this concept here of a wall
- 00:17:59wash it to illustrate this for you i'll
- 00:18:01just put it behind me and i'll have it
- 00:18:03kind of pointing at the wall behind me
- 00:18:05because i don't really want it in front
- 00:18:06of me because i'm going to look blue
- 00:18:08kind of like a smurf that doesn't look
- 00:18:09good right so watch this now that light
- 00:18:11is behind me it's directed more at the
- 00:18:14wall you can kind of see some of it also
- 00:18:16reflecting on me a little bit that light
- 00:18:18doesn't give me much control over that
- 00:18:20that beam of light it kind of just like
- 00:18:22washes everywhere but you get the idea
- 00:18:24that's a wall wash and for a lot of
- 00:18:26church stage setups and platforms you
- 00:18:29probably have some bare walls behind
- 00:18:31your band
- 00:18:32or you know just behind the pulpit or
- 00:18:34wherever it is that if you threw light
- 00:18:36onto those walls it's going to add some
- 00:18:38nice color and start adding some nice
- 00:18:41effects so now let's head on into the
- 00:18:42worship center and i'll demonstrate to
- 00:18:44you what this looks like in our setup so
- 00:18:46we're back here at south fellowship
- 00:18:47church and i want to show you our wall
- 00:18:49wash fixtures i'm just going to pan over
- 00:18:51here and you can kind of get a feel for
- 00:18:53it this panel right here
- 00:18:55the stage is a little bit of mester in
- 00:18:56the midweek here but we have these
- 00:18:58wooden panels behind us and i'll cut in
- 00:19:00some other footage from other events
- 00:19:02that we've had here where you can see
- 00:19:04sometimes we actually don't have the
- 00:19:05screen behind me we turn the screen
- 00:19:07around and we have paneling and we have
- 00:19:09lights that are shining down on those
- 00:19:11panels that is our wall wash here at
- 00:19:13south fellowship and really depending on
- 00:19:15the week or the sermon series or the
- 00:19:17style we're going for on our stage
- 00:19:19design it can be different in how much
- 00:19:21wall wash we're using and i do think a
- 00:19:24projector like what we're using right
- 00:19:25now on a on a white reflective service
- 00:19:27surface can function as a wall wash
- 00:19:30there's some churches that use kind of
- 00:19:31environmental projection and that's
- 00:19:33basically what that is is a wall wash
- 00:19:36it's adding lots of color behind me and
- 00:19:38i have a few different presets so i can
- 00:19:40change it to different colors like red
- 00:19:43and then we've got
- 00:19:44amber
- 00:19:45and we've got purple
- 00:19:47and we also have some movement in some
- 00:19:49of these scenes too so you'll actually
- 00:19:51see
- 00:19:52these lights kind of fading in and out
- 00:19:54behind me you can kind of see them on
- 00:19:56the top of the screen because it kind of
- 00:19:58washes onto the top of the screen
- 00:20:00as well and that adds a cool kind of
- 00:20:02visual dynamic all with a simple wall
- 00:20:05wash step number four is when you start
- 00:20:08adding in atmospheric effect lighting
- 00:20:11this is when you start working with
- 00:20:12lighting fixtures like moving lights
- 00:20:14that have gobos and cool beams and of
- 00:20:17course you're gonna need a hazer that
- 00:20:19creates that atmospheric effect that you
- 00:20:21can see the beams of light
- 00:20:23there's blinder fixtures there's lasers
- 00:20:26there's all sorts of fancy lights that
- 00:20:28you can get into when it comes to the
- 00:20:30atmospheric lights and this should
- 00:20:33always be step number four there's a
- 00:20:35reason why i ordered these steps in the
- 00:20:37way that i did because you got to have
- 00:20:39number one good front lighting number
- 00:20:41two a kick light number three that's
- 00:20:43when you can start doing some
- 00:20:45wall uh washes and then step number four
- 00:20:48that's when you should worry about
- 00:20:49moving fixtures and such don't get this
- 00:20:52out of order don't go building a
- 00:20:54lighting system and thinking oh i need
- 00:20:55to buy a bunch of moving lights with
- 00:20:56gobos like no don't do that prioritize
- 00:21:00in the exact order that i laid them out
- 00:21:02for you here so now let's head back on
- 00:21:04over to south fellowship church and talk
- 00:21:07about some of the atmospheric lighting
- 00:21:08effects that we have set up there so
- 00:21:11here is our simple use of atmospheric
- 00:21:14lighting effects here at south
- 00:21:15fellowship i would consider our
- 00:21:17atmospheric lights here to be our edison
- 00:21:20bulbs so if i turn on these light bulbs
- 00:21:22you kind of see them all around the back
- 00:21:24of me on stage here we don't run any
- 00:21:27haze we don't have any fancy moving
- 00:21:29lights but these edison bulbs function
- 00:21:32as atmospheric effect lighting you could
- 00:21:35also get like tube light fixtures like
- 00:21:37the kind i have in my studio
- 00:21:39you can again you can get movers
- 00:21:41you can get profile lights you can get
- 00:21:44led wash movers you can get the ones
- 00:21:46that have gobos built into it you can
- 00:21:48get blinders there's all sorts of
- 00:21:50different atmospheric lights out there
- 00:21:52and this is our simple implementation of
- 00:21:54it where we made these edison
- 00:21:57light stands and we're hanging edison
- 00:21:58light bulbs from the ceiling and it just
- 00:22:00has a really nice homey cozy glow to the
- 00:22:04stage that fits the vibe of our church
- 00:22:06so those are the four steps to
- 00:22:09professional lighting design have
- 00:22:10adequate front wash lights have an
- 00:22:13adequate kick light have wall wash and
- 00:22:15then have your atmospheric effects but
- 00:22:18those last don't put atmospheric effects
- 00:22:21before one two or three a word about
- 00:22:25style all churches are unique there's so
- 00:22:28many different styles of worship out
- 00:22:30there and denominations you get
- 00:22:31traditional contemporary modern cafe
- 00:22:34style churches just all sorts of
- 00:22:36different styles right
- 00:22:38all churches regardless of your
- 00:22:40tradition denomination should observe
- 00:22:42steps one and two uh the front and kick
- 00:22:45lighting so that people are visible and
- 00:22:47your live stream is going to look good i
- 00:22:49know sometimes i've hear from people uh
- 00:22:51who are like jake i'm at a roman
- 00:22:54catholic church or i'm at a lutheran
- 00:22:56church and we have a traditional
- 00:22:57building and we don't really want to do
- 00:22:59like crazy modern lighting and that's
- 00:23:01okay you can still observe these
- 00:23:04principles from steps one and two when
- 00:23:06you have adequate front lights and kick
- 00:23:08lights and you don't have to have any
- 00:23:10wall washes or any atmospheric effects
- 00:23:12and that that can work well for a
- 00:23:14traditional church but
- 00:23:16you might also want to explore some
- 00:23:18different scenarios even if you're a
- 00:23:20traditional church you could implement
- 00:23:22some wall washes and i've seen that
- 00:23:23before there's an anglican church in
- 00:23:25town if you look at wellspring anglican
- 00:23:28church look them up on youtube we've
- 00:23:30done tech tours with them where they had
- 00:23:32wall washes and they would change the
- 00:23:34colors of those wall washes depending on
- 00:23:36the season of the liturgical calendar so
- 00:23:40there's actually probably a lot of
- 00:23:41creative things you could do with
- 00:23:42lighting if you ever went down that
- 00:23:45route even if you're in a more
- 00:23:46traditional church steps three and four
- 00:23:48that we covered in this four-step
- 00:23:50process that will look different in
- 00:23:52every church setting it has a lot to do
- 00:23:54with your mission your style your values
- 00:23:57your budget how many of these fancy
- 00:23:59lights do you want to get so i'm not
- 00:24:01going to prescribe
- 00:24:02and say like every single church has to
- 00:24:04implement these fancy things like a
- 00:24:06hazer machine and moving lights that
- 00:24:09that would be foolish it just doesn't
- 00:24:10make sense because those are artistic
- 00:24:12creative choices that have to be
- 00:24:14contextualized to your local church
- 00:24:17context and before we move on in this
- 00:24:19course i do want to spend some time just
- 00:24:21talking about
- 00:24:22what is light just the concept of light
- 00:24:24hopefully now you have lots of clarity
- 00:24:27on that four-step process and how to
- 00:24:29design a great system but let's just
- 00:24:30talk about the nature of light so light
- 00:24:32is a pretty magnificent thing that god
- 00:24:35created right and that's what the very
- 00:24:36first thing he created was light so it's
- 00:24:39kind of a big deal and it's it's a part
- 00:24:42of our lives in a lot of different ways
- 00:24:44so light exists on the electromagnetic
- 00:24:46spectrum and maybe this is going to
- 00:24:49bring back some good memories or bad
- 00:24:51memories from your high school physics
- 00:24:54courses back in the day
- 00:24:56but visible light is is just a small
- 00:24:58portion of the electromagnetic spectrum
- 00:25:02right on the far left you got like radio
- 00:25:04waves and on the far right you've got
- 00:25:06gamma rays
- 00:25:08and in between this is the visible light
- 00:25:10that's pretty safe and this is the light
- 00:25:12that we can you know see and and
- 00:25:14perceive the world around us and then
- 00:25:17you have red on the left which has the
- 00:25:19the longer wavelengths and then you have
- 00:25:22like the violet which has the shorter
- 00:25:23wavelengths
- 00:25:25none of this is super important or
- 00:25:26relevant to church lighting design but
- 00:25:29just wanted to bring bring you back to
- 00:25:31some of these fundamental principles
- 00:25:32about light is that it basically
- 00:25:35consists of a ton of different
- 00:25:37wavelengths of
- 00:25:39electromagnetic particles and waves
- 00:25:41right light is both a particle and a
- 00:25:43wave i do remember that back from
- 00:25:44physics so
- 00:25:45that's the first thing to understand
- 00:25:47about visible light which was what we
- 00:25:49are working with cri is another
- 00:25:51important concept to understand when it
- 00:25:53comes to
- 00:25:54light because a lot of the lighting
- 00:25:56fixtures that you're going to purchase
- 00:25:57might have a cri
- 00:25:59number assigned to them that's a color
- 00:26:01rendering index and the
- 00:26:05short answer to what this all means is
- 00:26:07basically
- 00:26:09if you go with a light that's that's
- 00:26:11cheap and inexpensive it's going to have
- 00:26:12a low cri
- 00:26:14and you're going to get very poor
- 00:26:16results cheap lights are going to look
- 00:26:17bad and
- 00:26:19better lights they don't always have to
- 00:26:20be super expensive but probably
- 00:26:22somewhere in the
- 00:26:24high hundreds to a thousand dollars or
- 00:26:26so per fixture those are going to have a
- 00:26:29higher cri with
- 00:26:32a rating of 100. 100 is the same type of
- 00:26:35light quality we get from the sun the
- 00:26:37sun is emitting
- 00:26:39all of the different uh wave forms that
- 00:26:43we talked about earlier on this previous
- 00:26:45slide pretty much all the red through
- 00:26:47the purple at the same amount or mostly
- 00:26:49the same amount in such a way that when
- 00:26:52the sunlight hits an object like an
- 00:26:54apple we we see that the apples color um
- 00:26:57in in the most full way it's fully
- 00:27:00saturated
- 00:27:02and the apple looks great but if you get
- 00:27:05cheap little rgbw
- 00:27:07parkan light from you know
- 00:27:10alibaba or something like that
- 00:27:12and you light the apple
- 00:27:14that little led park hand because it's
- 00:27:16so cheap it's not producing all of the
- 00:27:19same wavelengths that you get from the
- 00:27:21sun so
- 00:27:22you know when you're looking at the
- 00:27:24apple you're actually seeing the light
- 00:27:26that's being reflected off the apple to
- 00:27:28your eye right and if there's not a good
- 00:27:30light source that's illuminating that
- 00:27:32apple
- 00:27:33then you're just not gonna see actually
- 00:27:35all of the color that that apple has so
- 00:27:38that's why you know cheap light has a
- 00:27:40poor cri it's gonna be in 70 and it's
- 00:27:43gonna look weird it kind of has this
- 00:27:44weird like
- 00:27:45purplish tint and that's the same exact
- 00:27:48um results that i've seen in some of the
- 00:27:51you know cheap led
- 00:27:53lights that i've tried to implement at
- 00:27:54churches before in the past and i've
- 00:27:56always wondered why do they look so
- 00:27:58horrible why do the people kind of look
- 00:27:59purple on stage
- 00:28:01has to do with cri so here's an example
- 00:28:04of what a cri test looks like on a light
- 00:28:07it's basically divided up into these
- 00:28:09like 15
- 00:28:10r
- 00:28:11zones or measurements the higher that
- 00:28:14these measurements are closer to 100
- 00:28:16just the more accurate the the color is
- 00:28:19going to look of the object that's being
- 00:28:21illuminated by this light so the
- 00:28:23important thing is to know when it comes
- 00:28:25to cri look for things that are at least
- 00:28:27like 90 and above if it's below 90
- 00:28:29especially for like your front wash
- 00:28:31lights when you're illuminating people's
- 00:28:33skin tones and you want them to look
- 00:28:35natural don't go cheap with inexpensive
- 00:28:37low cri lights another concept i want to
- 00:28:40make you familiar with is color
- 00:28:42temperature so this one's pretty
- 00:28:44straightforward even if you're not a
- 00:28:46tech geek it's pretty easy to see and
- 00:28:48understand what's going on so
- 00:28:51color temperature is is the way of
- 00:28:54basically rating the the temperature of
- 00:28:56that light is it going to be a cooler
- 00:28:58temperature is it going to be a warmer
- 00:29:00temperature so it's rated in kelvins
- 00:29:02that's what k stands for and on the left
- 00:29:05side of the chart here you'll see 1500
- 00:29:07kelvin is about the equivalent of
- 00:29:09candlelight which is about as warm as a
- 00:29:12light can possibly get on the right side
- 00:29:15you have daylight to ultra daylight so
- 00:29:18this is where it starts to get blue or
- 00:29:20have a very cool feel too color
- 00:29:22temperature is going to be important for
- 00:29:23the front lighting that you have at your
- 00:29:25church and the sweet spot you're going
- 00:29:27to be looking for
- 00:29:28color temperature wise for those front
- 00:29:30lights is going to be somewhere around
- 00:29:31here
- 00:29:324 000. sometimes i have i really prefer
- 00:29:35like daylight front lights closer to
- 00:29:38like 5 000 but in a
- 00:29:40venue like a church where you have a
- 00:29:42stage and you also want people to kind
- 00:29:44of look good you know in person it's not
- 00:29:46just about what you're producing for
- 00:29:48camera like i am here
- 00:29:49i think the 4 000 4500 range is going to
- 00:29:52be ideal for color temperature because
- 00:29:55let me show you what happens when i
- 00:29:56dramatically change the color
- 00:29:58temperature of this key light currently
- 00:30:00this color temperature this light is
- 00:30:01actually like 5600 now i drop the color
- 00:30:04temperature of this light down to 3 000.
- 00:30:06and my camera is not on auto white
- 00:30:09balance it probably would have adjusted
- 00:30:11it automatically i have it locked in to
- 00:30:135600 kelvin because that's what i had
- 00:30:15had it at before
- 00:30:17and you can just see how
- 00:30:19yellow and warm i look in this image so
- 00:30:22you definitely don't want to go too warm
- 00:30:24because it just looks too warm it
- 00:30:26i kind of look orange and here we are
- 00:30:28back to 5600 kelvin from my studio key
- 00:30:31light now let's talk about ambient light
- 00:30:33so ambient light is the light coming
- 00:30:35from other sources in a church setting
- 00:30:37it's most commonly the windows that you
- 00:30:39have within your worship center that can
- 00:30:42become an issue sometimes especially if
- 00:30:44you're trying to have more of the wall
- 00:30:46washes and the atmospheric lighting
- 00:30:49effects that have color and the problem
- 00:30:52is if you have a ton of ambient light
- 00:30:54coming in the room those lights aren't
- 00:30:56going to do a whole lot because all the
- 00:30:58ambient light is washing out everything
- 00:31:00i think if you're in a more traditional
- 00:31:01church with big stained glass windows
- 00:31:03and you have lots of ambient light
- 00:31:05that's fine it you'll just add light to
- 00:31:08the front light and maybe a kick light
- 00:31:10so that your subjects subjects can be
- 00:31:12seen more clearly and generally you're
- 00:31:14going to be lighting them a decent
- 00:31:16amount brighter than any ambient light
- 00:31:18coming in the room but if you're in a
- 00:31:19more modern church setting and you you
- 00:31:21want to have more control over the color
- 00:31:24wall washes or atmospheric washes and
- 00:31:28effects and have a hazer that's when
- 00:31:30you're going to have to work on some
- 00:31:31sort of ambient light control situation
- 00:31:34because if you don't then all that
- 00:31:36ambient light is going to wash out all
- 00:31:37the color and effects and you won't even
- 00:31:39know that they're there my favorite
- 00:31:41solution to this is using something like
- 00:31:43a solar shade so you can contact local
- 00:31:46blind supply or shade companies in your
- 00:31:49area usually they have options for solar
- 00:31:51shades i like solar shades because
- 00:31:54they're black they kind of are pretty
- 00:31:56minimalistic especially if you roll them
- 00:31:57all the way up you just barely can tell
- 00:31:59they're even there and then when they're
- 00:32:01down you have different options of
- 00:32:03having one percent open shades to five
- 00:32:06to ten percent um so
- 00:32:09you know you could probably get away
- 00:32:11with anywhere from i'd say five to one
- 00:32:13is what i would prefer we have one
- 00:32:15percent in our studio here so we have
- 00:32:17big windows over here but you wouldn't
- 00:32:18be able to tell because the shades are
- 00:32:20only letting in one percent of that
- 00:32:22ambient light but then i can still see
- 00:32:24outside um so i really like that because
- 00:32:27you still get the view of a window
- 00:32:29obviously it's a different type of view
- 00:32:31because you're looking through that that
- 00:32:32shade or that screen
- 00:32:34but in a lot of churches that could mean
- 00:32:36a lot because i was in a church one time
- 00:32:38that has some beautiful stained glass
- 00:32:39windows they let in a lot of light so we
- 00:32:42put some nice you know sleek shoulder
- 00:32:44solar shades um at the top of the the
- 00:32:46windows and then you know before our
- 00:32:48modern contemporary service we put the
- 00:32:50shades down and we just did manual
- 00:32:52shades because it took about 30 seconds
- 00:32:54to do and then that really controlled a
- 00:32:56lot of the amount of ambient light
- 00:32:58coming in but then as a congregant you
- 00:33:01could still enjoy the the beautiful
- 00:33:03design of the stained glass because it
- 00:33:05was still coming through at one percent
- 00:33:08through that shade so solar shades i
- 00:33:10love them i'm always a big advocate for
- 00:33:12those especially for churches if you
- 00:33:13want to still see out the windows and
- 00:33:15have the feel that you have windows i've
- 00:33:17seen motorized curtains at churches i've
- 00:33:19seen motorized garage doors there's all
- 00:33:22sorts of solutions out there but just be
- 00:33:24mindful of ambient light in whatever
- 00:33:27church situation you find yourself
- 00:33:29finally i want to talk about the most
- 00:33:30common mistakes to avoid when it comes
- 00:33:32to lighting in a church setting
- 00:33:35here they are not enough front light or
- 00:33:38key light so people just aren't being
- 00:33:40lit adequately enough um having no back
- 00:33:43or kick or kicker light at all
- 00:33:45having no hair light so the image just
- 00:33:47looks really flat and the subjects are
- 00:33:49not standing out from the background not
- 00:33:51having beam control basically these
- 00:33:53first three problems are so common and
- 00:33:55these are the exact ones that i showed
- 00:33:57you back at grace church so you have a
- 00:33:59bunch of maybe front lights but they're
- 00:34:01just washing over the entire stage they
- 00:34:03were never aimed intentionally anywhere
- 00:34:05you don't have barn doors or shutters on
- 00:34:07those fixtures so the light just goes
- 00:34:09everywhere
- 00:34:10and then complex lighting control this
- 00:34:13is another very common thing where
- 00:34:14someone at some time purchased the big
- 00:34:17fancy theatrical lighting console for
- 00:34:19your church it's completely overkill
- 00:34:22nobody knows how to run it it's really
- 00:34:23frustrating and just makes you want to
- 00:34:25pull your hair out and you just hope
- 00:34:26that nothing breaks and you cross your
- 00:34:28fingers so
- 00:34:29we're going to be talking about
- 00:34:30simplifying your lighting control with
- 00:34:32lightkey later on in the course and then
- 00:34:34finally another very common mistake is
- 00:34:36using inexpensive low cri fixtures which
- 00:34:39we talked about earlier of trying to
- 00:34:41save a buck you get cheap fixtures and
- 00:34:44then everybody just looks they look
- 00:34:45sickly it looks purple or
- 00:34:48just looks very strange especially on
- 00:34:51camera so these are the common mistakes
- 00:34:53to avoid if you avoid these your
- 00:34:55lighting's going to look amazing by just
- 00:34:58avoiding these common mistakes so that
- 00:34:59concludes this lesson on lighting theory
- 00:35:02in best practices
- 00:35:04please please implement the four steps i
- 00:35:07talked about earlier in order and keep
- 00:35:10these steps in mind as we go about
- 00:35:12thinking about the anatomy of a lighting
- 00:35:14system as you design your system and
- 00:35:16then you actually start working in your
- 00:35:18control software come back to these
- 00:35:21re-watch the lesson if you need to
- 00:35:23because you are going to be using these
- 00:35:25in whichever church lighting context you
- 00:35:27find yourself and that concludes this
- 00:35:30lesson
- 00:35:31thanks so much for watching this video
- 00:35:33if you want more in-depth lessons on
- 00:35:35implementing the best gear and software
- 00:35:37in your ministry check out
- 00:35:39worshipministryschool.com
- 00:35:41not only do we have a comprehensive
- 00:35:43course library on all of the subjects
- 00:35:46when it comes to audio visuals lighting
- 00:35:48automation and broadcast but you can
- 00:35:49also get one-to-one coaching from one of
- 00:35:52our team members and there's even an
- 00:35:54option where we can come to your church
- 00:35:56to help you optimize these things in
- 00:35:58person within just a few days so go to
- 00:36:00worshipministryschool.com
- 00:36:02apply to join our program and we'll talk
- 00:36:04soon thanks for watching i'll see you
- 00:36:06next time
- 00:36:16you
- Lighting Design
- Church Lighting
- Worship Services
- Lighting Techniques
- CRI
- Color Temperature
- Live Streaming
- Lighting Objectives
- Atmospheric Effects
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