Types of Lighting Equipment in Different Events

Lighting designers take into account a variety of factors when setting up an event stage. Realizing the importance of lighting equipment in events. It focuses on attracting the audience’s attention throughout the event.

You may wonder why lighting is so important. Simply put, it can radically change the impact of an event and transform the entire look and feel of the venue. Its main function is to showcase and enhance the value of the content you are presenting. Whether it is a conference, fashion show, or exhibition. As well as to attract and retain the attention of your audience throughout. It has the ability not only to temporarily charm them but also to leave a lasting impact on them.

This, of course, requires you to choose the most appropriate lighting solutions for what you want to show. Or where you want to direct your audience’s attention. Working with a professional audio and video provider who not only has the experience. But also the knowledge of the necessary equipment is crucial to the successful planning, installation, and operation of lighting fixtures and control systems.

Read also: What audio equipment do I need when hosting an event?

The main purposes of professional event lighting

Creating the perfect lighting is one of the most important considerations in the planning phase of any event. The right technology can make a huge difference in actually directing our attention to important elements of any space and event content.

Impact of Lighting and Focus

Although this may seem like an obvious statement, lighting doesn’t just mean that we turn on the lights and your event is ready to go. Professional lighting illuminates exactly what you want your audience to be looking at at any given moment. Lighting showcases presenters and artists, either statically or by following their movements, or it can “hide” them from your audience’s view when necessary. It shows what you want people to see, highlighting structures such as facades or landmarks, interior features of your venue, parts of a set or an entire stage, etc.

Setting the Scene

Setting the tone and atmosphere of your event not only in theory but also with the help of lighting can ensure that it leaves a lasting impact on your audience. It’s one of the easiest steps to achieve.

In fact, professional lighting for events evokes emotions. First, there’s the psychology of color. Depending on the emotions you want your audience to feel during your event, choosing not only the type of lighting but also the color is essential. For example, white is associated with cleanliness and purity. While red is the color of passion and danger. Yellow has been shown to exude warmth and happiness, while blue has a calming and cooling effect. And of course, green is the color of nature, etc. Colorful lights are a great way to evoke such feelings in the audience even before the event itself begins, setting the mood.

Types of Lighting Fixtures in Professional Events

Now that we’ve covered the purpose of lighting and the role it plays in creating memorable events. Let’s go over the different types of lighting used. Depending on their function. But before we get into the types of lighting fixtures that are suitable for specific types of events. Let’s explore three key distinctions by which we can classify event lighting:

Functional or Decorative Lighting

We can differentiate event lighting based on its function. The purpose of functional event lighting is to allow your audience to see the performers, presenters, products on display, etc. Your venue’s lighting system falls into this category, but so do stage lighting, washes, dimmable lights, spotlights, backlights, etc. These fixtures are usually mounted, mounted, or suspended from the ceiling or structure above, or placed around the stage on stands or on the floor. We might also consider LED walls as a light source in this case due to their brightness, which can illuminate the entire stage area.

Fixed or moving lights

Lights can also be classified based on their ability to move, which determines their use in any event. Backlighting, uplighting, fixed spotlights, and fixtures with a special panel that controls the shape, color, and shade of the emitted light can be classified, ideal for displaying static logos).

Indoor or outdoor lighting

The distinction between indoor and outdoor lighting does not indicate the types of fixtures you can use. On the contrary, most types of lighting can be used indoors and outdoors. As long as the fixtures are suitable for the conditions you want to subject them to (depending on the brand, material, and durability of the product). The differences in interior lighting and door lighting mostly come from the surroundings and the time of day your event is taking place.

When it comes to indoor events, your possibilities are endless. Regardless of whether your event is taking place during the day or at night. You can either work with the architectural features and equipment of the venue or build your own truss structures and equip the lighting fixtures according to your needs. Depending on the theme of the event and the mood you want to create, you can amplify or diminish the functional lighting,

Categories of lighting fixtures by event type and venue

We can further classify lighting by focusing on the types of events it is used for. Depending on its main purpose and what you want to achieve with it. Here are some examples where lighting is specifically designed for the venue/event:

Meeting and conference lighting

The main purpose of meetings, conferences, exhibitions, etc. is for the audience to interact with each other and with the presenters or speakers. This means that they not only need to be able to clearly see who is on stage. But also to see each other clearly at certain times. To best serve this purpose, the main type of lighting is always functional in such a setting.

Events. Venues where meetings and conferences are held – such as hotels, convention centers, etc. – are usually equipped with their own solutions. However, these solutions usually apply to the general lighting of the meeting room itself.

Professional event lighting must work in conjunction with the solutions offered by the venue. As well as seamlessly with the technology used at the event and the various parts of the program. Possible live broadcasting or streaming, on-site photography, and video recording. etc. without distracting the audience from what is happening on stage. Depending on the venue. Lighting installations for this type of event can be suspended, mounted, fixed, or placed on stands or on the floor next to the stage. Decorative lighting is also frequently used to highlight the products on display or specific areas and features of the venue.

Lighting of stadiums and halls

Major events such as sporting events and concerts can be transformed into unforgettable moments. Furthermore, the flexibility of modern stadiums and event halls is increasingly becoming a successful and competitive factor. A key element: lighting that perfectly organizes the event and at the same time provides the best viewing conditions. Integrated into a flexible infrastructure with open standards.

Architectural Lighting

This type of lighting works with and highlights the natural features and architectural characteristics of buildings and landmarks. It has gained immense popularity (especially in the last couple of years) due to the stunning visual impact it creates as well as the emotions it evokes in spectators. Of course, lighting large and sometimes irregular surfaces for long periods of time requires a great deal of planning. In addition to strong, durable, and energy-efficient lighting fixtures, they also have a high output and color gamut. Architectural lighting can be used both indoors (e.g. as accent lighting) and outdoors. However, the latter requires a slightly different approach.

Studio and Live Broadcast Lighting

In the last couple of years, live broadcasting and event streaming have skyrocketed for obvious reasons. This has led to a huge increase in studio production as well. Today’s leading lighting manufacturers have created entire product lines that are perfectly adapted to the specific requirements of a studio environment. The brightness of the lights, color temperature, brightness, light efficiency, heat output, energy savings, etc. will all affect the quality of the video output. Therefore, lighting fixtures must be carefully selected (and programmed).

In contrast to lighting for a personal event, in the case of live broadcasting. Lighting professionals need to carefully calibrate lights to avoid harsh tones, soften shadows (especially on presenters’ faces), reduce or increase contrast if necessary, brighten backgrounds, etc. In order to improve the quality and clarity of the video output. They also need to work with on-site technology, taking into account the brightness of LED panels (on walls, floors, screens, etc.) in the overall lighting setup. Of course, there are many other venues and types of events. Such as outdoor festivals, clubs, entertainment halls, weddings, gatherings, trade shows, exhibitions, etc. They all have specific lighting requirements, which a professional audiovisual partner can also take care of.