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Lighting Theory — questions & answers

Angles, colour temperature, fixture families and the functions of light.

6 questions ▶ Take it interactively
  1. Roughly what colour temperature is standard tungsten stage light? ✓ 3200K · 5600K · 6500K · 2000K Tungsten reads warm at about 3200K. Daylight-balanced sources sit near 5600K.
  2. In the McCandless method, the two front "key and fill" lights are placed at roughly what horizontal angle? · Straight on (0°) ✓ ±45° · ±90° (dead side) · Directly above Two front lights about 45° to each side give modelling while keeping the face visible.
  3. Which fixture gives a hard-edged beam with shutters and gobo capability? · Fresnel · PAR can ✓ Profile / ellipsoidal · Cyc flood The profile (ellipsoidal) has a focusable hard edge, framing shutters and a gobo slot.
  4. Mixing red, green and blue light at full gives approximately… · Black · Brown ✓ White · Green Light is additive — RGB combined approaches white, unlike subtractive paint mixing.
  5. Which is NOT one of the classic functions of stage light? · Visibility · Selective focus · Mood & composition ✓ Lowering audio latency Visibility, focus, modelling and mood/composition are the functions of light. Audio is unrelated.
  6. Side light is especially prized in which discipline? ✓ Dance · Podcast · Architecture · Film dailies Side light reveals the three-dimensional shape of the body, which is why dance leans on it.

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