Performance Lighting Design

A practical guide to the art and technique of lighting for the stage, this book explains the complex mixture of craft, collaboration and creativity behind successful lighting design. The designer paints with light - revealing form and composing a living picture from collections of objects and bodies in a given space. This handbook for professional practice walks you through how to achieve this, from first concept to development of design ideas, planning to realisation and, finally, public performance. Now fully revised, this second edition of Nick Moran’s Performance Lighting Design has been brought up to date to consider advances made in the technology used for lighting design for live performance. Alongside this, Moran introduces new concepts and ways of working; includes a section on analysing the finished design; and discusses recent research into contemporary lighting practice, addressing emerging trends, particularly for drama. Combining practical information with aesthetic considerations, Performance Lighting Design is the ideal book for students and practitioners of stage lighting working on the contemporary stage.

"This book has to be essential reading for any potential student of lighting design because it manages to combine the aesthetic with technique so successfully. The descriptions of the objectives of lighting design as a creative medium not only inform the student but also inform all the various aspects of theatrical collaboration that makes performance work. There's much to be gained from reading this book for directors, set and costume designers, performers and indeed anyone who is intrigued by our mysterious artform" --Peter Mumford, international lighting designer

"Nick Moran's book is a great guide to the subject of how to design light for the stage (or other performance space). It is perfect for anyone studying the art and craft of lighting both designers and technicians as it covers both how and why to make lighting decisions... it is easy to dip in and out of the book for reference as well as reading it through for an overview of current lighting practice." --Nick Peel, Lecturer in lighting design and technology, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, UK