Light and shadow supply us with clues about the shape, curvature, and texture of objects, and the human sight system automatically perceives the brightness
pattern
of the viewed object as a
pattern
of light and shadow.
Choosing the appropriate angle of illumination can help sculpt objects and enhance their plasticity and volume, contributing significantly to the visual impact of the performance.
We tend to interpret the
pattern
of light and shadow as being the result of light coming from above, and the visual format of the human figure embedded in our brains is based an
overhead light
source. This is not surprising, considering that our visual system evolved under normal daylight conditions, with light coming from the sun and sky. Footlights, once such an important source of
stage
lighting, distort the familiar format of the human face, creating an inverted light and shadow
pattern
which is almost a negative of the normal, familiar pattern.
Faust, The New Israeli Opera.
The
stage
is usually lit by numerous light sources, each of which contributes to the
pattern
of light and shadow of the illuminated object. A shadow caused by one
light source
can be canceled out or softened by adding another light source. Different types of shadow have different effects on the
image
perceived by the spectator. Movement will affect our perception of the
pattern
of light and shadow. For instance, the static shadowing caused by highlighting the scenery will be much less distracting than the dynamic shadows cast by an actor moving across the stage. The use of
complementary colors
can enhance the light and shadow pattern, and filters of
complementary colors
can be used to great advantage in sculpturing and modeling the look of the actor.
If this sphere is lit from a number of angles at different levels of intensity, it will have volume and not seem distorted. If it is lit only from the front, it will look like a flat circle.
The lighting designer can use the angle of illumination in order to make an actor seem bigger or smaller, to
throw
silhouettes onto a screen, to emphasize or distort shapes, to alter the shape of the face, to focus attention and so on. The angle of illumination helps spectators to establish the correlation between the apparent source of light and the activity on stage.
Boris Godunov, The New Israeli Opera.
On a
stage
set of the interior of a house with a window in the wall, it would be natural for the light apparently coming through the window to emanate from a source located high above, as would be the case in reality. In a
scene
including a light bulb it is natural for the light to emanate from an angle similar to that of light coming from the bulb.
