Glossary of Lighting Design

Backlight Light coming from behind scenery or actors to make the actors stand out against the background, or create a silhouette effect.

Colour filter Also known as a 'gel', a colour filter is positioned in front of a lantern to change the colour of the light. It is often used where digitally controlled LED lighting is unavailable or unsuitable. 

Crossfade Bringing another lighting state up to completely replace the current lighting state. Also applies to sound effects/music. Sometimes abbreviated to Xfade or XF. A dipless cross fade is where increasing light levels move upward evenly to their new state while simultaneously, decreasing levels move downward to their new state.

Downlight A  light from directly above the acting area. 

Flood   To wash the stage with general lighting. 

Gobo   Metal stencil placed in front of the lens of a lantern and used to project images or patterns on stage. 

Lantern The generic term for a stage light source. Also called instrument or luminaire in the US. 

LED   LED stage lights use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a light sorce. LED lights are an alternative to traditional stage lanterns that use halogen lamps or high-intensity discharge lamps. LED lanterns can provide easy variation in colour without the need for colour filters. 

Lighting state   The lighting set-up used at any given point in a production creating a lighting 'picture'. A lighting cue is given by the stage management which initiates the changing from one lighting state to the next.