While there are some similarities between lighting for video and theatrical lighting, there are a lot of differences as well. Although we tend to use the same fixture types to light for video and drama, the techniques and primary objectives of each style of lighting are different. Here are a few of the primary differences between theatrical lighting for a drama and lighting for video.
In theatrical lighting your primary objective is lighting for the audience and, as such, everything that you do is geared toward what the audience will see and how they will experience it. When you light for video you light for what the camera will see and how the camera will experience it.
When lighting for drama we tend to use a lot of color; color on faces and strong color for backlight and sidelight. This color tends to change the natural flesh tone colorings of the actors' skin. In a live audience situation the coloring adds to the overall experience of the drama, however, if you were to shoot video of the drama, the color would make the actors look strange or sickly on camera.
Because of this, when we light for video we try to keep white light on people's faces and color for backlight or scenic lighting. In video we use the camera to focus the people's attention by shooting what we want people to pay attention to. Generally, when we light for video we light the full stage as evenly as possible, and then let the cameras provide the selective visibility. In drama, we use the lighting to focus people's attention on the areas that we want them to look at, so only small areas of the stage are lit at any one time.
