In professional lighting, the concept of “quality of light” primarily refers to how well a light source reproduces colors when lighting objects or people. When selecting an LED-based lighting fixture, several important factors come into play. The output levels need to match or surpass those of other lighting and video components and the color quality of the white light is crucial.
“White light is typically made up of the full spectrum coming from the sun. So it has all the colors we know from the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.” – Brad Schiller, Sr. Business Development Manager, Martin and HARMAN Professional.
Exploring the Color Spectrum
According to Mr. Brad Schiller, Sr. Business Development Manager for Martin Professional and HARMAN Professional Solutions, understanding the spectrum produced by a white light source is essential because it determines which colors will be visible. Mr. Schiller explains, “The spectrum produced by a white light source is very important to understand because it defines what colors you are going to actually see. White light is typically made up of the full spectrum coming from the sun. So it has all the colors we know from the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. However, not every LED white light source has all of those wavelengths in them.
So if you’re shining that white light onto a costume or scenery or a person’s face, you want to ensure it’s a full spectrum light source. Otherwise, you’ll be missing some of the wavelengths, and certain colors may not render correctly under that white light source.”
Color Rendering – a Key Benchmark for Quality of Light
Mr. Schiller continues, “Color rendering scores are very important to be concerned about when lighting people’s faces, costumes, or scenery because the white light that you’re illuminating these objects with may or may not be full spectrum. The most reliable rendering metric is TM30, developed by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).
“The most reliable rendering metric is TM30, developed by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES). TM30 uses 99 reference colors and provides a more accurate assessment.” – Brad Schiller, Sr. Business Development Manager, Martin and HARMAN Professional.
TM30 uses 99 reference colors and provides a more accurate assessment. The TM30 scale includes two components: the Fidelity Index (Rf), which measures how well colors match under the light source, and the Gamut Index (Rg), which evaluates whether the colors are over- or under-saturated. An Rg score of 100 indicates a perfect match with natural light. By looking at a color rendering score such as TM30, you can get an idea as to how well that light will render the various colors of a person’s face or scenery or a set piece.”
Mr. Schiller also points out, “Also, if you’re working with cameras shooting for television or film, you’re going to want to look at the color rendering metric called TLCI or Television Lighting Consistency Index. It’s designed to represent how colors will appear on camera and provides data to make necessary corrections. The TLCI value will tell you how well a white light source will render colors on camera. These metrics are crucial for settings where accurate color representation is necessary, such as stage lighting, pageants, fashion shows, or television studios.” Explore Mr. Schiller’s full ‘Quality of Light’ Webinar for Martin Professional.
Quality of Light from a Pageant Lighting Designer’s Perspective
According to Mr. Poon Limpapun, , “For pageantry, the most important thing is getting the right amount of light onto the pageant contestants. If we do not have the right lights, the contestants will not look good, whether viewing them in person or on camera.”
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Mr. Limpapun shared further, “Having the right lighting and color rendering also ensures fairness for judging the contestants. To do this, we ensure that the catwalk and the whole stage is well-lit. And then we also ensure that it is lit at the correct temperature. So we must make sure that the lighting fixtures we use have the correct color rendering when being shot by the camera because in broadcasting, it’s extremely important to deliver the right image to audiences both globally and locally. And having the right lighting is also important when dealing with multiple broadcast platform’s such as YouTube, live TV and many different devices. So we must ensure a really neutral lighting quality that will translate across all platforms.”
Martin MAC Encore: ‘Excellent Color Rendering in a Very Small Footprint’
We asked about specific fixtures Mr. Limpapun prefers to design and light with when lighting pageants. He continued, “We specifically like using the Martin MAC Encore because this fixture currently offers us the best quality of light and it offers really great brightness for what we currently doing. It also offers us excellent color rendering in a very small footprint. And with LED technology, we can get a really consistent brightness across the catwalk and across the stage. ”
Mr. Limpapun added, “With the framing capability and the focus, we are ensuring that we can keep the light within the catwalk and not spilling into the audience and onto the floor, and anywhere we don’t want. We can also shape the beam of the light really well. And when it comes to broadcasting, we really get a good image with light focused on the catwalk and not spilling into the audience.”
“Sometimes a client will ask, ‘Is that a projector?'”
When asked about MAC Encore features that truly stand out, Mr. Limpapun shared, “The feature that has stood out the most for us is that it is a completely theatrical light, but it also includes all the bells and whistles like gobo wheels and Martin’s animotion effect. Animotion allows us to control the LEDs individually, which allows us to produce great effects for gala dinners or other applications, outside of pageantry. We can get animation going on in the gobos and we can actually use the animation wheels to get really cool effects like water or fire, or leaves moving. Sometimes a client will ask, ‘Is that a projector?’ And they are really surprised when they find out it’s a moving light.”
“Regarding Martin as a brand, we are very, very happy.”
Mr. Limpapun also added his thoughts on Martin’s level of reliability, “Regarding Martin as a brand, we are very, very happy. It’s completely reliable. We have never had a problem with it.
We don’t need to think about things like: “What will go wrong?” or “Will my programming turn out right with the fixture?” or “Will it be able to continually deliver?” So in terms of, the reliability, we are really happy with it. We’ve never had a breakdown.”
“Martin fixtures allow us to assist our clients in achieving whatever they desire.”
Summing up his thoughts on working with Martin fixtures, Mr. Limpapun said, “Martin lights have been one of the workhorse fixtures within our company’s fleet. They offer extreme reliability and their fixtures are very good in terms of color rendering, brightness, and optical quality. Martin fixtures allow us to assist our clients in achieving whatever they desire. And Martin lighting looks good in person and on camera.”
In conclusion, with a deep understanding of the diverse needs of lighting professionals, Martin leads the industry by delivering unmatched quality of light, advanced effects, reliability, and efficient designs. Whether it’s pageantry, stage performances, or live broadcasts, Martin’s fixtures consistently deliver top-tier performance throughout the globe. We invite you to explore the Martin MAC Encore family as well as Martin’s complete professional entertainment and architectural lighting portfolio.
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