Start here if nobody explained the rig
Stage lighting setup, in the order that actually works
There is an order to this, and almost nobody is taught it. Faces readable first, then depth, then colour, and only then anything clever. Getting that order right is what separates a stage that reads from one that is merely bright, and it works on four fixtures as well as on forty.
The order to do it in
Step 1
Light faces first, from the front, bright enough to read from the back row even if the room lights stay up.
Step 2
Add light from behind the performers until they separate from the wall. This is where depth comes from when you cannot use haze.
Step 3
Keep saturated colour off faces. Put it behind and around people, where it costs you nothing on camera.
Step 4
Build three states you trust: spoken, full energy, quiet. Run the whole night off those rather than inventing looks live.
Step 5
Write the states down so whoever covers for you can run the same show.
Drills that practise this
Build the Look
Color Match
Read the Beam
Patch the Rig
Do it on your own rig
Put your fixtures in and get start addresses that leave room to change your mind, plus the real current draw so you know how many circuits you need. Free, and it needs no account.
Questions
Why does my stage look washed out on the stream?
Almost always too much saturated colour on the front light plus not enough level to beat the house lights. A camera has far less latitude than your eye, so front light wants to stay close to white and the colour wants to move behind the people.
Do I need haze?
Not to light a stage well, and plenty of rooms cannot use it at all because of detectors or the venue simply not allowing it. Haze makes beams visible in the air; without it you get depth from backlight instead, which is the single biggest upgrade available on a rig you already own.
How many fixtures do I actually need?
Fewer than you think. Front light on the people, something behind them, and one colour source will carry a whole show. Adding fixtures before you can use the ones you have is the most common way volunteer rigs get expensive without looking better.
More lighting guides
DMX lighting explained, without the jargon
Understand what a DMX address is, why fixtures fight each other, and how to patch a rig without overlaps.
How to program a light show
Understand how a programmed show is built and why edits to one cue leak into later ones.
Stage lighting for small venues and bars
Make a small handful of fixtures in a low room look deliberate rather than thrown at the stage.
How to light a band
Know where to put light on a band so it looks like a show rather than a lit rehearsal.
Stage lighting colours and what they actually do
Understand how stage colour mixes and which choices ruin faces.