Exercises: Lighting, Sound, and Atmosphere
Part B is arithmetic. Do it with a calculator and do not round until the end.
Difficulty guide: ⭐ Foundational (5–10 min) · ⭐⭐ Intermediate (10–20 min) · ⭐⭐⭐ Challenging (20–40 min) · ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Advanced (40+ min)
Part A: Conceptual Understanding ⭐
A.1. State the chapter's threshold concept and explain why it is the same claim as Chapter 16's variable ranking.
A.2. Name the five jobs of light, give a fixture for each, and say which three make a room look intentional.
A.3. Why is a DJ's lighting rig not a lighting plan? Give three reasons.
A.4. Give the colour temperature ranges and say which is correct for a wedding. What is wrong with the phrase "warm white"?
A.5. What is CRI, what is a good value, and where does it matter?
A.6. List the eight things a lighting plot must state. Which two make it a plot rather than a picture?
A.7. State the power method and say what the 25% is for.
A.8. Give the wattage of: an LED uplighter · 100 ft of LED string · 100 ft of incandescent string · a battery PA · a DJ rig.
A.9. Name the five reasons an outdoor ceremony is hard to amplify.
A.10. How much does sound drop per doubling of distance outdoors? Compute the level at 50 ft and 400 ft from a 100 dB(A) source.
A.11. Define: wash, pin spot, practical, gobo, DMX, AFF, distro, lavalier, feedback.
Part B: Applied Analysis ⭐⭐
B.1. Compute four power budgets. For each, sum, add headroom, and size the generator:
- (a) DJ 1,600 W · 300 ft LED string · 16 uplighters · restroom trailer 2,200 W · caterer 3,200 W
- (b) The same, but with incandescent string
- (c) A 5-piece band (3,500 W) · 500 ft LED festoon · 20 uplighters · 2 pin spots · caterer with electric warming (4,800 W) · restroom 2,200 W
- (d) (c) plus a photo booth and a haze machine the couple booked in month eleven
For (d): what breaks, and what does it cost to fix at four weeks out?
B.2. Translate five design words. For each, write the fixture specification: "warm" · "moody" · "dramatic" · "like a summer evening" · "clean and modern". State the tension where two are requested together.
B.3. Build a plot. A 30 × 60 marquee, 120 guests, 15 tables, a bar at one end, a dance floor at the other. Produce a plot with all eight items from §18.3, including circuits and load per circuit. Then state the rig sequence and its dependencies.
B.4. Fix a placement. A rental company has delivered 14 uplighters and placed them flat against the sidewall at 4-foot centres. Diagnose and correct. What changes, and what does the correction cost?
B.5. Plan ceremony sound. An outdoor ceremony, 140 guests, no power within 200 feet, moderate breeze, a shy couple, three readings, and processional music. Specify the kit, the cost, the setup time, and the test.
B.6. Read a noise clause. "Amplified music shall cease at 11:00 p.m." List everything you still do not know, write the email that establishes it, and say what you would do differently if the venue is 90 feet from a house versus 900.
B.7. Write a cue sheet. For a wedding with: ceremony 3:00 indoors · cocktail hour 3:45 · dinner 5:30 · sunset 8:10 · first dance 9:15 · curfew 1:00 a.m. Include the free cues and name an owner per line.
B.8. Price the filament look. A couple wants vintage filament string lighting, 500 feet. Compute the load both ways, size both generators, and produce the honest price of the aesthetic decision — including the third option most suppliers do not lead with.
Part C: Real-World Application ⭐⭐–⭐⭐⭐
C.1. Measure a room. ⭐⭐ Use a free lux meter app in four rooms: a restaurant you like, a restaurant you do not, your own home in the evening, and an office. Record lux and estimate colour temperature. Report what the ones you like have in common.
C.2. Turn things off. ⭐⭐ In any room, photograph it with all lights on, then with only the warm low sources. Report the difference and how long it took.
C.3. Price three supply models. ⭐⭐⭐ For a 120-guest tented wedding, get quotes from a rental company, a lighting vendor, and a DJ for uplighting. Ask all three the three questions from §18.8a and report the answers verbatim.
C.4. Test a ceremony PA. ⭐⭐⭐ At any outdoor event, or set one up: put two people 18 inches apart, speaking quietly, with one lav between them, and walk to 40 feet. Then do it with wind. Report what you learn.
C.5. Measure a boundary. ⭐⭐ At any loud event, use a dB meter app at the source, at 50 feet, and at the property line. Compare to the 6 dB-per-doubling rule and report where screening changed it.
C.6. Find the noise condition. ⭐⭐⭐ For a real venue in your market, establish whether a licensing or planning noise condition exists, what it says, and where it is measured. Report what you could not establish.
Part D: Synthesis and Critical Thinking ⭐⭐⭐
D.1. Cross-chapter integration. Chapter 13's power budget, Chapter 16's four times of day, Chapter 17's install chain, and this chapter's cue sheet describe one evening. Build the single document that carries a fixture from specification to strike, with an owner per field.
D.2. Critique the leverage claim. §18.1 says lighting is the highest-leverage dollar in event design. Construct the case that this is a production person's bias — that guests do not notice lighting, that it is invisible in the way it is invisible to fail, and that the same money in food or music is more reliably felt. Then respond.
D.3. The DIY line. §18.9 says lighting can be DIY and sound cannot. Test that boundary. Where exactly is it, and is it really about skill or about failure mode? Name two lighting tasks a competent amateur should not do.
D.4. Cues and authority. §18.7 puts the string-light cue on "a named human." Argue that a wedding should not depend on a cue that a distracted person could miss, and design the alternative — a timer, an automation, a redundancy. Then say what is lost.
D.5. Transfer. Compare event lighting with theatre, film, retail, or architectural lighting. Which discipline's method transfers best, and what specifically would you steal?
D.6. The curfew. §18.6 says schedule the loud part early because a complaint at 9:20 is fixable and one at 10:20 is a shutdown. Generalise the principle and find three other places in this book where the same logic applies.
Part M: Mixed Practice (Interleaved) ⭐⭐–⭐⭐⭐
M.1. (Ch.13 + Ch.18) A caterer switches from propane to electric warming at −5 weeks. Compute the effect on the generator and price it.
M.2. (Ch.16) A couple's through-line is "nothing is shiny." Their DJ proposes moving heads with mirrored housings and a mirror ball. What do you say?
M.3. (Ch.17) A hanging floral installation and a string-lighting run occupy the same rafter. Sequence them and say who rigs first.
M.4. (Ch.9) Cable runs from a generator to a marquee across a guest path. Name every requirement and every liability question.
M.5. (Looks like one thing, is another) A couple says the room "felt cold" at their friend's wedding. Name four possible technical causes and the diagnostic question for each.
M.6. (Ch.14 + Ch.18) Dinner is family style with four platters per table. What does that do to the table-lighting specification?
Part E: Research and Extension ⭐⭐⭐⭐
E.1. Research colour temperature and colour rendering properly: what CCT and CRI measure, why CRI is a contested metric, and what has replaced or supplemented it (TM-30, R9). Write 800 words with sources, and say what a planner should actually specify.
E.2. Investigate noise regulation for outdoor events in your jurisdiction: what limits exist, how they are measured, who enforces them, and what the penalties are. Write 800 words. Report explicitly what you could not establish and who you would call.
E.3. Interview a production or lighting vendor. Ask: what do planners get wrong · what does a "lighting package" actually include · what is the cheapest thing you can do that makes the biggest difference · what have you seen fail? Write 700 words and compare to §18.8a.
Solutions
Selected solutions: appendices/answers-to-selected.md.
Power worksheet and fixture load table: appendices/appendix-b-quick-reference-cards.md.
Cue sheet template: appendices/appendix-a-templates-and-worksheets.md.