Use of Outdoor Lighting as part television programme

Television is a big part of everyone's life and it is hard to imagine life without it.  Before the days of television, people used to listen to the wireless or go to the picture palaces for an evening out.  When television first came into our homes there was only one channel the BBC and all programmes were in black and white.  Now there are so many channels to choose from there is something to suit everyone.  Some channels are mostly documentaries while others deal more with up-to-date topics including the news.  The news is brought into our homes from all over the world and is shown on most channels at certain times of the day. There are plenty of quiz shows such as Who wants to be a Millionaire, Weakest Link, Countdown, Family Fortunes to name just a few.  Many people like to watch detective serials such as The Bill, Agatha Christie's Murder She Wrote and Midsummer Murders. Programmes such as the X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing are very popular as viewers can vote for their favourite contestant by ringing in. Whoever gets the lowest vote will have to leave the contest. These programmes will run for about ten weeks before the winner is finally selected.  Also reality programmes such as Big Brother and I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here are enjoyed by many people.  All of these programmes are reliant on good lighting and outdoor lights together with garden lights are used for outdoor scenes. 

The most popular programmes of all are the television soaps and are regularly watched each week religiously by thousands of people.  Coronation Street was the very first soap programme which has now been running for over fifty years.  This soap is centred on northern families who all live on Coronation Street and follows their day to day comings and goings.  The longest serving member of the cast is Ken Barlow who has been in the programme right from the first episode and is now over seventy years old. The meeting point for all the families is the Rovers Return which is the pub at the end of the street. Many arguments have taken place in there over the years ending with fighting in the street.  To be able to film these outside scenes cameras are set up and outdoor lights placed together with LED spotlights and floodlights.  LED fixtures add colour through mixing blue, green and red LEDs.    There is also the news agents called The Cabin which is owned by Rita and Norris where all the latest gossip is shared. Roy's Café, Audrey's Hairdressing Shop and Kevin's Garage are also a big feature in the soap.  There is the underwear factory next to Kevin's Garage where most of the women who live on Coronation Street work. Other popular television soaps are East Enders, Emerdale and Friends which is an American soap programme. Most soaps appear on our television sets between the hours of 7pm and 9pm.  Anyone who might miss an episode can always catch up as a repeat episode is usually shown.

When the television producers are filming scenes for a programme many of the scenes might appear to be taking place outside.  However, many of these scenes are actually taking place inside the studio using outdoor lights.  By the use of scenery as well as garden lights a night time scene using gobos can create the moon and stars and by using orange or red can create what looks like sunrise or sunset.  Different colours can alter the mood of a scene and the use of a red light will have a different effect to lavender light which adds a soothing effect. Outdoor lighting is used to draw attention from one area of the set of another. Television brings the world into our homes and for nature lovers, programmes which feature anything to do with wild life will be of interest.  Also programmes exploring different countries and cultures are very popular as are holiday programmes.  Without the use of outdoor lighting it would be very difficult to successfully film a lot of these programmes.  Before the cameras can start filming, it is important to get the lighting at a correct distance and the use of colour gels, garden lights and gobos are very often needed.