Lighting

A Lighting Checklist to Work Through Before You Commit

Before anyone books a rig or hangs a single fixture, these are the questions worth settling: the room, the cameras, the presenters and the plan for the day itself.

Callum Reid

26 October 2026 5 min read

Start with the room, not the fixtures

Most lighting problems I am asked to fix were decided before a single lamp was chosen. The room came first, and nobody looked at it properly. Before you talk to anyone about a plot, walk the space with a tape measure and a notebook and write down what you find.

Ceiling height matters more than almost anything else. A low ceiling limits how far fixtures can sit from the presenter, which affects how soft the light can be and how much spill lands on the set behind them. Note the floor finish too, because a pale, glossy floor throws light back up and changes the whole balance of a shot. Then look at the walls and any windows, and at what the room is normally used for.

Ceiling height and any fixed beams or ducting
Windows, and whether they can be fully blacked out
Floor and wall colours that will bounce light
Where the power actually is, and how much of it

Know what the cameras need from you

Lighting for television is lighting for a particular camera, not for the human eye. Something that looks pleasant standing in the room can look flat, harsh or muddy on a monitor. So the first question is which cameras will be used, how they handle low light, and how many angles you need to cover at once.

A single locked-off interview shot is forgiving. A show that cuts between three cameras and a wide is not, because every angle has to look right at the same time without anyone moving a light mid-programme. Ask whoever is running the cameras what exposure they plan to work at, and whether the colour temperature of the lamps will match across the whole set. Mixing sources that do not match is a very common and very avoidable fault.

Think about the people standing in it

A lighting plot is judged by how the presenter and guests look, and they are not all the same height, age or skin tone. Decide in advance who will be on the set and how much they will move. A seated panel needs even light across several faces. A presenter who walks from a desk to a screen needs a plot that holds up along that whole route.

Glasses catch reflections, bald heads shine and deep-set eyes fall into shadow. None of this is a reason to worry, only a reason to check. Ask for a short test with the real people if you can, or at least someone of similar build, before the day. Ten minutes of adjusting a key light angle on the morning is far better than discovering a problem live.

Seated, standing or moving between positions
Glasses, hats or reflective surfaces
A mix of skin tones and ages in one shot

Be honest about the set and the background

The background is half of the picture, and it needs light of its own. A set that is lit only on the presenter looks like a person floating in a dark room. Decide what the background is meant to say, whether that is a clean news desk, a warm interview corner or a stage with a backdrop, and light it deliberately rather than by leftover spill.

Separation matters here. A little light from behind and above the presenter lifts them off the background and gives the shot depth. Practical lamps and screens on the set can add atmosphere, but they also add brightness you must account for, since a glowing monitor in frame can pull the exposure around. List everything on the set that emits light before the plot is drawn, and tell your lighting lead about each item.

Settle power, heat and rigging early

Fixtures need somewhere to hang and something to run on. Check whether the room has a lighting grid or whether stands will be needed, and how much floor they will take up in a space that also holds cameras, cables and people. Confirm the load a ceiling or truss can safely carry, and who is responsible for signing that off.

Power is the other quiet limit. A rig that is perfectly sensible on paper can trip a circuit once everything is switched on together. Ask for the available supply and add up what your plot draws, with some room left over. Heat counts as well, particularly in a small studio or a hall in the colder months, where a hot rig can be welcome for a morning and a nuisance by the afternoon.

Rigging points and their safe working loads
Total power drawn against what the room supplies
Cable routes that stay clear of walkways

Agree the plan for the day itself

A good plot still needs a sensible day around it. Agree when the lights go up, how long you need for setting and checking, and who has the final say if something looks wrong at the last minute. Build in time between the lights being ready and the doors opening, because someone will always want one small change.

Write down the plot, the fixture positions and the dimmer or desk settings, so the look can be rebuilt if anything is knocked or the show returns another week. Keep a spare for anything that tends to fail, and know who to ring. Calm lighting comes from decisions made well before the first rehearsal, not from fast thinking at the desk.

None of these questions needs special equipment to answer, only a little time and a willingness to write things down. If you can answer most of them clearly, you are ready to speak to a lighting designer with a brief that saves everyone effort. If you cannot, that is useful to know too, and a site visit is the sensible next step.