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Through rose-tinted spectacles
When you’re at a concert, the light show is a major part of the experience. Lights, or the lack of them, are used to great dramatic effect by the lighting designer, who is able to draw the eyes of the audience to different parts of the stage by the careful use and sequence of lights. Different coloured filters create mood and contrast as the music plays on.

Have you ever wondered how the lights at a concert are controlled?

You might like to …

• visit a local theatre or concert venue to find out how the professionals do it!
• carry out some tests to find out about light refraction; you could make ‘rainbow spinners’ to merge light, prisms to make primary colours, and ray boxes to merge them back together
• build your own model lighting stage and lighting console
• find out how coloured lighting (or ultraviolet lights) can affect the appearance of objects, like the colours of clothes, makeup or paints
• research whether the lights used in theatres or in nightclubs make people look more attractive.

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