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A simple square grid is usually hung from the ceiling or supported on the floor with four booms. The height of the grid is typically no more than ten feet, making it easy to move, focus, or regell a lamp.
The focus point, or Lighting Area, is normally located in the center of the grid. Often a short platform or table is used as a "stage." The student designer places the subject -- a bust of Shakespeare, an assembly of geometric shapes, a scaled model of a set -- on the stage and surrounds it with light.
The Lab is usually used to experiment with different instruments, mounting positions, and especially color. One question asked by the Costume Designer is "How will the lights effect the colors of my costumes?" A few experiments in the lab should provide the answer.
The layout for the Basic Light Lab (see figure on the left) includes 22 lamps: 13- 3 1/2 Ellipsoidals, 6- 6" Fresnels, and 3- 6x9 Ellipsoidals hung on a ten foot square grid supported 8' off the deck. The throw distance from the grid to the center of the "stage" is a little over six feet, the size of the pool of light created by a 6x9 Ellipsoidal at that distance is four feet. This plot makes it possible to experiment with different instruments (fresnels and ellipsoidals), positions (front, side, and back), as well as color and intensity. Each lamp would be individually cabled to the control board where it would be patched by the student designer.