I Interviewed Our Lead Lighting Designer. Here's What Surprised Me.
Every once in a while, we like to pull back the curtain and let you step inside the conversations happening at Platinum XP.
This time, our Director of Marketing, Zoe Haynes, sat down with Lead Lighting Designer, Nate Saunders, to learn what really goes into lighting a live event. Here are her biggest takeaways from the conversation.
I'll be honest... before this interview, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of event lighting. As the Director of Marketing, I spend a lot of time telling the stories behind the events we produce, but this conversation reminded me just how much I still had to learn.
I knew lights had to be hung, aimed, programmed, and controlled throughout a show. But in my mind, most of the work happened once everything was in place. And I assume most attendees probably think the same.
An hour later, I realized I'd been thinking about lighting almost entirely from show day. Nate starts thinking about it weeks before anyone walks into the room.
So instead of simply telling you what our lighting team does, here are a few things I learned that completely changed the way I think about event lighting.
1. Lighting Doesn't Start On-Site
One of my biggest surprises was learning how much lighting design happens before the team ever arrives on-site.
Before Nate opens a lighting case, he's gathering information. Where will the fixtures be placed? Will they be rigged overhead, built into scenic elements, mounted around an LED wall, or positioned on stage?
Then he's thinking about the bigger picture:
Does the client have a specific lighting vision?
What's the event theme?
What are the brand colors?
What's the run of show?
Which moments need more energy?
Is there an after-party, product launch, or reveal that needs its own look?
As Nate explained:
"Once I know placement, I start thinking through the looks I'm going to create in that space and start programming the lights before we even get on-site."
That shifted my perspective. Lighting isn't something added after the event is designed. It's part of designing the experience from the beginning.
2. Lighting Is Something You Feel, Not Just Something You See
I asked Nate what he wants attendees to feel when they first walk into a room. His answer wasn't technical.
"Impressed. Excited. A wow factor. I want them to feel like their organization really went all out for this one."
That word, feel, stuck with me.
As attendees, we notice the stage, screens, speakers, and content. But lighting is quietly shaping how we experience all of it. It can make a room feel energetic or intimate, build anticipation before a keynote, add excitement to a product reveal, or transform a general session into a celebration. And sometimes you understand the impact of lighting best when it's missing.
Nate explained that if an event only had a basic stage wash as speakers walked on and off stage, attendees might not know exactly what was missing, but they'd feel it.
The room would feel flatter. The energy would feel lower. The experience would feel incomplete. That's the power of great lighting.
3. Lighting Designers Don't Just Flip a Switch
Like a lot of people, I assumed that once the lights were turned on, the show more or less ran itself. Nate laughed when I mentioned that.
In reality, every cue, transition, color change, movement, and energy shift has been intentionally designed and programmed. During the event, the lighting designer is executing that vision while following the flow of the program and adapting when things change.
That's where tools like the GrandMA3 come in. The console allows designers to customize a show, synchronize lighting with audio and video, and make adjustments in real time. But the console isn't creating the experience. The designer is.
4. One Lighting Cue Can Completely Change a Room
I asked Nate if he'd ever seen a single lighting cue change the energy of an event. His answer was immediate.
He described watching one of our lighting designers synchronize flashes of light with the audio playing during a video. Nothing else changed. Same video. Same soundtrack. Seems simple, right?
But suddenly, the room came alive. The audience responded differently. The energy increased. People leaned into the moment.
It was a reminder that lighting doesn't work alone. When it's synchronized with audio, video, special effects, and everything else happening on stage, it can completely change how a moment feels.
5. Clients Don't Need to Speak "Lighting"
One of my favorite pieces of advice from Nate wasn't technical at all. It was for clients.
"Don't be afraid to ask for specific looks or things you might want when it comes to lighting. If you have any kind of vision, let's talk through it together."
You don't need to know fixture names, programming terminology, or even what's technically possible to contribute to the lighting design. You just need to know how you want people to feel. Bold and energetic? Elegant and sophisticated? Warm and welcoming? Dramatic? Celebratory?
Bring us those ideas. Share photos you've saved. Tell us about an event that inspired you. Describe the atmosphere you want your attendees to experience. Our job is to translate that vision into lighting.
Biggest Takeaway
Before this conversation, I thought lighting was mostly about making a room look good. I knew it was an important part of production, but I didn't realize how much thought went into using it to shape the experience. Now I understand that lighting is just as much about what people feel as what they see. And that's probably the biggest takeaway for anyone planning an event.
You don't need to understand the technical side of lighting to have a say in how it looks. Think about the experience instead.
How should attendees feel when they walk into the room? Where should the energy build? Which moments should feel dramatic, celebratory, or intimate?
Bring those ideas to your lighting designer. Share inspiration, describe the atmosphere, and talk about the moments that matter most. Because great lighting doesn't begin with a lighting console. It begins with understanding the experience you want people to have.