This study was conducted to empirically investigate the impact of dynamic characteristics of musical stage lighting on audience emotions. In contemporary performing arts, stage lighting has evolved beyond its basic illumination function to become a co...
This study was conducted to empirically investigate the impact of dynamic characteristics of musical stage lighting on audience emotions. In contemporary performing arts, stage lighting has evolved beyond its basic illumination function to become a core theatrical language that drives the narrative and deepens the emotional experience of the audience. Particularly in the musical genre, the "dynamic changes" in lighting play a decisive role in constructing narratives and evoking emotions. However, existing research has primarily focused on analyzing "static" lighting states at specific moments, with insufficient systematic research on how the "process of change" itself in lighting affects audience emotions. Therefore, this study aimed to scientifically analyze the differential effects of dynamic changes in "focused" and "diffused" lighting on audience emotional responses, and how physical elements such as the number of lights and movement patterns influence this emotional perception.This research selected scenes from major Broadway and West End musical productions where the characteristics of focused and diffused lighting were clearly evident, constructing a total of 20 dynamic lighting samples (12 focused, 8 diffused) as experimental stimuli. Each sample was classified according to physical characteristics such as the number of lights (single/few/many), movement methods (blinking, appearing, rotating, position changing, etc.), stage situation, and dominant movement in the scene. An emotional evaluation experiment was conducted with 106 general participants evaluating 15 pairs of emotional adjectives (soft-hard, heavy-light, intense-subtle, natural-awkward, etc.) using a 7-point semantic differential scale. The collected data was processed through a multi-stage analysis procedure including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) using SPSS, 2D score distribution visualization, Euclidean distance (d-distance) measurement, and in-depth analysis of outlier samples.The research results showed that the 15 emotional adjectives converged into six core emotional dimensions: "softness," "distinctiveness," "weight," "vitality," "heterogeneity," and "intensity" (cumulative explanatory power 79.44%), indicating that audiences perceive dynamic lighting comprehensively within a multidimensional emotional space. Analysis of 15 two-dimensional score distribution diagrams combining the six principal components in pairs revealed that the degree of emotional separation between the two lighting types varied dramatically depending on the combination of emotional dimensions. In emotional spaces including the "heterogeneity" dimension (vitality-heterogeneity, distinctiveness-heterogeneity, weight-heterogeneity), focused and diffused lighting were clearly separated (d-distance between 1.16 and 1.21). Focused lighting was mainly located in the "harmonious" region, while diffused lighting was primarily in the "heterogeneous" region. Conversely, in emotional spaces combining "softness," "weight," and "intensity," the two lighting types were distributed in a mixed manner (d-distance between 0.24 and 0.45), suggesting that in these emotional dimensions, other physical factors play a more important role than the lighting type. In-depth analysis of outlier samples that significantly deviated from the group average confirmed that the emotional effect of lighting is greatly influenced not only by the lighting type (focused/diffused) but also by the specific combination of "number of lights" and "movement patterns." Focused lighting sample F-9, through its combination of "few lights" and "blinking movement," completely lost the typical characteristic of focused lighting - "intensity" - and instead evoked "heavy and calm" emotions. Conversely, diffused lighting sample D-7, through its combination of "many lights" and the same "blinking movement," overcame the typical limitation of diffused lighting - "heterogeneity" - and achieved "harmonious and vibrant" emotions. This empirically demonstrates that even with the same movement pattern, audience emotional perception can be completely opposite depending on the number of lights. This study holds academic significance in that it systematically applied quantitative analysis methodologies such as principal component analysis and d-distance measurement to the qualitative and experiential field of stage lighting design, presenting a scientific research framework that can objectively measure and analyze emotional effects. In particular, by identifying "heterogeneity" as the most decisive indicator distinguishing focused and diffused lighting, it provided an emotional basis for classifying lighting types. Additionally, it revealed that the number of lights and movement patterns play a central role in emotional perception. From a practical perspective, the results of this study provide stage lighting designers and directors with a specific "emotional palette." It presents data-based guidelines on which combinations of lighting type, number, and movement patterns are effective when intending specific emotions, and can guide more predictable emotional direction in the creative process. The limitations of this study include: the integrated analysis of 106 participants without examining emotional response differences according to segmented demographic characteristics; the 20 samples not encompassing all infinite lighting design combinations in actual performances; and the evaluation of lighting effects in an environment isolated from other stage elements, not fully reflecting the complex interactions of actual performances. In conclusion, this study provided an empirical research foundation for the field of stage lighting design by scientifically identifying the impact of dynamic characteristics of musical stage lighting on audience emotions. While focused and diffused lighting show distinct differences in the "heterogeneity" dimension, in other emotional dimensions, the combination of "number of lights and movement dynamics" and "movement patterns" plays a more decisive role than the lighting type. This study empirically demonstrated that musical stage lighting functions as an active "narrator" that constructs narratives and guides audience emotions, and proved that dynamic changes in light communicate with the audience over time, with the "quality of change" determining the "quality of emotion." These findings provide stage lighting designers with scientifically grounded emotional direction strategies and are expected to contribute to the development of visual direction theory in performing arts overall.