[SML] Minimum Lighting Levels for audience safety

[Riter, Andrew]

Hi everyone

This will be a discussion in the new year for my administration and staff:

What is the determined safe lighting level for the audience area, on a flat floor, where they may be either walking around or dancing?
(I'm in Canada, so please share foot candle or lux or lumens, and not code sections).

Background:
In our main concert hall (fixed seating), our typical SOP is to add house lights once audience starts getting up to leave, even if curtain calls are still happening.
If the band is still playing encores, I may cheat in the house lights, depending on how many audience are moving.

In our secondary space, black box, flat floor:
A recent in-house produced show, the PTB decided to have a standing audience.  Some chairs in the seating towers around the outside, but the flat floor, where we normally put out 100+ rows of loose seating (secured to each other), had no chairs, and audience was expected to stand for the 90 minutes.

There was disagreement between PTB and the lighting tech, about suitable levels in the audience area.
1 wanted the area darker, the other thought it was dim enough due to audience (being able to) walking around.  AND the levels were already programmed into a cued show.

So: for a dance floor / night club  sort of area, what is the proscribed lighting levels, or average lighting levels?

Thanks in advance.
Merry Christmas

Andrew M. Riter
Assistant Technical Director, Head Lighting Technician
Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus
6265 Crescent Road | Vancouver BC | V6T 1Z1 Canada
Phone 604 822 2372
andrew.riter at ubc.ca<mailto:andrew.riter at ubc.ca>
[UBC E-mail Signature]

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