Overhead Lighting is Terrible

I have a problem with overhead lighting: I cannot stand it. Maybe it stems from time spent in a corporate office environment with bright fluorescent lights above. I still have to use overhead lighting in my workshop because it gives me good, even lighting for filming, but I don’t have to like it. In my home office, I keep the overhead light off and use a monitor light with some accent lights behind my monitors.

Overhead lighting is sometimes necessary, but I firmly believe it can and should be better than some bulbs or tubes on the ceiling. I started paying attention to how Disney does lighting on a recent trip. Disney is a Master Class in superb lighting, especially in their ride queues and heavily themed areas like Avenger’s Campus and Galaxy’s Edge (there’s the Star Wars reference you were waiting for).

Does Disney use overhead lighting? Absolutely. It’s necessary for large areas, and guests need to be able to see. However, I noticed that they often use more lights that are a little more dimmed so they don’t overwhelm. The overhead lighting is almost always themed to the area, as is the hexagon overhead lights in the queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind roller coaster. Disney shades the light or has it shine through something, creating shadows that provide additional depth and texture to the area instead of bathing it in harsh light. Many shaded overhead lights can be seen across Galaxy’s Edge, like at the popcorn stand and Kat Saka’s Kettle. In Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, the queue uses overhead lighting that shines through grates on walls to add extra texture to the area.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Queue

Shaded Overhead Lights in Galaxy's Edge

Kat Saka’s Kettle in Galaxy’s Edge

Themed Overhead Lighting in Mission Breakout

Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout

My favorite areas use wall lighting or other light sources to keep the area visible. Star Wars uses iconic rounded wall panels in many parts of the Rise of the Resistance ride and queue. These illuminated panels are now immediately identifiable as part of the Galactic Empire or First Order. The ride loading area of Tron Lightcycle Run also uses large wall panels to spread light in the large room. The Tron light panels also subtly change the lights in a sequence, adding to the experience (although an image doesn’t show that effect). In Galaxy’s Edge, Disney uses upright lights that are bright but look like they were erected when the Resistance came through and needed to set things up so they could see at night. Granted, no ceiling exists outdoors, but these lights don’t look out of place either and provide a lovely ambiance.

Iconic Imperial Panel Lights from Star Wars

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Queue

Tron Wall Panels Glowing and Animating

Tron Lightcycle Run Loading Bay

Pathway Side Lights in Galaxy's Edge

Galaxy’s Edge Outdoor Pathway Lighting

Many options for lighting other than bulbs in the ceiling exist, and I want to explore them further. The possibilities for putting LED lights and strips into containers and programming them with a microcontroller are only as limited as your imagination. The additional animations possible with microcontrollers make this extra intriguing, at least to me.

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