This lighting rig is one I used a lot when I first did lighting for plays at school. We didn’t have many lights and we had even fewer channels for controlling them on our lighting desk. A single spot light is aimed so it is pointing down from the front of the figure at an angle of around 45 degrees to the horizontal
Light falls on the front of the actor illuminating their face and body. Their action and expression can be seen by the audience. This rig, like all the rigs so far, is simple and quick to render.
However it has a number of disadvantages. If the actor is close to the backdrop or scenery their shadow will draw attention to the stage and the artificial nature of the light. You can also see that there are unflattering shadows cast under the actor’s nose, chin and neck. This lighting is also very flat, coming from the front it does little to model to the actors form.