10: Cinema / Media Room

* The key feature in this room is picture quality, which can be adversely affected by incorrect lighting, which can reduce the contrast on the screen. So the ability to control the different lights in this area is crucial.

* During a screening only very low-level of background lighting is required, usually using floor-washers, to allow safe exit from the room.  These are best mounted at skirting-board height, about 100mm above FFL and should be kept to the sides of the room only ie. not on the screen wall or the wall opposite the screen. They should be on their own switch and dimmable.

* In-floor uplighters washing light up the walls on either side of the screen and around the perimeter can be used to create dramatic accent lighting when first entering the room. These need to be separately controlled so they can be switched off when the programme begins. The uplighters should have 30-60deg beam and be spaced approx 2m apart.

* Instead of in-floor uplighters, wall-lights or ceiling-recessed downlights can be used to provide that initial accent effect. The wall-lights can be of unusual design for dramatic effect.  Alternatively, recessed downlights can be positioned to light pictures and posters around the walls. They should be set 400mm back from the wall (450mm if ceiling higher than 3m). These should be separately controlled via a dimmer.

* A coffered ceiling with linear LED lighting recessed into the coffer, washing ambient light across and around the ceiling, provides a subtle and popular alternative to downlights or wall-lights. Use 10-15W/metre LED tape and ensure that it's on it's own control and dimmable.

* For cleaning it may be necessary to add a number of recessed downlights for task lighting in the centre of the room. These should be colour-matched to the ceiling to ensure that they blend in and should also be separately controlled.