What I do. (695 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 0.16 on 10 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by jimbobjoe (View user info) at 2004-03-07 20:35:46 EST
This is a little about what I do. I am not writing this for any class, just for my own
benefit, as I am trying to get into graduate school. It's nice to be able to put my
thoughts in order before I go and interview, as I am doing tomorrow. Any comments are welcome.
And thanks for reading this even though it's long if you actually do. If you'd like to see some
cool lights, look here... the first six aren't the greatest but scroll down on the left hand side
to see better ones.
http://www.niu.edu/theatre/gallery/mb/index.htm
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Lighting design is rarely looked at from the standpoint of a typical theatre goer. When most people go to a play they see the effects of light on stage and may even react to them and consider them in their analysis of the play overall, however, very few of them understand the processes involved in designing a show.
As a lighting designer I look at lights very differently, and my own lighting even more differently. I watch more than just the actors on stage and I look at more than just the set. I look at how everything is lit and how the light cues interact with the script and mood. I watch for lights increasing and decreasing in intensity and I also look at what kinds of lights have been used to what effect. My theatre experience is very different from a typical theatre goer. In fact some of the subtleties of lighting have been ruined for me in a sense, but I understand how these subtleties affect the mood of the play in a way others do not. I am not unhappy with my experience at a play, but I do sometimes wish I could go back to a less judgmental experience.
Theatrical lighting affects all of the aspects of a play much in the same way that a set might. It is sometimes dictated in a concrete manner by the script such as in a realistic play, where it is obviously appropriate to reproduce the feeling of a sandy beach, but more often than not the lighting designer is called to read into the script to discover little references to time, place and mood. This is usually made somewhat easier by there being a record of what the original designer for the first run of the show has done, but this is very general and will many times give nothing more than lights up or blackouts.
But lighting is much more than just whether to turn them on or off, or what color should they be. Lighting involves intensity, or how bright the light is, and focus, or how the light is pointed and where. Even all of the lighting cues must seem to be a part of the play and must not take attention away from the movement of the script. Focus is sometimes one of the most important aspects of lighting a show; it determines what is lit as well as its shadows and highlights. The type of light determines many qualities of it's focus, whether it is a fresnel, ellipsoidal, scoop, strip or cyc light to name the most common varieties, determines how it can be focused.
The basic parts of the focus of any given light can be broken down to a few variables, not necessarily adjustable on all lights. These include where the light is pointed at and is probably the most important portion of the focus as far as an actor is concerned, whether the edge of the light is hard or soft, and the size of the beam of light projected from the light itself. Aside from all the technical aspects involved in the focusing the lights, the focus effects the mood of the play almost as much as the color of the light.
Subtle differences like blending many lights together to create a look that doesn't seem as if it could be achieved with just a few special lights or another example of using lights pointed up from the ground to generate unusual shadows like in many horror movies or creating an unnatural feel to the look. These differences in looks are all accomplished through the focus of individual light instruments, moving each individual lighting instrument and adjusting its beam of light so that it is in just the right position to produce the desired effect. Sometimes this is simple, but many times it requires a great deal of thought and planning as well as actual fiddling. In my own experience I have hung a light and guessed at its focus before even turning it on and not had to move it at all, and other times I have had to spend half an hour fiddling with just one instrument to get what I want.
The color of the light affects the mood felt by the audience as much as the play's script does. Subtle changes in the scene need to occur in a coherent fashion with subtle changes in the mood of a play. The colors need to coincide with the 'color' of the play. Sometimes these are only faint hues of yellow to indicate sunlight, barely noticeable as color, yet there are also times that call for brilliant shades of blue or red with columns of white light streaking through the color to draw your attention to some specific point on the stage.
Gobos, thin sheets of metal placed directly in the beam of light to shape it in a pattern, are used to create the image of light coming in through a window in a dark room, or the interior of a ship with light seeping through the spaces in between the planking of the hull. Light can be used to define space without a set, such as that of a small indistinguishable room containing only a bed and a chair on an empty stage, with hard edges of light on the floor and no area outside of the room being lit.
All of these things are how to produce a lighting effect or how to understand what effect is desired in a play, however, what the lighting means to the play is beyond all of these things. These aspects of light come together to produce a final effect which enhances a play as a production just as much as the scenery, props, costuming, acting and directing. Not only does the light provide the means to see a play in a dark theatre, but the judicious use of lighting effects and artistry can provide new depth and dimension to a play making the experience ever more enjoyable to the audience. Lighting can even be a sort of actor in a play when its effects are more dramatically expressed than usual. Musicals give a lighting designer an opportunity to explore the artistry of color. Surrealistic and post-modern plays allow for more unnatural lighting looks, and comedies are generally warm fun shows. Realistic plays sometimes challenge a designer by asking for outdoor looks and interior looks for different times of day, creating a real headache when the number of instruments available for use is limited.
In looking at what theatrical lighting is and how it affects the play we come to understand that lighting is an art unto itself as well as technically demanding. In exploring lighting further we see it everywhere - not always with so much attention to detail such as in our own homes - but even in amusement parks, museums and churches around us we see elements of the artistry of lighting creeping in. Lighting as an art is much like painting, but it is more than this, it is painting what is seen, it is showing the particular nuances in a masterwork painting or maintaining the illusions in a haunted house for Halloween.
User Reviews
Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2004-03-07 22:39:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
That's a lot of space. I suppose it would be taken as a compliment. Forgive my hasty, poorly planned, nonsensical insults. Here's an olive branch, in the shape of a +2.
Submitted by Lisa (user info) at 2004-03-07 22:35:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
How much I care:
Submitted by jimbobjoe (user info) at 2004-03-07 20:56:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
True, it wasn't really meant for ubersite, but I haven't posted for along time, so I decided to
post it just cause. It's not really here to entertain, more inform, thus a little boring. Sorry.
Submitted by freebie (user info) at 2004-03-07 20:56:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Okay. Having been there and done that I can say this is well written.
Submitted by earth_collapse (user info) at 2004-03-07 20:54:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
At least you are aware of the depth of "lighting design."
Submitted by Luke Fedder at 2004-03-07 20:49:41 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
If every one wrote a story on what they do, what would the world be. What I do:masturbate, sum it all up for you?
Submitted by DarthAwesome (user info) at 2004-03-07 20:48:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
dude that shit is boring.
Submitted by jimbobjoe (user info) at 2004-03-07 20:40:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Or read for that matter it looks like.
Submitted by jimbobjoe (user info) at 2004-03-07 20:39:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
You're probably right. Now my feelings are hurt, glad you took the time to rate something
you didn't post.
Submitted by wardy (user info) at 2004-03-07 20:37:00 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
fag. nobody cares about your stupid fucking dreams.