Drama 16 Stage Lighting

1) February 8th, 6pm, outside Vanderpoel

2) A lamp post illuminating the side of a tree

3) Another cold, windy night here at Hofstra. As I was walking to the Student Center I passed a barren tree, lit up on one side by a lamp post. The tree had no leaves and its branches were at sharp, jagged angles to one another. The light hit one half of the tree, creating a bright white reflection on one side, and a dark shadow on the other. The light lit the tree from above on a steep angle. The stark contrast between the two sides of the tree created a feeling of danger and suspense. The scene was like a black and white film with the dark sky behind the tree and with the only prevailing colors being white , black, and gray. The light cast sharp shadows on the ground adding to the almost melodramatic feeling of the moment.

1) February 7th, 8pm, outside Home Depot

2) Looking upwards through the clouds at the flashing light on top of a smokestack.

3) It was a cold, rainy, misty night as I was walking into Home Depot. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a light flash and thought it was lightning. My careful observation revealed that it was a large flashing light way up high on top of a smokestack for a factory or something. The dark purple and gray clouds obscured my view of the light itself so it flashed through the clouds much like a thunderstorm. The clouds were moving quickly due to the wind, changing how bright and how clear the light was. The flashing lights created brief, stark shadows against the clouds and sky. The dark sky and weather created an ominous, creepy, and almost scary feeling as I looked up. It was so high above that I had to crane my neck and the smokestack looked even taller than usual, almost like a foreboding tower. The combination of all these elements created an unsettling feeling, such as one you would find in a horror film.