Drama 16 Stage Lighting

1. 3/1/2012 at 11:30 p.m. in my room.

2. The two lights in our ceiling, one is on, the other is off.

3. Sitting in my room and staring at my computer as I go through moments during the week I had with lighting, I couldn’t decide which to use. I look behind me and notice something; there’s a lighting moment happening right in my room! The effect of one light being on and the other being off caused this effect of life and mystery. Even though I know what is in the dark part of the room I had this thought that anything could pounce out of there at any moment, that is how dark it was. I was in the lit part of the room, and the feeling of comfort being in that part really made me feel safe, and somehow the objects seemed more alive then normal. I guess that sort of thing happens when your in a room by yourself, and a lighting moment happens right where you live.

1) 3/1/12, 11:30 pm, outside Leiden

2) fire lights up two girls’ faces as they go in to light their cigarettes

3) On a cold, wet night, two girls who are apparently stressed out, go outside to light a cigarette for a chance to relax. It is dark outside and even through the small flame emitted from the lighter, it feels like these two girls could be sitting around a campfire telling ghost stories or roasting marshmallows.

1)

2) http://pinterest.com/pin/16958936066691273/

3) Single Source

4) A troubled girl sits dejectedly in a chair by the window. All of the lights in her apartment are off because she couldn’t pay her electric bill, so the only source of light she has to see her matches is by her window. She lights a cigarette, her only vice in life, as she contemplates how she’ll pay her rent this month. The light from the window reflects off of the smoke, illuminating the fact that giving up cigarettes is the only way she’ll be able to come up with the money. She takes a long drag and enjoys her last cigarette.

1) March 1, 2012, around 8:00pm
Calkins room 139

2) The rows of fluorescent lights were reflected on the mirror and through the windows behind my head.

3) We were in a little bit of a lull during rehearsal tonight, so my attention was suddenly drawn to the reflection of the light in the window behind me. It was a very cool industrial look, and also made the space seem bigger.

Though the light made me feel rather small and slightly insignificant, it also provided me an inspiration to show onstage. A mirror with a reflection of light has the ability to make a stage appear deeper and the actor to feel small and insignificant compared to it all as well. Also, the lights I saw were florescent tubes, giving the space an industrial feel, but onstage you could use a variety of different lights/colors/sizes to get different effects.

2. Photo taken by Geena Forristall

3. Single Light Source

4. This is a photo that I took of my sister two summers ago. We were underwater in the pool in our backyard, fairly late into the night. The water was entirely black with the exception of the area near the pool light, which constantly changes colors from the plain, white light seen here to blue, green, purple, and red.

I chose this picture because I love the definition of the photo. There is such a stark contrast, with deep shadows and bright white light – all from one light source. You can see every wrinkle in the dress in some spots, but in other spots you can’t see anything at all. I also love the color of the photo – compared the to the deep black of the background, the bright yellow of the dress stands out immensely. It’s almost surreal.

2. http://www.pittsburghgrapevine.com/blog/view/id_341/title_don’t-spread-your-light-too-thin/

3. Single Light Source

4. I picked this photo because I really liked how it looked like the man was holding the light. It is like he is holding the sun in his hand which I took as he was holding life in his hands. It is a very natural with the warm light and how the man is not wearing a shirt. At the same time it is very unnatural because this can never happen and the light he appears to be holding is not the sun. It is nice to imagine that it is real though.

1) 2012-02-24 at 10:30 PM in the Adams Playhouse, on the set for Much Ado About Nothing

2) A Source-4 ERS with an R11 gel pointed from the left and rear down on Devin Gee standing in the middle archway on stage left, casting shadows on his front.  Light reflecting off the the white interior of the archway partially illuminates the side of his face.

3) One might consider looking for “lighting inspiration” in the middle of a focus for another show cheating, but this lighting was completely unintentional.  The light was not where it was supposed to be, and Devin’s positioning a crazy random happenstance.  The light was the only instrument on, and the yellow glow filled the archways from behind, giving the archways an eerie yellow glow around the edges.  Devin stepped forward out of the light and into the archway.  The entire left side of his face fell into shadow, while the other side is filled by light reflecting off of the inside of the arch.  I could not say it was a “pretty” glow.  Ambers and purples usually have a glow I like.  Reds and blues too, depending on their intensity.  This yellow, however, did very little for me.  Sure, mixed in with the rest of the lighting, it offers a very nice daytime, sunshine quality.  By itself and focused form the back, the yellow is very unappealing and almost nauseating.  Despite the color, however, I cannot get over how interesting the light itself is.  The angle of the light is very clear by the glow on the back of Devin’s head, but by reflecting off of the narrow white interior, the final picture is one that could not be achieved either if the light was reflected off of a whole wall next to him, or if there were another lamp aimed at him.

1. Photograph by Flickr User “Bobs Images”, Nov 11, 2008, Northern Ireland. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobs_images/3026582702/

2. Single Light Source

3. This photo of a fox is captivating in it’s ability to capture an unexpected and sudden moment in time. The photographer just happened to be outside when two foxes wandered through his yard in the middle of the night. The fox is wary, and one cannot see what he is looking at, giving it an air of mystery. The unidirectional light across the frame casts deep shadows on the subject making the areas of bright rust even more striking. The grass shows up heavily saturated and aglow under the halogen lamp, adding an excellent composition of complementary pigment colors throughout the piece.

2) I found this photo at this site http://www.google.com/imgres?q=single+light+source&start=184&num=10&um=1&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=667&addh=104&tbm=isch&tbnid=r9xf3xBBR7am9M:&imgrefurl=http://drawsketch.about.com/od/learntodraw/tp/Things-To-Draw.htm&docid=QBRf8GHoVhMpHM&imgurl=http://0.tqn.com/d/drawsketch/1/0/X/b/draw-apple.jpg&w=555&h=437&ei=XhBQT-LjM-zh0wHqtq32DQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=845&vpy=284&dur=343&hovh=199&hovw=253&tx=125&ty=113&sig=112732361351925082313&sqi=2&page=8&tbnh=149&tbnw=200&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:184

3) Single Light Source

4) This photo of an apple shows how beautiful food can become shown from a single light source. With the water droplets on top of the apple, the piece of fruit looks even more appetizing. The hot spot of the light is reflected off the surface of the apple showing the different colors of this beautiful food.

2) Photo taken by Annar Nott on tumblr.

3) Theme: Single Light Source

4) Description: I had a hard time finding a photo for the assignment this week. I found this photo while putzing around on tumblr and it immediately spoke to me.

The photo is of a train station in Hungary and shows a man walking down the platform. The only light source is an overhead lamp light, out of frame, which illuminates down the platform, casting shadows. The area around him is completely dark, only a faint shimmer of the train tracks is visible.

The photograph is almost a representation of death, and the “walking into the light” sensation that some say happens when you die. There’s this completely despair-ridden area and the lone figure is walking towards the light and out of the shadows. Though the photograph is a bird’s eye view and could not be EXACTLY replicated onstage, the sensation of a spotlight casting long, dreary, dream-like shadows and someone walking towards them could be a powerful statement to see onstage.