Drama 16 Stage Lighting

1) 4/21/12 – 7:35 – Behind the NAB in the parking lot looking East.

2) OBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: I was working in on burning the proscenium for Spring Awakening on Saturday. Bryan and I were standing just outside of the NAB as the sun went down. the sunset was colorful and shining red and orange. There were ver few clouds. There were low clouds that were flying over head at a very rapid pace. The clouds that were low were a dark purple color and had a high contrast to the bright sky above.

3) SUBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: Bryan and I were working late into the afternoon trying to get the proscenium for Spring Awakening done with its burn treatment. We stood outside with a butane torch scorching the wood for an hour and a half in the parking lot. As we worked we were able to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful day with hardly any clouds and the sky was nice and blue. The sunset was beautiful and the colors were brilliant. there were many trees in the way however we both noted the intense yellow and orange colors that were radiating from behind the trees. As the sunset continued to build to an intense and stunning climax we had to stop working simply to sit and enjoy the spectacle that the sun was offering us. The few sky was still a rich blue scattered with a few crispy white clouds all throughout the horizon. Everything in the sky seemed bright and happy until the breeze picked up.

When the breeze picked up it seemed to bring very low lying clouds along with it that began soaring rapidly above faster than I could walk. They seemed to be so light to be so highly influenced that much from the light breeze in the air. The clouds were very low lying and probably were not much higher than the tops of the high rises on the other side of the campus. All of a sudden I noticed the one very interesting part of the clouds that were zipping past us. These clouds were very dark and almost had a purplish tint to them. What seemed to be incongruent about these clouds was that despite how light they were in nature they were dark, which I generally associate with gigantic storm clouds. After studying the clouds for a few minutes I realized that the sun had reached a point on the horizon that it was still fully illuminating the sky and world around us, however it was just beginning to cast a long shadow of darkness over campus which each of those clouds was falling under. It was cool to look up and realize that the curvature of the earth was casting a gigantic shadow over us and I was able to see the light areas and the areas in shadow in the sky.

2) Photo taken by Nic Christopher. Taken at lookout point near Blasket Islands on Dingle Peninsula on April 15 at around 3:20 PM.

3) THEME: Unreal

4) DESCRIPTION: This picture was taken while on a hike overlooking the Blasket Islands while I was with my family touring the Dingle Peninsula. Yes this is taken from a similar area as last week’s photo however I think that this photo and the lighting employed in this photo are fantastic. I think that the lighting of this photo is spectacular and almost makes the photo become something more of a photoshopped background or a dream than an actual photo. I other that raising the contrast of this photo I did not do anything in terms of post production to this photograph.

When I tried to think of something UNREAL, the first ideas that came to mind were abstract images or pictures of fire or stunning sunsets. What I realized is that those things are not unreal in terms of lighting. What is unreal is when the lighting can play tricks on someones perception and when lighting can offer a grand contrast in an area that already seems somewhat dream like. The first thing that I liked in this photo was the Rainbow. I think that a rainbow is simply unreal. It is always there and appears to be a tangible thing, however it can never be touched or reached. Rainbows are also stunningly beautiful and extremely colorful. The other element of lighting that makes this image seem so unreal is the contrast between where the sun is shining and where the rain is falling. With the panorama shot, you are able to see that there is a small squall hitting one part of the farm land while the sun is beating down in the background. It juxtaposes a scary and strong storm onto a beautiful and bright scene of a green and luscious hillside.

Standing on the mountain looking out on this land seems to give me a feeling of being king of the land. Watching the elements interact with the land and the animals. All of the contrast is blended with the illusion of the rainbow and it just makes me wonder if this place is really an actual place.

1) 4/22/12 – 4:16 PM – Black box theater in the NAB

2) OBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: I was in the Black Box with a few people looking at the lighting options for the proscenium. Bryan turned off the lights and there was no light in the space. I handed him my flashlight and he walked around but all I could see was the small white dot floating around in the space.

3) SUBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: I was meeting Bryan Chess in the Black box to look at the possible options that we had for illuminating the proscenium for Spring Awakening. I walked into the Black Box and sat down in the house and waited for Bryan to show me what he had plaid with already. After I sat down he walked over to the light switch and turned off the lights so that we could turn on the strip lights. When he turned off the lights it was pitch black in the theater and I could not see my hand in front of my face. I hardly knew where Byran was other than what I could hear of him.

Being in this absolute dark fog was somewhat disconcerting as I was all of a sudden completely unaware of anything around me. Bryan tripped and stumbled and then finally made it over by me by following my voice. I handed him my flashlight and he began to walk toward the proscenium. As he wandered around all I could see was the tiny floating light all over the black box. The light seemed to take on the personality of Bryan. It zig zagged back and forth and quickly moved about the room, in the same way bryan acts on a daily basis. Finally he found his way behind the proscenium and as soon as he passed behind the muslin I was able to see a faint image of Bryan’s face appear. The light from the flashlight just touched the muslin and reflected just enough to pick up the contours of Bryan’s face and made him look just like he was floating like the wizards head in The Wizard of Oz.

DATE-TIME-LOCATION: Tuesday, April 17th-around 5:20pm-the space behind the math hall

OBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: During a DRAM60 class, I was being led by a scene partner as I was “blind.”  As we walked along the sidewalk, I passed from full, bright sunlight into shade from a tree.

SUBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION: There’s really very little to say about this moment, but I was compelled to take note of it and to share it.  With my eyes closed, all of the detail that light reveals was hidden. I was relying on my hearing, my sense of touch, and my partner’s instructions to navigate; the only visual input that my brain was receiving was the gauge of light that filtered through my eyelids. As I stepped into the shadow, I had one of the most visceral reactions I have ever had.  I literally shied away from this sudden darkness; I took a step back, shrunk down, taking an almost defensive stance, and turned instinctively back toward the direction I had come, toward the light.  I couldn’t believe how strongly I reacted, but I love that it made me revisit how much we rely on sight, and just how important light is in our “normal, everyday” human functioning.

Photo taken by Molly Gates

THEME: Innocent

DESCRIPTION: I tried to think of a theme before I looked for a picture, but nothing was panning out, when I remembered that my sister had recently taken a series of pictures that I really liked and posted them on Facebook.  This image wasn’t what I was looking for in the album even, but I kept returning to it because I found it so striking. There’s something about the dimming natural light, and the porch light or whatever it is, that says that this little girl has been having a fantastic afternoon outside and she’s not ready to go inside and settle down just yet. Her mussy little curls that catch the light form what is almost a halo around her face, and the warm quality that the porch light lends to the moment highlights her round, young face. I guess it’s something almost indescribable, but some combination of this low light, the little girl’s expression of unbridled enthusiasm, and the blurred hand that is holding out something fascinating for the camera(wo)man to see captures the essence of that childhood innocence and joy at new experiences that becomes jaded much too quickly today.