Drama 16 Stage Lighting

Taken by me on December 31st 2022 around 3:30PM at the Capital One Arena.

Description: Ice Hockey is the only sport I really follow. Last year on New Year’s Eve some family friends invited my parents and I to box seats for the final game of the year. While in this picture the lighting just seems like regular overhead lights, throughout the night visibility was constantly changing, energy rising and falling in the crowd. The game itself was incredibly fun to watch, and it’s an incredible experience to watch live sports from some of the best seats in the stadium.

Theme: wild card

Photo taken by me, Dec. 9th 2021 at 10:21pm

Description: I know I use a lot of concert photos for these photo observations, but I love concerts, I love concert lighting, and I have so many cool concert photos that it would be unreasonable not to use them. Anyway, this lighting inspires me. I think it’s awesome. The band is The Aces – this was their New York show at Webster Hall, and this lighting in particular was, I believe, during a song called 801, which is about growing up gay in a small town. The Aces’ first album was pretty tight-lipped about queerness, and their second album, by contrast, was unapologetically queer. This lighting represents a culmination of that growth; there’s a shamelessness to it, and also an unavoidability. If you’re at this show, you’re going to see this rainbow lighting. Also, just from a technical perspective, I like how it’s done. The lights point out and up so they’re not in anyone’s eyes, they’re spaced at fairly regular intervals, which I appreciate, and each color is such a saturated, highly representative hue for the color it’s supposed to be. I especially love the red.

https://www.cruiseamerica.com/

Theme: Wildcard

I chose this picture because of its beautiful night sky. I began by looking for pictures of a cityscape at night, which led me down a rabbit whole of photos removing the light pollution to reveal the true night sky. Because of this, I looked for night skies in low populated areas. The clarity of the stars in the sky speak to the effect man has had on nature. Because of human’s progressive technology over the ages, we have lost connections with nature. This thought makes the image even more beautiful as it demonstrates a piece of the world left untouched.

Fall Sunset in Vermont

Instruments: For the first and second moving light I used the gel R15. Additionally I used the gel R26 for the third and fourth moving light. Finally I used the gel R68 for the top Cyc lights. Across the bottom row, I used the gels R15, R21, R58, and R68.

Justification: While researching I was particularly drawn to the crimson autumn trees in combination with a warm sunset. Because of this I chose to have the sun setting upstage stage right with a warm yellow and a combination of blues and purples for the sunset. Additionally the moving lights on the proscenium act as red washes, acting as the trees near the subject.

Spring Sunrise in Gothic Cathedral

Instruments: For the top Cyc lights I used gel R069. For the bottom Cyc lights I used gels R15 and R68. For the single moving instrument I used the gel R15.

Justification: I chose to light this spring sunrise with light blues and a warm yellow to demonstrate a crisp morning. The blues lend to the breeziness as the sun rises and begins to warm the Earth.

Noon on a Hot Summer Day in Hawaii

Instruments: I used gel R68 for the top Cyc lights and R069 for the bottom Cyc lights. In each corner of the grid I used no gel on the moving lights.

Justification: When researching noon in Hawaii, it was apparent that the notable features of the lighting included the vibrant sky and the bright wash over the entire area. Because of this, I direct four instruments toward the subject providing a general wash of light and included the blue Cyc to represent the beautifully blue sky.

Winter Afternoon in North Dakota

Instruments: I alternated using gel R80 and R201 on both the top and bottom Cyc lights. In each of the top four corners of the grid I used the gel R201 on the moving lights. The fifth and sixth light use the breakup gobo and gel 201 on the moving lights.

Justification: I used blue and grey on the Cyc to mimic a dark sky clouded with snowy weather. Additionally I used grey gels and gobos shining on the subject to make it appear as if it is in a snow storm.

Attribution: Instagram, @carterr_

Theme: Surreal

Description: I focused on the idea of how surreal appears very dreamlike. This image does maintain components of reality with the warm light hitting the person from the back, but the blue-green light is an uncommon and relatively unnatural color. The blue-green light coming from the window on the side creates that unrealistic, other worldly illusion. Also the haziness of the light provides the blurriness and lack of accuracy that is associated with dreams.

June 27, 2018 picture taken by me in Tennessee

Theme: Surreal

I took this photo in Tennessee at Pigeon Forge. This photo comes from a mirror maze I was in and I love how eerie it looks since you can’t see the end of the maze from this angle.

Attribution: https://images.app.goo.gl/6BmtFkb8uRhjmMYz7

Theme: Surreal

Description: Migraines plus doing homework in my dorm often make me feel trapped in one place. This image and this lighting makes me feel the same way, trapped in a small room with faint light, coming in through blinds that make lines along the floor.

Photo Theme: Surreal

Source: https://blog.shotdeck.com/2022/10/18/the-tuesday-drop-10-18-22/

This is from The Exorcist. I like the use of silhouette, especially when paired with the strong spotlight effect that is visible with the fog. The Overhead lamp also helps to give just enough context to really make it seem like this character is crossing into a new world. The stark contrast between the character silhouette and the glowing beam of light make it stand out. The spotlight also creates a strong line. There is a lot of mystery, involved, as it makes it seem like the very location itself is alive and aware of this outsider’s presence. For my re-creation I also utilized Gobo effects to mimic the lights in the house, which act as a bit of color contrast against an otherwise entirely blue toned scene.

Photo taken by me on Nov. 12th, 2022, at a bus station in Baltimore, 6:15am.

Theme: surreal

Liminal spaces like bus stops during late night/early morning hours are always surreal to me. I was on a very early morning bus home from NY when we made a pit stop in Baltimore. The sun was just starting to rise when I took this picture, and the lone bus in the parking lot feels just slightly wrong. That, combined with the bizarre blue/gold combination of the sky behind it, make the photo altogether feel surreal.

Theme: Surreal

Lovethispic.com

This picture captures a vibrant red sunset. I’ve always found bright red sunsets to be so mystifying as a typical sunset consists of softer yellows and oranges. However, this bright red captures the passion and intensity the hue normally makes me think of. Seeing the typical blue sky be slowly enveloped by this punch of red feels truly surreal.