Drama 16 Stage Lighting

from http://dead01.deviantart.com/art/cold-colors-169428007

THEME: Cold

DESCRIPTION: This photo is either at sunrise or sunset on a clearly cold day. What I think makes this photo particularly compelling is how the cool colors, the blues reflecting off the snow and in the sky, look as though they’re suffocating the warm oranges and reds where the sun is either setting or rising on the horizon. It makes me feel like the warmth is being drained from the sky and from the world, giving me a frigid feeling. It makes me wonder if I could apply this to lighting, to have certain colors become slowly engulfed by other ones to create some response in the audience.

Photo taken by Rychard Curtiss. 2/13/2013

THEME: Cold

This picture was taken moments before sundown. It was getting darker and then all of the sudden there was this weird moment when the light hit the bark of this tree outside my living room window and it seemed to brighten up into this cold white light. There is a gel that I often use to take the warmth out and gives the stage a stark cold feeling; it is called “Winter White”, inset in photo, and I’d never actually seen it occur except when I’ve used it. I was sitting on the couch and looked up at the right moment , immediately felt a shiver go down my spine. The contrast between the warm lights going on in the neighbors windows accentuated the effect, along with the barren branches bereft  of it’s leaves. I shuddered and was frozen, both figuratively and literally while somewhere in the back of my mind a voice kept repeating “Get a picture, get a picture, before it’s too late…” I managed to shake off the shivering feeling and grab my camera. It was a mere 30 secs or so after I took this photo and the moment was gone as the sun disappeared for the evening.

1) Monday, 2/11/13, 7:15 P.M. Walking out of Emily Lowe.

2) Having rained all day and snowed the day before, a light fog caked the air. Looking across toward the Playhouse I could only see the piercing light of the lamp posts as balls floating above the ground. Looking down, the snow had a faint sheen from the reflection of these lights.

3) Walking out into the cold night air and not being able to see was a quick shock to my system. I thought, “Better walk quickly, or I’ll freeze in place.” But there was a problem. I couldn’t see. At least not much. Fog obscured my vision except for spheres of light in the distance. I imagined that must be how a sailer might have felt. At sea for months, only the churning waves to keep the monotony at bay. The cool salty sea water sprays up from the sides of the ship and drenches the crew and their cloths. Soggy and cold they work on, waiting and waiting for that one beacon of hope. And there. At last it comes. At first they think it’s imagination. But it’s not. The lighthouse signals to them through the dark night that land is near. It guides them home. Their spirits restored, the crew works hard for the last stretch of their journey, desperate to get home. The light calls to them and they answer.

1) 2/11/13, 6:45pm, John Cranford Adams Playhouse.

2) Walking into the wings of the Playhouse, which was lit only by wing work lights and a ghost light center stage.

3) Looking out into the playhouse from the stage always feels powerful. With the light concentrated into a central spot, the feeling is even more majestic. When you look at the ghost light from the side of the stage, at least with my glasses on, you see a tiny white spot overpowering everything else in the room. Looking out into the playhouse, you see everything cast in calm greys, shadows darkened on top, as the light is from below. What is on the stage is so small, but so powerful that you can see every part of the theatre. Although the light is not as powerful when it reaches the farthest walls, that contrast makes the ghost light itself even more majestic and proud.

2. http://eliasvicari.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/small-light-source-photo/

3. Single light source/ shadow

4. This photo I found very interesting, it contains the single light source of the natural light coming through the window, which only lights up half of the room. It gives the room a almost horror film feeling, because you don’t know whats on the other side of the room. I like how even though the light source is small it is still bright enough to show the details of the room. I like the eery creepy feeling to it but it also at the same times feels like an old house you see in movies in Europe, so you can get two different senses from this photo.

1. 4pm 2/1/12 Driving to New Jersey

2. As I was driving along the highway en route to New Jersey, the New York Skyline appeared. Because it was about to snow the sky was very hazy and almost gray. But the sun was also setting so there was some pink in the sky surrounding the buildings.

3. The mystical, almost dreamlike effect the sky had on the New York Skyline was almost as if it wasn’t real.  The fogginess and smog surrounding the buildings wrapped them in surealness. It appeared as if this picture had come out of my imagination. The faint pink sunset lit up the skyscrapers giving them a whole new appearance, like as if it came out of a fairy tale. The surrealness continued as I slowly drove along the highway but once over the George Washington Bridge my opposite view of the skyline faded the dreaminess and brought me back into reality.

Taken 2/7/12

single light source/shadow

I found this photo interesting because the shadow made a cool effect through the case. the shadow for the clear case made alost an optical illusion and gave a clear object a shadow. also since the shadow was casted on to a wall and the light souce was so close it made the shadow appear much larger then the object it came from witch I also found cool.

2) http://photodoto.com/shadow-photography-people/

Ann Davlin on photodoto.com

“Shadow Dancert”

3) Single Light Source/Shadow

4) To have passion for something is to completely devote oneself to what you believe in and wish to accomplish. That means practice. That means dedication. It is creating your own storybook and filling the pages with experience. Even when you’re alone or in the dark, it’s not an excuse to give up. Keep going and keep filling the pages. It will all be worth it once the spotlight is on you. It will be your time to shine. All that’s left is to read the story you wrote. Seeing this dancer practice by herself is inspiring. It gives me a sense of hopefulness mixed with respect. She is alone in the dark but she is still practicing and moving forward.

1) 2/6/13 Netherlands North Courtyard, 5:30 P.M.

2) At this time the sun was slowly fading, setting and moving behind clouds. There was a dark blue in the sky giving just enough light for visibility, yet dark enough for the lamp-post lights to come on and their light be noticeable. Each lamp-post was, in contrast to the rest of the light environment, very bright at the top. Directly underneath the lamp, the pole and a circle around the post was covered in shadow. Outside of this ring of shadow, a pattern of straight lines of light formed on the ground, dispersing outward and blending with the remainder of the sunlight. This was happening at each lamp-post. The edge of each ring of light coming from each lamp-post in the courtyard barely overlapped each other and gave the illusion of a path.

3) Stepping out from the Netherlands building I could clearly see the path laid out in front of me. The light on the ground was inviting and showed me a way. But it also said something else. Even at the heart of the circles of light there was still shadow. Amidst light there is darkness. Looking up into the sky at the fading daylight I thought the same thing. Behind the darkness there is light. The two are intertwined so much so that as one fades the other grows to take its place. As the sun sets the street lights come up to give the illusion of day and to provide necessary light. When the sun rises shadows come to provide shade and a contrast the light.

1) 

2) From Instagram user anisa711

3) THEME: Single light source/shadow

4) DESCRIPTION: This photo seems so bright and happy to me, especially now in the middle of a very drab winter. In winter it seems much more difficult to find a strong shadow like this. Since the days are so short the day seems to go straight from completely light to completely dark, with no middle ground to find inviting moments like these. In this picture I found it very interesting that you cannot see the trees that are causing the shadow. It is almost like nature has created a gobo, and the lawn is about to become a stage.