The Four Seasons Light Lab

1) A Fall sunset in New England

For this lighting, I used 4 lights coming from the downstage left corner, the larger 3 in the color Deep Straw and the smallest in Medium Yellow. I also included two wide washes of Light Red light from the upper quarter marks and two wide spreads of Moss Green with a breakup gobo from the center top light. For a final touch, I added a Golden Amber light on stage right that pointed to the back left corner.

The four lights I used pointing to the back right corner create an orangey sun, and each larger beam creates warm sun rays that you see during the fall. I used the red lights to create the reddish tableau that we see in New England forests, but I still used green in the gobo to create the leafy outlines to represent the change from green to red. Finally, I used orange light in the upper left corner to fill out the rest of the space and create a similar look to an orange sunset.

2) Spring sunrise in a Gothic Cathedral

For this lighting look, I used Gold Tint on the upper cyc lights and Parry Sky Blue on the lower cyc lights. I used Mist Blue on the center and corner lights; the center one is at full and the corner lights are at 75 percent power. The light at quarter on stage left is Medium Blue Green, and the light at quarter on stage right is Folies Pink. Both of these lights are at 75 percent power. Last, I have two wide-spread Moss Green lights coming from each side of the stage with the Lines gobo.

For this light, I was inspired by photos of Gothic cathedrals that I found online. I created an arch with the front lights with whitish light to represent the sunshine coming in, and the pink and blues to represent the spring colors. The cyc is lit with gold and blue sunrise colors to fill the space. The green on the sides represents the trees on either side of the cathedral, and the lines gobo is used to mimic the architecture.

3) Noon on a hot Summer day in Africa

For this lighting, I used No Color Blue for the three lights coming from the upper right corner, and also for the lights shining onto the cyc. The cyc is lit by Light Sky Blue on top and bottom. Medium Yellow is used on the two lights in the downstage corners, and a Moss Green wash comes from the upper left corner.

I chose the cyc color to be light blue to mimic the bright blue sky on a hot summer day, and I shone white lights on the cyc to create the look of clouds traveling across the sky. The three white lights shining onto the subject are Jacob’s Ladder of the sun’s rays, and the green light from the upper left corner creates a wash on the floor for grass. The yellow coming from the corners could represent dry grass, dirt, or sand.

4) Winter afternoon in North Dakota

This lighting look is created with three lights in Full CT Blue coming from stage right, and additional top lighting in Full CT Blue coming from the quarter marks. The cyc is lit with Light Sky Blue on top and bottom.

This is a very minimalistic lighting look, but I was inspired by a snowy yet sunny day often seen in the winter time. The sun is shining on the subject, and the additional top light creates the same dispersing effect that clouds create. Then of course, the cyc is lit blue like the sky.