Drama 16 Stage Lighting

New England Sunset

I was inspired by the sunset beach photos I would take in Cape Cod. The best sunsets are in the beginning of fall.

Lights used:

1. G CC21, DS Right, full intensity, 36 degrees
2. G CC15, DS Right, full intensity
3. G CC15, DS Right, 75% intensity
4. G CC21, DS Right, full intensity
5. G CC21, US Right, 75% intensity
6. G CC21, US Right, full intensity
7. G CC26, DS Right, 75% intensity

Spring Sunrise in the Gothic Cathedral

This lighting sequence would represent the small sunlight beginning to rise through the windows of the cathedral.

Lights used:

1. G L151, DS Right, full intensity, window gobo effect, soft focus
2. G CC15, CS Right, full intensity, window gobo effect, soft focus
3. 100, US Right, full intensity, window gobo effect, soft focus
4. G L151, DS Left, full intensity, window gobo effect, soft focus
5. G CC15, CS Left, full intensity, window gobo effect, soft focus
6. 100, US Left, full intensity, window gobo effect, soft focus

Noon on a hot summer’s day in Africa

The surrounding area in Africa is very warm and hot as if the sun’s color was the temperature of the area.

Lights used:

1. G L151, DS Right, full intensity, 90 degrees
2. G CC15, CS Right, full intensity, 90 degrees
3. G CC21, US Right, full intensity, 90 degrees
4. G L151, DS Left, full intensity, 90 degrees
5. G CC15, CS Left, full intensity, 90 degrees
6. G CC21, US Left, full intensity, 90 degrees
7. 100, DS Right, 50% intensity, 90 degrees
8. 100, DS Left, 50% intensity, 90 degrees

A winter afternoon in North Dakota

For winters, there is this natural feeling where people would associate winter colors with the cold being just blue. I wanted to show more of the very light white-blue color effect during one of the aftermath of a blizzard.

Lights used:

1. G L201, DS Right, full intensity, 90 degrees
2. G L201, CS Right, 50% intensity, 90 degrees
3. G CC68, US Right, full intensity, 90 degrees
4. G L201, DS Left, full intensity, 90 degrees
5. G L201, CS Left, full intensity, 90 degrees
6. G CC68, US Left, full intensity, 90 degrees
7. 100, DS Right, 25% intensity, 90 degrees
8. 100, DS Left, 25% intensity, 90 degrees
9. G L201, US Right, 50% intensity, 90 degrees
10. G L201, US Left, 50% intensity, 90 degrees

New England Sunset:

1. Light salmon, full intensity
2. Straw, 85% intensity
3. Red diffusion, 75% intensity
4. Gold tint, full intensity
5. Deep straw, 85% intensity
6. Golden amber, full intensity
7. Gold tint, full intensity
8. Deep straw, full intensity
9. Congo blue, full intensity
10. Cyc: Flesh pink, full intensity

I was inspired by photos I saw of sunsets in the White Mountains and how vibrant the colors of the sky were without the buildings and air pollution of the city.

Spring Sunrise in Gothic Cathedral:

1. Full CT blue, full intensity, window gobo
2. Full CT blue, full intensity, window gobo
3. Full CT blue, full intensity
4. Full CT blue, full intensity
5. Full CT blue, 75% intensity
6. Flame, 75% intensity, breakup gobo
7. Full CT blue, 75% intensity
8. Flame, 75% intensity, breakup gobo
9. Cyc: Primary blue, full intensity

I looked up photos to see the inside of Gothic Cathedrals, and there were often very geometric arches and designs across the ceiling, and there were lots of tall, decorative windows. I took inspiration from the darkness of early sunrises and tried to create geometric patterns with the lights through the air.

Summer noon in Africa:

1. Deep straw, full intensity
2. Deep straw, full intensity
3. Deep straw, full intensity
4. Full CT blue, 70% intensity
5. Full CT blue, 70% intensity
6. Full CT blue, 70% intensity
7. Full CT blue, 70% intensity
8. Cyc: Moss green, 75% intensity

I wanted to emulate the bright sun that happens at noon and also include the greenery of the jungles in Africa with the green cyc.

Winter afternoon in North Dakota

1. Hemsley blue, full intensity
2. Hemsley blue, full intensity
3. Hemsley blue, full intensity
4. Full CT blue, 70% intensity
5. Full CT blue, 50% intensity
6. Full CT blue, 70% intensity
7. Full CT blue, 45% intensity
8. Full CT blue, full intensity
9. Cyc: Parry blue, full intensity

I wanted to show how bright and white the sun feels in the winter compared to when it feels warmer in the summer. I wanted to use bright cooler toned lights for the sun, and then I made the cyc blue for the sky.

Fall- Although I loved the traditional golden hour for this staging, I wanted to incorporate some blues for depth and overall aesthetics. I loved how, in the original photo, you can see the hazy sky, so I tried to incorporate it using the cyc in the background.

Spring- This was my favorite season because I loved choosing the colors for the individual windows, and using gobos in the design was also really fun. It was also the most straightforward in terms of light direction and fullness.

Summer- I actually couldn’t find a picture of Africa in the summer time, so I went with the coolest picture I could fid. I really loved making this one with all of the fun shadows and different gels of warm yellows and oranges.

Winter- This is one is probably the prettiest one that I made. I really tried ot incorporate the pinkish sunset in the background. Mkaing all of the different pink, purpke, blue, and white gels in the back blend together was also really fun.

1. A Fall sunset in New England- To evoke fall, I selected a very warm color pallette with a soft discipline. To me, fall in New England is soft and comfortable, and as such I sought to create some softer, more ambient lighting. I also heavily used the breakup gobo to indicate the concept of fallen leaves on the ground.
2. Spring sunrise in a Gothic Cathedral- For this setup, I knew that I wanted to use gobos- and I was lucky to find the Apollo glass gobos. As for the rest of the scene, I imagined the cathedral rather dark, lit dimly by ‘candelight’, represented by Chan 4, and its cool shadows tinted blue by Chan 5-6. I took a lot of inspiration from the design of La Sagrada Familia.
3. Noon on a hot Summer day in Africa- For this scene, I wanted to use warm and neutral tones with a large amount of ambient illumination without over-lighting the scene. I used a lot of top-lighting to indicate noon and to make the lights feel almost obtrusive. However, due to the lack of bounced-light within the program, I realised that I needed to add front lights to light the subject. I also put a gradient on the cyc to accentuate the “heat” from above.
4. Winter afternoon in North Dakota- My main goal was making the scene feel cold. I think back to snow and the bright light reflected off of it, resulting in the high contrast lighting seen. I also chose to follow the cultural association of blue with cold to boost the feeling.

4/19, 10:00pm, Crumbl Cookies

Objective description: The room is very bright with the bright white paint and tiles combined with bright white LED lights. The lighting coming off of the order screens is another light adding to the already bright lights in the store.

Subjective description: The lights are reflecting so strongly off of the tile that my eyes hurt; the amount of white in the store is almost giving me a headache. This annoyance from the lighting is adding to the pressure of not knowing what I want to order. However, the fully white walls and light makes the store look very new and clean, so I trust the cookies I’m about to get are going to be delicious.

4/23/24 – Outside of Breslin Hall – 9:50 PM

Objective: The full moon is shining brightly down from the sky, but it looks slightly fuzzy due to the clouds, and its moon rays are dispersed.

Subjective: The moon is very bright tonight, and on a clear day, it would be a perfect photograph. Yet, the moist air and the misty clouds in the sky cause its appearance to spread. The moon, usually so detailed, is just another white light in the sky.

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.

9:34pm, sidewalk to c-square.

White Light from the lampost shines through tree branches

—

After a long tiresome day, the walk back to home is a journey within itself. And yet, it also shines as brightly as the day with white light streaming down onto the pavement, scrambles of harsh light shining between the trees leaves creating constellation-like spots of stars below my feet. The white light radiates out from behind the tree, the shadows and highlights of the branches develop halos circling the lamplight bright beam. Like a false moon to light the path among the stars.

12:35am, inside Adams Playhouse lobby.

Dark lobby with lamposts outside casting dim white light. Silhouettes of the door panels are cast on the walls.

—

A tranquil space of comfortable solitude in the late shadows of the night. Against the cold tiles, I sat and watched the long beams of dim light cascade along the floors and up the walls illuminating the glass pane structures of the window. Within the lobby’s silence and darkness, there seems like nothing but time in the slumbering theatre.

Photo taken by me

#1/2/3/4/5: Belladonna rose, full intensity

#6/7/8: Primary blue, full intensity

I took this picture at a concert last summer, and I remember being there and thinking that the lighting was very surreal and unnatural, in a good way. The colors were so vivid and coming straight down to the audience from the stage, so it felt like I was in another world.