Drama 16 Stage Lighting

I got this photo from a blog about Epcot called Epcot Explorer: https://epcotexplorer.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/illuminations-reflecting-on-15-years/ .

The theme is surreal.

The lighting is unreal in its color, its angle, its vibrancy. The sky is lit up by lasers like the end of the world or like a mystical portal is opening. The colorful lights are reflected in the water making it resemble a magical river that one might dream up as a child. All of the lighting is fantastical even the bright projected white on the Earth. The water shows the hidden mysteries of lights that are far off and also the pink and green of the globe. The various angles are unusual as the light from the water fountains illustrates since it goes straight up with the water. There are neons, bright magentas, oranges, blues, greens, and white in the color palette of the lights. There are hints of red, yellow, and purple as well. It is like a rainbow but brighter; the lights have a similar feeling of joy in their colors as fireworks and glow sticks. They are spectacular and delightful like a magician show. Clearly, the lights are magical not realistic. Even the sky with the green and blue fading into one another repeatedly in a pattern is mostly intense and vibrant in color and brightness. This brightness is like the pages of children’s picture books and children’s toys in general. Consequently, the lighting is surreal and creates an atmosphere that is playful, reflexive, and dream-like.

4/25/16-10:23am-Outside the Spiegel Theater

The sunlight warmly hits the bright green leaves of this tree that looks sort of like a weeping willow but has branches hanging down with bright green spade-shaped leaves. The shadow cast on its bark reflects the spade-like shape of the leaves and only some direct sunlight comes through in varying amounts to hit the bark. Thus, the bark is illuminated with different intensities of sunlight.

The light colors the bark of the tree and accents the lines of the bark. The bark looks like it might just erupt into circular-like shapes like the shadows that gently fall onto it from the branches above. The movement of the shadows with the gentle swaying of the breeze create a dream-like feeling. The tree bark shimmers like psychedelic orbs that make the tree glow with different shades as the light and shadow change how intense the light is on the bark constantly. As the shadow and sunlight move, there is green, teal, brown, gold, grey, amber, and silver on the bark. The whiteness of the light of the sun has the greenness of the leaves and the shades of the nearby plants reflect onto the bark allowing for this rainbow. It is a creative light with its colors and intensities. Every leaf looks more like a heart than a spade with the shadow that is created by the sunlight hitting it. The lighting is artistic, it is natural, it is soft, and it is dynamic. The overall feeling of the light is one of confusion, fun, and bedazzlement. It changes between these naturalistic colors and is constantly moving like the light cannot make up its mind how to shine on the tree, but it is also fun with the varying spots of intensities and colors reflected back. This movement and change in the amount of light hitting the bark is bedazzling like a disco ball in the night. It is fun though; It’s fun in the confusion and in dazzling qualities.

1. A Fall Sunset in Vermont
   
   There were six lights used on the model. (From stage right to left and from downstage to upstage, there is a sidelight with a 43 degree elevation angle, 75% intensity, and a AP7350 gel; a backlight with a 56 degree back angle, a 37 degree elevation angle, 77% intensity, and a AP8250 gel; a sidelight with 45% intensity, a L793 gel, and a 75 degree elevation angle; a sidelight with a G395 gel, 50% intensity, and 75 degree elevation angle; a backlight with 75% intensity, a AP5960 gel, a 42 degree elevation angle, and a 48 degree back angle; a sidelight with a 43 degree elevation angle, 25% intensity, and a AP6300 gel.The top lights on the cyclorama are a light with a R126 gel at 14% intensity, a light with RED at 80% intensity, a light with a G315 gel at 9% intensity, and a light with a R367 gel at 71% intensity. The cyclorama is lit from the bottom with a 20% intensity No Color light, a 32% intensity light with a R12 gel, a 41% intensity light with a AP2190 gel, and a 33% intensity light with a L026 gel.This lighting depicts a fall sunset in Vermont through its used of color and positioning. Colors are often quite vibrant in the sky near sunset and colors are also usually quite vibrant on the leaves of trees in Vermont during fall. Light shining through fall leaves at the correct angle can be affected like a stage light being covered by a gel. The whitish sunlight can shine through the leaves and appear to be the color of whatever the leaves are. The fact that all the light comes from behind the model signifies the sunset aspect of this moment since the light is leaving. The colors of light on the cyclorama are bright like they would be at sunset.
2. A Spring Sunrise in Montauk
   
   There are five lights on the models. There is a front light with a 0 degree elevation angle, a 56 degree side angle, a LHT020 gel, and 49% intensity. There is a sidelight with a 0 degree elevation angle, a L793 gel, and 54% intensity. There is a front light with a 23 degree elevation angle, a 56 degree side angle, a LHT254 gel, and 77% intensity. There is a backlight with a 23 degree elevation angle, a 56 degree back angle, a L704 gel, and a 51% intensity. There is also a sidelight with a 37 degree elevation angle, a L135 gel, and 74% intensity.The cyclorama is lit from the top by a light with a RE202 gel and 40% intensity, a light with a RE219 gel and 31% intensity, a light with a L010 gel and 25% intensity, and a light with a R377 gel and 75% intensity. It is lit from the bottom by four lights as well: a light with a R24 gel and 39% intensity, a light with a YELLOW gel and 46% intensity, a light with a RE002 gel and 20% intensity, and a gel with a L172 gel and 20% intensity.The lighting is appropriate for the moment because the light on the models comes from one general area. This area could be understood to be the sun rising. The colors are warm and diverse but gentler, less intense, and less vibrant than the colors in the fall picture. The sunlight might catch some flowers or flowering trees that are blooming as it rises but it would not be as overwhelming as the changing colors of leaves in Vermont in fall.
3. Noon on a hot Summer day in Hawaii
   
   There are four lights on the model. One is a front light with a G335 gel, a 52 degree elevation angle, a 21 degree side angle, and 70% intensity. A second light is a front light with a 34 degree elevation angle, a 11 degree side angle, a L130 gel, and a 53% intensity. Another is a front light with a 34 degree elevation angle, a 11 degree side angle a L172 gel, and 25% intensity. Lastly, there is a light with a 48 degree elevation angle, a 37 degree side angle, a AP3550 gel, and 50% intensity.Lighting the top of the cyclorama are four lights: a light with a RE165 gel and 40% intensity, a light with a RE322 gel and 31% intensity, a light with a RE5336 gel and 25% intensity, and a light with a RE363 gel and 75%. Lighting the bottom of the cyclorama are four lights: a light with a RE212 gel and 39% intensity, a light with a RE130 gel and 40% intensity, a light with a RE243 gel and 50% intensity, and a light with a RE195 gel and 50% intensity.This lighting fits the scene described because all of the light hits the model hard blotting out details and casting harsh, dark but shallow shadows across the face like the noonday sun. The lighting also simulates the brightness of the middle of the day with the bright blue sky, and the combination of lights creates a slightly warm white-ish light, which seems appropriate to represent the summer heat at midday.
4. A Winter Afternoon in Maine
   
   There are three lights on the models. One is a front light with a 32 degree elevation angle, a 56 degree side angle, a L009 gel, and 71% intensity. Another is a direct backlight with a 14 degree elevation angle, a L249 gel, and 67% intensity. The last is a backlight with a 37 degree elevation angle, a 56 degree back angle, a L366 gel, and 60% intensity.The cyclorama has four top lights: a 17% intensity light with a G1514 gel, a 50% intensity light with a R19 gel, 10% intensity light with a L010, and a 87% intensity light with a R367. The cyclorama also has four bottom lights: a 87% intensity light with a L226 gel, a 30% intensity light with a R12 gel, a 41% intensity light with a AP2190 gel, and a 50% intensity light with a L026 gel.This lighting fits the moment described because there is warmth in some of the lighting’s color to signify afternoon and coolness to signify winter and the cold. The light also is more prominent on one side of the models to signify that the sun has past its peak point in the sky. There is also a combination of grays, blues, whites, and yellows on the cyclorama to signify the cold, bleak snowiness of Maine contrasting with the power of the afternoon sunlight to illuminate the world.

4/18/16 – 8:30am – Outside Colonial Square on Path Towards Student Center

The morning sun shines through the temporary black plastic fencing lining the sidewalk. It casts a shadow across the width of the sidewalk making it patterned with oval-ish shapes.

When one stared at the lighting and pathway too much, the shadow and light on the sidewalk had this hypnotic feel. It was mesmerizing and was dizzying to look at it. The lighting that cast this shadow made the path feel like it belonged in Alice in Wonderland since the path looked like it was trying to be an optical illusion. The intensity of the morning light made the shadow dark and the light that shined through to hit the pavement bright; there was a sharp distinction between light and shadow just like the colors had been black and white instead of black and golden lit grey-tan pavement. The lighting moment and mysterious effect on the path would not have been the same without this intensity. The stark contrast created made it seem like this pathway must be leading to some sort of black and white timeless dimension. The shape of the holes in the fence made the spots of bright light on the sidewalk curious ovals. In my mind, the path swirled for some reason due to the pattern cast upon it. It was like a moiré effect. Walking across it was like being on a boat. The mood that the lighting created was surreal.

I got this photo from Jaclyn Marie Photography’s blog. (https://jaclynmariephoto.wordpress.com/design-work/)

The theme is Advertisement Model/Desire.

The lighting is mysterious and makes the picture interesting . The figure is lit to emphasis her fabulous arched back position that is elegant like a bird. The light encourages the viewer to appreciate the dancer’s form with its bright and intense limited use of light. The light calls attention to this dancer like they are the star in the night sky. The lighting only shows certain body parts of the dancer; it is selective in its focus. This select focus makes the star image even greater. “Don’t you want to be a star” the lighting and photo call out to the spectator. Thus, the desire in this advertisement is establish through its lighting of a model.

9 April 2016-1:40pm-American Museum of Natural History

The light shines from behind one of the mounted seagulls near the ceiling of the one dinosaur room. The light catches the feathers on the edge of the right wing.

The lighting backlit the right wing like a glow from the heavens. It made the wing seem slightly transparent as the light seeped through certain spots of the feathers. The light despite its size emitted an intense light that highlighted the wing brilliantly. It is a bright light emphasizing the might of this seagulls wing. It is empowering light that has a feeling of bravery and nobility to it. It comes from the sky, it shows off this seagull’s wing, and it is golden-ish white. emboldening, brave, mighty, empowering, the light just seemed to sing heartily that this wing is powerful. It is the light of the heavens, of the brave, and of the celestial. The backlighting quality of this light really sells it home that it is a heavenly. The like of which might be found in paintings and other artwork throughout time to indicate holiness and sacredness. The lighting felt like it was empowering and giving strength even if this strength came only in the form of attention.

March 25th-7:00pm-Crossing the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge on Interstate 95

The sun was setting with yellows, blues, and greens and the light was still high enough that it caught the water. Yellow light reflected off the water making the water’s color a complete mystery whether it was blue, clear, or more greenish.

The reflected light shimmered in the water like a soothing hum lingering in the air. The sky blended with the water in color tone to become one shattered sort of mirror of the sky. It was peaceful and harmonious like a sharing of ideas and spread of beautiful light across the world. The shimmering golden lit water was breathtaking. The sunset made the scene like a fairytale. It was all so fantasy-like that it was surreal. It has the magical feeling associated with it like what would be felt if a penny was dropped into a wishing fountain and then the fountain’s water miraculously turned a more cooper-like color. With its magical qualities or really qualities of the beauty of nature, the lighting was like an enchanted reality.

I took this photo.

The theme is gentle.

This photo’s light falls into this theme since the lighting is not harsh and glaring. It does not hide the details of the photo’s subjects with huge splotches of light but rather has a gentle light that is fairly even in its beam-spread. The lighting is soft with a dim feeling or low intensity. This lighting is gentle just like how a soft whisper might be seen as gentle in terms of sound. It catches the details and illuminates them with a surrounding glow. The lighting is friendly with its distribution of being about the subjects. It is like a gentle hug one might give at a funeral. Even the shadows are faint and soft in this gentle light.

This photo was taken by me.

The theme is spooky and it fits this theme because it looks like it could be taken out of a spooky scene from a horror or Halloween film.

The lighting is white and bright like a space alien’s ship coming to abduct someone or that horridly spotless idea of the future that many films attempt to portray. The bright lighting depicted in the animated film Wall-E for inside the space ship where the lazy humans are is similar to this bright moonlight. The light is expansive causing a soft halo to surround it in the night sky. The brightness at night also is spooky because night is meant to be dark in the minds of many. This bright moonlight might peer into a window and wake people up like how the people were wakened up during the Light Riots. The light backlights the tree making it a shadowy silhouette. Moonlight has a history of spookiness with witches flying across it, cows jumping over it, and werewolf’s howling to it; this moonlit picture harkens back to this tradition with the light’s boldness and the silhouetted tree’s bareness. The white light and lingering halo of grey contrast with the night-time blackness like a mysterious power; this starkness and utter lack of an array of colors and stark would be enough to spook a child into hiding under the covers. For all a little child knows, this could be the eye of a huge monster coming to destroy it; and the power (high value) and abundance of this light makes it imposing. The dead, dark world that some might think exists in blackness comes back to life with the bright glow of the moon. However, it is not as alive as day; it is like a half-life or perhaps undead life. After all, in the total dark, one cannot see that the world does not look as alive as the day, but in partial light one can. Thus, the lighting in this picture is spooky as it is a sign that scary things might be out and since it makes things that look bright and alive during the day appear dead, creepy, and unnerving through the limited, bright, far-reaching, and contrasting with the dark surroundings white moonlight.

11 March 2016-3:41pm-Colonial Square East Dorm Security Booth and Desk

The sun shines through the window suddenly and illuminates details and causes shadows that weren’t there a moment ago.

The light makes the the window look musty and dirty; like a portal to an older time when windows aren’t clean as much. It gives a a bluish and greenish tint to the pages of my notebook like they are sick with some sort of deadly illness, and it causes many shadows that emphasize the edges of things like lighting a human face to point out wrinkles and age. Overall, the lighting gives a feeling of oldness and allows reflection on the past and present with the tone that it gives to the room and its objects. The light’s reflections off of the binder ring of the binder with the names of the residents in it also add a feeling of magic. It makes the room transform into a timeless place and it causes  reminiscent thoughts. In this moment, the lighting is like that which might be used in a flashback scene in a film. It makes the entire world resemble an old book with its soft and yet powerful light. The light is also golden like the yellowed pages of a book. It shimmers and the shadows flicker a little bit adding to the dream-like quality and feeling of being transported to another time. The distribution of the light comes from the window behind the desk and fills up only about half of the booth where I sit at the desk. It does not touch the cool half of the booth with the exit to the outside world The lighting is reflexive, questioning time, the past, and my perception of these objects with its qualities. The lighting has a feeling of being old and looking back, a feeling of reminiscence.