Drama 16 Stage Lighting

Date: 03/12/2024

Time: around 6:00pm

Location: Union Tpke subway station

Objective: I am waiting for the train to come. There many people around me waiting for the same thing. The cement I am standing on looks dirty, filled with chewed gum and questionable stains. Yellow strips are painted at the edges of the platforms and the columns are a muted navy. The tracks are littered with the usual trash and roaming rats. The smell of sewer in pungent and the strips of lighting are dim and warm.

Subjective:  Waiting on the platforms for the subway is visually quite grim and muddy-looking. Although I usually prefer warm dim lighting, the lighting just adds on to the uncleanliness and griminess of the station. I usually overlook this because of all the interesting people or performers that also fill up these subway stations, but on a empty day like this one the subway station seems depressing.

Attribution: https://www.lighting-essentials.com/08-controlling-presentation-light/

Theme: Single Source Artificial Light

Description: Looking for an image of a single source artificial light reminded me of when I used to to do still life studies, most often with fruit. In this image, the apple is being lit from directly above.

Date: 03/06/2023

Time: 3:00 pm

Location: outside Schaeffer’s Black Box

Objective: I was sitting on the bench and it was a very sunny day. The sky was a solid light blue with little to no clouds. I had finished drinking the chai latte from my glass french square bottle and settled it down on the bench beside me. The sun was reflecting on the glass and highlight the edges and rims of the glass bottle. The sunlight was also hitting me straight on the face.

Subjective: The sunlight reflecting off the glass bottle created for some interesting shadows and beautiful wavy highlights. The sunlight hitting me straight on the face made my skin look smooth but it also completely erased most of the dimension on my face. This moment reminded me of the what we learned earlier about lighting positions and angles and how having a direct light on your face will wash out most of your features. Overall this moment felt very positive and happy because of the bright light and blue skies.

Theme: Bizarre

Description: Bizarre means unusual and out of the ordinary, and I think this image of a perfume bottle does a good job of expressing that. The colors in this photo are very vibrant and are complimentary colors(cyan and red). Complimentary colors such as these create an interesting image but also creates discomfort. Also the shapes created in the background remind me of the use of gobos. The use of gobos can create shapes that are not shapes you can see normally in everyday life.

Date: 03/02/2023

Time: 9:00 pm

Location: in the kitchen at my house

Objective: No light streaming in from the window. All the fluorescent lights in the kitchen are on and the light has a more cooler tone. The kitchen is in a decent state. The cabinets are a mid-tone warm wood, the floor is made of plain white tiles, and all the appliances are a steel grey.

Subjective: The lighting in the kitchen reminded me of our “cold” themed photo observation assignment. I never noticed how the lighting in the kitchen made the kitchen seem so cold and lifeless. Despite the obvious mentions of livingness through the many items displayed in the kitchen, the cool fluorescent lighting washes it all out. It felt like the kitchen was empty and dull-probably the only the part that doesn’t feel like home. Also explains why I prefer lowering the lights whenever I start cooking,

Photo taken by me on 10/19/2022, inside Terminal 5

Theme: Nightlife

Description: This picture was taken at a concert I attended with a close friend, for a band called The Rose. The photo was taken right before they were going to start-around 8 pm that day. Concerts do a good job of showcasing what night life means to me. Concerts are usually the only reason that would push me to stay out that late and forego a good night sleep. There are multiple different colored lighting happening here. All the lights are vibrant pinks, reds, and blues in the otherwise dark venue. There was a lot of movement in the lights coming from the stage which only added to the liveliness and high energy of the place.

Date: 02/24/2023

Time: 9:30 pm

Location: my backyard

Objective: Its dark outside and the only light that is on is the motion-censored light right above the trash bin. I was taking out the trash so I was right in the direction of the light. As it hit me, it created a large shadow on the cement of my backyard as well as making shadows of other objects nearby.

Subjective: The large shadows create an eerie yet otherworldly moment. Although the shadows are just reflections of the objects present and myself, the shadows are much more distorted. The shadows of the objects can look like monsters from sci-fi or fantasy films to someone with a high imagination. It added a sense of liveliness to the quiet night.

Theme: Cold

Attribution: https://www.flickr.com/photos/patrickjoust/8347728672/in/set-72157603506244707

Description: This photo takes place on an empty street at night. The blue wash of light encompasses most of the image except for the tiny dot of warm light in the far left and the sky, which is also a warm grey in contrast to the cool-bluish grays we can see on the road and sidewalks. The cool blue light from the main streetlight creates this coldness in the photo. The blue lighting also adds to the emptiness in the image, as cool lighting can be associated with being devoid of life from the lack of warmth.

Date: 02/17/2023

Time: around 2:00 pm

Location: Outside Adam’s playhouse

Objective: The sky is filled with light and dark gray clouds. The pavements are much darker than usual since there was a light drizzle happening and it was also raining heavier prior to this time as well. There is little to no visible sunlight coming through the clouds, so there is mainly just a wash of cool gray throughout the atmosphere.

Subjective: Just like most rainy days, the heavy cool gray creates for a more dull and gloomy atmosphere. Not only that, but I kept thinking back to the story of Noah’s ark when I saw the rainy skies today. I can associate times like these to the moment when the biblical characters noticed the warning of the flood about to begin and the feeling of impending doom with what was going to happen. Like this moment was a stepping stone to something that could be worse.

Theme: Romantic

Attributions: Photo from https://www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/best-for/romantic-restaurants-london_9856

Description:  The warm, subdued lighting in this photo is what pushes me to think romance.  There is warm, yellow color emitting from the candles and fireplace. The light is just bright enough for those who will sit in the table to see each other but not bright enough for them to be distracted by their surroundings. Therefore creating a more intimate setting if a couple were to sit in a place like this.