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The Fundamentals of Lighting Design. We Will Discuss…. What a LD needs to know to design a show What a LD can control with light How to unify the them. In order to be a good Lighting Designer…. The NUMBER ONE job of a Lighting Designer is to see the action on stage.
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We Will Discuss… • What a LD needs to know to design a show • What a LD can control with light • How to unify the them
The NUMBER ONE job of a Lighting Designer is to see the action on stage
You must understand the total design effort and pull all the visual elements together
The Lighting Designer is the ONLY Designer who does not make an advance statement in VISUAL Terms
What will happen with… • Fabric • Make-up • Scene Painting • Color and how to use it effectively • Directorial Concepts • Script Demands (Practicals, Lightning, Fog, Fire, etc)
Everything we see on stage can be DESTROYED by Poor Lighting!
A Lighting Designer must place emphasis on where they wish to place Focus
They must be aware of Light and how it can be used effectively for the production
There are 4 FACTORS that can be controlled by the Lighting Designer
The 4 Factors of Lighting • Intensity • Color • Movement • Distribution
Intensity • How bright is the lighting instrument • Too much light is always better than not enough • Usually controlled by a Dimmer • Various lights set at various levels creates a lighting cue
Color • Color is subjective - it means different things to different people • Color can reflect mood
RED HOT ANGER LOVE WAR WARMTH
BLUE SKY WATER RESTRAINT COOL SERIOUS
AMBER HOME WARMTH HEARTH COMFORT
GREEN EARTH GREED MONEY RESTFULNESS
Color • A Light with no gel is referred to as white light • White light contains all colors of the spectrum - ROYGBIV • Using gel is a SUBTRACTIVE process because we SUBTRACT the unwanted color • If we ADD a RED gel over a GREEN gel what will happen?
MAGENTA BLUE & RED MAKE…
CYAN BLUE & GREEN MAKE…
AMBER RED & GREEN MAKE…
? ADDITIVE COLOR WHEEL
You can also create white light by mixing complementary colors
Color selection is one of the most difficult choices for a Lighting Designer to learn.
Let’s play with COLOR! http://www.cbu.edu/~jvarrian/applets/color1/colors_g.htm
Movement • Duration of Light Ques and the duration of NO movement between Ques - This creates the play’s rhythm • Movement of ONSTAGE light (Lanterns, flashlights, candles…) • Movement of OFFSTAGE light (Followspots, Headlights, Fire…)
Distribution • Quality or type of light - “What instrument do I choose to do the job?” • Direction of light - “What direction do I want the light to come from?”
Types of Lighting Instruments • Fresnel • Ellipsoidal Reflector Spotlight • Par Can • Strip Light
Types of Lighting Instruments • Fresnel • Named after the lens usedin lighthouses • Soft pool of light • Used for wash light • Can use barndoors
Types of Lighting Instruments • Ellipsoidal ReflectorSpotlight • Named for reflector type • Hard edged light • Can be shuttered • Can use gobos
Types of Lighting Instruments • Parcan • Blob of light • “Blob” can be spun • Inexpensive light • Used in Rock and Roll
Types of Lighting Instruments • Striplights • Sheets of light • Usually comes in 3 or 4 circuits • Used to light cycloramas
4 Major Directions of Light • Front • Side • Down • Back
When all four directions are used together we achieve PLASTIC EXPRESSION
A good Lighting Designer manipulates each factor of lighting to create a unified design that will enhance the costumes, scenery and actors.