General Questions for LDs

[axman]

A few quick questions for any Lighting Designer interested in answering:

1. What do you feel makes a good Lighting Designer?
2. Who is your favorite Lighting Designer?
3. What is your preferred method of Lighting Design?
4. What Lighting Design computer program do you think is the best?

[greenpaint]

A few quick questions for any Lighting Designer interested in answering:

1. What do you feel makes a good Lighting Designer?
2. Who is your favorite Lighting Designer?
3. What is your preferred method of Lighting Design?
4. What Lighting Design computer program do you think is the best?

1)
Don't get stuck into design habits:
A good LD is flexible enough in their thinking to be able to change their "philosophy of lighting" to match every show they design. The philosophic approach to a Brechtian play will be different than the approach to a Tennessee Williams play, and the philosophic approach to a Hula will be different than towards ballet.

I don't just mean the "design" must be different to match the show - I mean that the entire approach to the use of light and the use of color and instruments.

YET, many shows in the West have similar philosophies of live representational performance, so this isn't something one needs to change completely for every single similar-ish play or dance.

...And to understand that there are as many approaches to lighting as there are approaches to representational painting. (Learn your art!)
Not all philosophies of lighting are deep or interesting, but may still be valid for a particular show.

2) I like Ryuichi Kawauchi and Fernando Jacon.

3)
See answer number 1.
Deep understanding of the Director's vision (or the Director's expectations of your input and ideas) is crucial so I start there - with the philosophy I must don in order to effectively light the show. Even if that philosophy isn't deep or unusual.

4) I like LxFree or Vectorworks.

[Beans45601]

1. What do you feel makes a good Lighting Designer?

The ability to stay in one venue for many, many years at a time and not get board. Always trying out new positions and making them up as you go along. Having the (necessary) knowledge of how light, color and shadow work "in the real world" and being able to take that, play with it and have fun. Also, I would never work for a designer that didn't know what it takes to actually hang a show. Someone who has always been a designer and nothing else does not have the necessary real world experience.

2. Who is your favorite Lighting Designer?

I don't have one. Theater is work, I generally don't go to shows.

3. What is your preferred method of Lighting Design?

Depends on my mood. Right now I am working on a musical and no one knows anything about it, I have no ground plan, just photos from past performances. I don't know what is going to go where, until it is built and physically on the stage. I am loving the ability to be spontaneous and just have a lot of fun with this show. Generally I have the ability to actually sit down and draft and I always have fun trying out new positions or colors that I am pretty sure won't work, but when they do, it's great. I don't think this is the answer you wanted :/

4. What Lighting Design computer program do you think is the best?

I have never been able to use any software. It never feels as personal or helpful as just pen and paper. Also it tends to make my 3 year old netbook sad.

[CBR372]

1) I am in agreement with green tape above. With some additions. One cannot become to attached to their ideas. Just because you have a great idea to use some R59 diagonal backlight doesn't mean that is the BEST choice for the show. (however used properly it can look pretty sexy) Some of the choices that I have made have come as ideas from a scenic designer (so what if she was my girlfriend!). Be ready to get rid of all your ideas and throw them out for something else. Also your job is to serve the show and the playwright. Not your or the directors ego. Remember that.

2) Kevin Adams, I am a firm believer in collaborative theatre, especially between the set designer and the lighting designer. Him and Christine Jones (Set designer) have created some beautiful settings for shows and the amount of lights in the set just goes to show how collaborative that group must have been.

3) What ever serves the show best. Of course venues will create "challenges" to a particular approach but that doesn't mean you can't try!

4) Vectorworks 2011/2012 and Lightwright 5, One kickass combo

[mstaylor]

1. I don't necessarily think I'm a good designer. I'm a competent designer but my talents are more in the practical side of lighting and sets.
2. Don't have one.
3. Too many variables. I have designed in everything from small theatres with low ceilings to some really nice theatres. Also depends on the type of show, straight show, musical, dance, realistic, fantasy, the list goes on. Years ago I did a small show designed for a 24 channel two scene preset. Through no control of mine, I wound up with 11 channels and a ton of repatches. I was as proud of that show as some with a ton of dimmers and a boatload of lights.
4. I hand draw everything.

[LightStud]

A few quick questions for any Lighting Designer interested in answering:
1. What do you feel makes a good Lighting Designer?

Anyone who makes his living in the industry can be considered a "good" or at least successful, Lighting Designer. On the other hand last week at the local community theatre I saw an excellent lighting design. The designer received no compensation other than his name in the program. He works as an accountant. He has never taken a theatre course, and this was his third show at that theatre.

2. Who is your favorite Lighting Designer?

Rubbish question. I am good friends with a number of well-known Lighting Designers. I like them very much as people. Their work is often crap, even though they are always working and have write-ups in the trade journals. On the other hand, I've met some SOBs who were truly onerous people, but their lighting was are-inspiring.

3. What is your preferred method of Lighting Design?

Read the play. Meet with the director. Read the play. Attend production meetings. Read the play. Do research. Read the play. Do preliminary sketches. Read the play. Meet with the rest of the design team. Read the play. Attend more production meetings. Read the play. Watch a rehearsal. Read the play. Prepare the plot and shop order. Read the play. Cue the show. Read the play.

4. What Lighting Design computer program do you think is the best?

"Best" for what purpose? "Best" based on what criteria? In another thread, a member says Excel is best for him. Who's to argue? Vectorworks, Lightwright, ESP Vision, whatever console emulator/offline editor, all work for me. But I was designing lighting before there were computers, and I could and would do it again in a heartbeat.

[waynehoskins]

1. What makes a good LD?
Eye for color and angle. Ability to read a script and watch a rehearsal and see how you want to light it. Intentionality. Trying something new, and maybe it works out. Learning in a limited space where you can't just put up 500 lights and turn them all on individually. Not having too many lights on (especially at like 3) at the same time. Knowing the director's approach to using the space.

2. Who is your favorite LD?
As big names go, I admire Luc Lafortune. His lighting keynote at USITT '05 validated the concept of intentionality I'd been discovering in my own designs as a student.

3. What is your preferred method of lighting design?
I have my basic bag of tricks like everyone else. The space I learned in (and still light now) is particularly limited in AP positions; it only has two sections of one position that are at an extremely flat angle. Because of that, I tend to do most things from overhead even in a space that has adequate APs.

4. What LD computer program do you think is best?
Design program? Meh. I don't think any program can generate a design. Pre-viz stuff can be a useful tool, but I've never had the opportunity or need to use it. In college I learned to use Autocad for drafting and Excel for paperwork; these days I use Qcad and Openoffice to do the same things. Vectorworks and Lightwright would probably be more convenient, but at this point I can't justify the cost for me. In the end, it's all about documenting and communicating the design of the lighting rig; pen and paper (which I've used many times) work just as well as the latest software.

And a bit of a postscript, I want to comment on something Michael said, the bit about the 11-channel two-preset design. We all love being able to use as many channels as we want, up through at least 96 on a memory board. We all have our own techniques for channel hookup where the numbers mean something, and when possible I always have something on channel 96 (but 24-30 and other ranges may be empty). As convenient as that all is, I like to think that most good designs (not all good designs; it depends on the particulars) -- most of them should be able to translate to a two-preset 24 or 36 manual board with minimal damage. Not that this should be a deciding factor in the design, but I think it's a good general litmus test: "Could I make this work on the old Mantrix or Producer or LP1000?"

[jglodeklights]

1. The ability to effectively support the performance without getting in the way or attempting to tell the story except when directly called for as part of it. This incorporates lighting as a visual design utilizing color, shape, intensity and direction; combining these elements with time and practicality.

2. Myself. If I want to promote myself and be confident of what I am doing when I walk into a space, I need to know what I like what I am doing. Outside of myself I think it is all case dependent. I truly love Don Holder's work on Lion King, but can't necessarily say everything he does is my favorite. We must evaluate designs as independent from everything except what they are at that moment.

3. I approach each design as its own unique entity. If in dance I can alter my boom color between pieces, I will end up with some strange combinations and switches. L202 head highs, R87 SR Mid, R09 SL Mid, R56 SR Shin, A4680 SL Shin and R50 foot lights coming out of L202 Head highs, 4680 Mids, NC Shins and G730 foots. There is no typical plot or design for me.

4. I like LXFree for Plots, LightWright for paperwork and working with. Vectorworks is great but I can't afford it.

As to this "most good designs translating to two-scene preset 24 or 36 channel boards," I say nonsense. You design with what you have. If you need to translate it, translate it into what you will have to work with. Technology allows us much more precise and complex timing. Use it. Being able to think in 3, 4, 5 or 8 or more parts to a single cue isn't cheating, it is mimicking the way we see and interpret the world, or adds the ability to vastly alter how we perceive a scene by erasing/increasing/normalizing the shifts we see in lighting. Sometimes appropriate, sometimes useless. Take advantage of it when appropriate.

[shiben]

And a bit of a postscript, I want to comment on something Michael said, the bit about the 11-channel two-preset design. We all love being able to use as many channels as we want, up through at least 96 on a memory board. We all have our own techniques for channel hookup where the numbers mean something, and when possible I always have something on channel 96 (but 24-30 and other ranges may be empty). As convenient as that all is, I like to think that most good designs (not all good designs; it depends on the particulars) -- most of them should be able to translate to a two-preset 24 or 36 manual board with minimal damage. Not that this should be a deciding factor in the design, but I think it's a good general litmus test: "Could I make this work on the old Mantrix or Producer or LP1000?"

This is BS. Thats pretty much saying that any design that uses a moving light cant be that good/meet your standards. Now, I would say the litmus test of a good designer is that they can make an amazing design on a 24 channel 2 scene preset board, but as for a design being good if only if it can work on one is nonsense. And thus my problem with a lot of big name lighting designers these days. Would any of them touch a show if that was what they got?

[waynehoskins]

This is BS. Thats pretty much saying that any design that uses a moving light cant be that good/meet your standards. Now, I would say the litmus test of a good designer is that they can make an amazing design on a 24 channel 2 scene preset board, but as for a design being good if only if it can work on one is nonsense. And thus my problem with a lot of big name lighting designers these days. Would any of them touch a show if that was what they got?

Oh goodness, I didn't mean it like it sounded. Your idea is more in line with what I was thinking. Absolutely use the tools at your disposal, but for my designs at least, it's a good thing if the overall design (with probably a simplified channel hookup, and other manner of simplification while remaining true to the core of the design) could be run on the manual board. If not, it doesn't mean it's a bad design -- after all, there's a reason we have all these advanced tools, and they necessarily can do things their comparatively archaic predecessors can't.

I think I'm clear as mud tonight, but hopefully it makes a little sense.

[chausman]

Oh goodness, I didn't mean it like it sounded. Your idea is more in line with what I was thinking. Absolutely use the tools at your disposal, but for my designs at least, it's a good thing if the overall design (with probably a simplified channel hookup, and other manner of simplification while remaining true to the core of the design) could be run on the manual board. If not, it doesn't mean it's a bad design -- after all, there's a reason we have all these advanced tools, and they necessarily can do things their comparatively archaic predecessors can't.

I think I'm clear as mud tonight, but hopefully it makes a little sense.

Does this sum up what your trying to say?

"A good designer will do a good job with either a 24 ch. 2 scene preset, or a 64 universe GrandMA, the equipment available doesn't limit the design of the show, just the execution."

Similar as with sound. An A&H I-live and Renkus Heinz doesn't necessarily sound better then my Behringer and Carvin rig. (it probably does, but it is a good hyperbole)

[DuckJordan]

You'd be surprised at how few Broadway shows don't use movers except for a single unit that is focused for multiple areas. We just had white Christmas and they used very few movers, as well as an eos control console. Movers aren't very suited for road theater use since they have to be constantly worked on and re programmed for different venues due to space constraint. I know several "pro" designers who would take conventionals with color scrollers over any mover any day.

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[mstaylor]

You'd be surprised at how few Broadway shows don't use movers except for a single unit that is focused for multiple areas. We just had white Christmas and they used very few movers, as well as an eos control console. Movers aren't very suited for road theater use since they have to be constantly worked on and re programmed for different venues due to space constraint. I know several "pro" designers who would take conventionals with color scrollers over any mover any day.

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I disagree completely with roadshows not using movers. A fair portion of my income comes from supplying trusses and motors for national theatre tours. They use a combination of conventionals, conventinals plus scrollers and movers. Most tend to have at least twenty movers of some type, they mark their marley and touch focus to a head on a mic stand.

[DELO72]

1. What do you feel makes a good Lighting Designer?

A) Someone who takes the time to think the show through and choose the right tool, instead of lazily throwing anything up there. I'll give an example-- while I was an M.E. for a show, it was determined that a couple upstage right needed to be lit in their own special. The Lighting Designer at the time is someone who I would deem a poor lighting designer. She looked at her plot, realized she had a VL 2500 in the center of the first electric, dialed it up, spun it around on them, and voila! They were now in a special. Problem fixed! Except that by doing so they were lit with a very poor CRI of the metal halide lamp (in comparrison to the Halogen 100% CRI of the Source Fours used for the rest of the front specials/frontlight., and the angle (being that the fixture was fixed in place) caused light to spill all over the leg behind them. This was sloppy and amatuerish. A GOOD lighting Designer would have picked the right fixture hung from the right position with the right gel to meet the needs of the production better-- whatever those were. But they would have taken the time to put some thought into it.

A good LD can also do a lot with a little. One of the best designs I ever saw was a show at Siam Satire, in Ireland. The variety of lighting from piece to piece was astounding, each perfect for the piece and moment-- and then when you looked up and realized the designer did it all with nothing more than Altman 360Qs, some 6" fresnels, and some PARcans. Now that is an amazing designer. No color scrollers, no movers. It's like painting the mona Lisa and only having 1 brush and 3 colors of paint available.

2. Who is your favorite Lighting Designer?

Price Johnston, Professor of Lighting at CSU. The man is a brilliant designer and a pleasure to work with.

3. What is your preferred method of Lighting Design?

Too vague of a question. Do you mean McCandless vs Jewel, etc. or something else entirely?

4. What Lighting Design computer program do you think is the best?[/QUOTE]

It's been a while. I was keen on Vectorworks with the plug-in at the time though. But now that is so far behind the times I can't really comment.

[DuckJordan]

Just saying from my experience.

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[shiben]

You'd be surprised at how few Broadway shows don't use movers

Doubt it. Every one I have seen in the past few months uses them a ton, as does every one I load in. If MLs were not suited to the road, how does every Rock tour use them, most all broadway tours I have seen, and a significant number of trade tours use them? Yeah they get worked on a bunch, but the functionality is far superior, as you can use one system of lights to do a dozen things, which means less time on the in, less trucking, less variation between venues, less dimming, less power consumption, the list goes on.

[axman]

I want to thank everyone thus far for their time and input. I was mainly trying to get the view of other designers as I have been designing for only two years and have only done 36 shows, they varied greatly in size and crew.

To give my own view (for whatever its worth) of these questions:

#1: A good lighting designer can communicate (with their lighting and use of their mouth) what he wants the lighting to do because he has done it and thus knows the work it takes to load in the show and can quickly shift for any unforeseen obstacles (I like to call them challenges) the venue throws at him/her, thus resulting in a spectacular work of art.

#2: Patrick Woodroffe, his use of colors and shadows. Some designers forget that shadow - what not to light - is sometimes just as or more important than what to light. I was at a Tech at the O2 and the use of all the tools was there and his light architecture (use of shafts and thus fog) is just awesome, the only word I had for it was, WOW.

#3: I take each show as its own creation - which it is (I mainly do one-offs). I mainly work with the Show's designer and find out what the Motif of the show is so that my lighting design backs this up. It is so awesome what a group of artists (all crew included in this statement) can do when guided by the same art motif and give it their all, in their own right, backing it up and making amazing art the has a the desired impact on the audience.

#4: It is a bit funny I put this question here as I sketch my plots and do the channel hook ups & shop orders in Excel. I have use Vectorworks a couple of times.

Best, axman

[TimMiller]

When I design a show I try to see the venue first. I walk the house, the cats, the grid. I generate an entire 3D image in my head. I make notes on what available electrics or line sets their are. I then begin to read the script and listen to the music. I can form the whole image of the show in my head. If the set pieces are done even better. If not I will stay with white light until the sets are ready. I then add color to make them pop, disappear, or just blend depending upon the scene. I want to complement the scenic designers work. Follow nature when it comes to shadow play makes things usually blend in. Watch and see how buildings or trees cast shadow. The stage does not always need to be flooded with light. Also never limit yourself. Some designers say I must have this fixture. To me if light comes out of the end of it great it will probably get used. I was once working with a school and their teacher they brought in to assist me walked off the job because I was not using fixtures "the way they were intended" he wanted me to rent cyc lights since they didn't have any and instead I used scoops. Scoops are a blessing and a curse. They are great for large pools of soft light but you do lose control of your focus. BlackWrap can be your best friend (heavy duty aluminum foil works in a bind). Never limit yourself and use all the tools you have available no matter how unconventional it may seem to some other designers.

[mstaylor]

Derek, we used to use cardboard on scoops and fresnels before I had heard of Blackwrap. Never tried it on PARs but should work.

[shiben]

Derek, we used to use cardboard on scoops and fresnels before I had heard of Blackwrap. Never tried it on PARs but should work.

I bet that was a bit crispy when you were done.

[mstaylor]

Actually never really had a problem burning it, we usually used shoebox or clothing type cardboard as opposed to corrigated cardboard.

[josh88]

Actually never really had a problem burning it, we usually used shoebox or clothing type cardboard as opposed to corrigated cardboard.

in a pinch in an out of shape, barely functioning theatre I had to make barn doors for a scoop light with a pizza box. no budget, not enough lights for a front wash, that scoop was a champ.

[rochem]

You'd be surprised at how few Broadway shows don't use movers except for a single unit that is focused for multiple areas. We just had white Christmas and they used very few movers, as well as an eos control console. Movers aren't very suited for road theater use since they have to be constantly worked on and re programmed for different venues due to space constraint. I know several "pro" designers who would take conventionals with color scrollers over any mover any day.

Rubbish. While there are plenty of broadway shows that don't look like they use moving lights, they almost always do. Frankly, it's much cheaper to rent a dozen or so moving lights then pay for the stage time and labor of sending an electrician up in a genie every few hours to refocus another special. Best recent example - the unsuccessful revival of House of Blue Leaves at the Walter Kerr this summer. Not a single live move of any kind in that show - but they had around a dozen VL1000s in the air. Same story for Bengal Tiger which closed this summer, and many others.

Also, I disagree completely with the implication that an Eos isn't a "real" moving light console. American Idiot (both at Berkeley Rep and on broadway) and Rock of Ages (at both theatres) were programmed on an Eos. The RoA tour that went out this summer carries an Eos, and the 2nd natl tour of AI that's teching in Toronto next month has an Eos as well. There's a long list of running broadway shows that are using Eos, including Billy Elliot, Follies, H2S, Spiderman, Private Lives, RoA, Addams Family, Godspell, Lysistrata, and probably some others I'm forgetting.

Movers aren't very suited for road theater use since they have to be constantly worked on and re programmed for different venues due to space constraint.

Again, not true. I built a huge 1st National Tour a few months ago that, not counting the FOH units, only had 20 conventional units in the whole rig, 10 on each of the downstage ladders. And they had 64 MLs in the rig, including 20 VL5Bs that did nothing but act as color-changing high sides - and all but 3 of those VL5Bs only have one focus throughout the entire show. But with labor costs and the importance of a quick load-in, it's much faster and more cost-effective to have the head electrician spend an hour at the console updating presets than sending a full IA crew to watch someone focus in a genie.

I know several "pro" designers who would take conventionals with color scrollers over any mover any day.

Absolutely. Even the best moving lights require a good deal of time to precisely match L202 (or any given color), and most LDs are very particular about exactly matching their colors (and no, Revolutions with their QXL lamps and scrollers don't count). That plus the simplicity and low cost of scrollers makes them invaluable in even the biggest shows. I firmly believe that no matter how far moving light technology advances, as long as there are source fours, there will be scrollers.

[calkew5]

1. A good lighting designer knows his or her limits but loves to be able to say "Yes I can." They understand that a lighting design is not a static product but a process that takes place over the course of a set time in the presence of other artists. They work safely and don't do daredevil crap. Finally, they don't just "do lights" - they "do theatre"...meaning their goal is not to light people and things, but to contribute to a production's success.

2. My favorite lighting designer is anyone who isn't me. I get so sick of staring at my own work I always love a chance to see someone else's, whether that's a chance to criticize them or be awed by them - I always learn something.

3. My guilty confession is that I always begin a lighting design by thinking how to surprise people. As early in my career as I am, I end up in a lot of venues where people have low expectations. I like to show them that their rig and venue can do more than they thought it could.

4. I use a combination of VectorWorks and OpenOffice Calc, which is like Excel but free and open source.

[metti]

Also, I disagree completely with the implication that an Eos isn't a "real" moving light console. American Idiot (both at Berkeley Rep and on broadway) and Rock of Ages (at both theatres) were programmed on an Eos. The RoA tour that went out this summer carries an Eos, and the 2nd natl tour of AI that's teching in Toronto next month has an Eos as well. There's a long list of running broadway shows that are using Eos, including Billy Elliot, Follies, H2S, Spiderman, Private Lives, RoA, Addams Family, Godspell, Lysistrata, and probably some others I'm forgetting.

I completely agree that the EOS is a completely legitimate choice for a mover heavy theatre show but, to be fair, both Spiderman and the Addams Family are on the PRG V676 not the EOS.

[rochem]

I completely agree that the EOS is a completely legitimate choice for a mover heavy theatre show but, to be fair, both Spiderman and the Addams Family are on the PRG V676 not the EOS.

You're right, I'm sorry. They both use an Eos as the conventional console, which is why they popped into my head, but now that I think about it, that isn't relevant here. Although the Addams 1st National Tour is travelling with an Eos for both conventionals and MLs.

[lighttechie5948]

I completely agree that the EOS is a completely legitimate choice for a mover heavy theatre show but, to be fair, both Spiderman and the Addams Family are on the PRG V676 not the EOS.

You're right, I'm sorry. They both use an Eos as the conventional console, which is why they popped into my head, but now that I think about it, that isn't relevant here. Although the Addams 1st National Tour is travelling with an Eos for both conventionals and MLs.

Spiderman ACTUALLY has an Eos and a V676. Eos runs conventionals, scrollers, and LEDs and V676 runs movers. Eos also triggers video cues. The Head LX runs the Eos which is Midi-ed to the V676.