Here's a new one...maybe...

[mrtrudeau23]

So, this spring my school is doing Floyd Collins. Lucky for me I get to do lighting and we are planning on doing the show arena style in our black box theatre. In the script there are multiple calls for silhouettes of certain characters. How would you go about doing this? We have the ability to hang lights on the walls of the black box and virtually anywhere overhead.

Discuss!
And, as always, thanks!

[TimMiller]

best way is no front light, down light and back light are your friends. Watch out for the angle of backlight in relation to the audience, you dont want to blind the audience.

[Les]

Arena, as in "in-the-round"? If so, this is what I would deem as physically impossible because backlight for one group of audience members will be front light or side light for others. You just can't have your cake and eat it too

[kicknargel]

Directors always ask for silhouette (and no wonder--it looks great!) but it is hard to achieve. True silhouette means no light at all on the subject--they are black in front of a lit object (like a cyc). This take plenty of stage depth and careful control of spill/bleed.

Often people say silhouette when the really mean the subject is lit from behind only--sort of a silhouette with a halo, perhaps.

I agree with Les--in the round (only snobby text books say "arena style"), you're pretty sunk for silhouette. I would just come up with some dramatic effect--a deep color or something from a low angle or maybe even a solitary top special.

Nick Kargel
www.youwantwhatproductions.com

[shiben]

Light from any very odd angle will give a nice dramatic effect to substitute. Can you put lights in the floor? That might be my favorite lighting position at the moment, in terms of fun you can have with it.

[mrtrudeau23]

I never thought that there would be an easy way to accomplish this while reading the script.
I am trying to get the director to raise the audience risers up so I can put strip lights under them, but I would like something more controlled for a silhouette. Something from the floor wouldn't give a perfect silhouette, but it would be worth playing with.

[SHARYNF]

you could try this

Make a large round cylinder using stretch tricot, and light it from inside so you have a column of light you could have it down on the stage floor and when you need the effect pull it up and light it ony from inside , with all the other lights off you will then be able to create a circular silhouette effect

May or may not work for your design but something to consider

Sharyn

[rochem]

Originally Posted by SHARYNF

you could try this

Make a large round cylinder using stretch tricot, and light it from inside so you have a column of light you could have it down on the stage floor and when you need the effect pull it up and light it ony from inside , with all the other lights off you will then be able to create a circular silhouette effect

May or may not work for your design but something to consider

Sharyn

I was just going to suggest something like that. Get together with the set designer very early to discuss what kind of scenic units he has planned and where you can hide a few instruments. Maybe add a show deck so you can hide some instruments in the floor. You want to get your lighting fully integrated with the set as early as possible so you don't find yourself at load-in with nowhere but the grid to hang instruments. As Sharyn said, using light to reveal a central set piece is probably the only way to accomplish a true silhouette for the entire audience. However, since it is in the round, your set designer may not have many large solid objects to throw light on, so this may not be possible.

[mrtrudeau23]

From the initial talk I heard so far, the set is going to be kind of like a jungle-gym. Lots of places for the actors to crawl around and maybe through. Not exactly sure how it will work or look yet. This idea of lights in the middle of the set may work. I agree 100% that I'm going to need to push for it early. Things like this have a way of getting cut early on before thinking it out completely.