3 point lighting help

[skeller]

I am new to lighting design so I am seeking the wisdom of this august community. This is for a high school production of Ann of Green Gables the musical.
I am working with a stage that currently has 10 lighting areas, 4 down stage, 3 middle stage, 3 up stage. Currently each location has 2 fixtures at opposite angles from the front. My guess is each fixture is around 30deg from center. The angle above the stage is between 45deg and 60deg. All-in-all we are pretty close to a text book McCandless setup. There is currently no top lights. There are no gels in any fixtures.

I am looking at getting some 6" fernels for top lights, a single fixture for each area.

My question is regarding gels. I have a limited number of dimmer channels, I only have 2 dimmer channels per area, one for the front lights, the other for the top light. Is there any value to using different gels (cool on S.L. side, warm on S.R. side) in the front fixtures since I can't adjust the intensity of each fixture? Or is it best just to use the same gel in both fixtures? Any suggestions for top light gel color?

Thanks for any thoughts they are much appreciated.

 

[mozsey]

There's nothing wrong with text book McCandless sometimes. And in this case, it sounds like you need to go text book. Put a warm light and a cool light into your front lights. For your top light though I have no idea. I usually pick that depending on the show and usually have two colors for backs. I say that the top light is fair game as long as you can pick something to stick with the show and it doesn't look out of place.

 

[Les]

I'd definitely try to get my hands on those fresnels* to use as toplight or steep backlight. Gel them neutral (even R02 Bastard Amber works for me a lot of the time). As stated above, you really can't go terribly wrong with the standard McCandless approach. Sure, you could always do better but with budget and time constraints it'll definitely get the job done.
When going straight McCandless, I've always used R02 and R60 on each area. If the show is a sappy musical or something similarly upbeat, you may substitute R02 for a light pink. R60 is a no-color blue which is pretty sterile, so you can definitely take some liberties with that as well, if the show permits. In either event, you usually want one warm and one cool. There has been some debate on how to gel instruments -- warms on left, cools on right, etc. My theory is to alternate them. It may help to balance out the scene so that one side isn't always cool or warm from the audience's perspective.

(w,c,w,c,w | c,w,c,w,c instead of c,c,c,c,c | w,w,w,w,w)

*The 'S' is silent.

 

[derekleffew]

... Is there any value to using different gels (cool on S.L. side, warm on S.R. side) in the front fixtures since I can't adjust the intensity of each fixture? Or is it best just to use the same gel in both fixtures? ...

By using the same color from both sides, you sacrifice plasticity (Revelation of Form, Function of Lighting #2), and pretty much defeat the purpose of using two angles. Ideally you'd want each unit on its own dimmer, but if that can't be accomplished, choose complimentary colors that are similar in saturation (you probably don't want a Pale Amber paired with a Deep Blue, or Magenta with Booster Blue, for example). As for downlight/backlight color, it can be anything really, and need not relate to the frontlight. When in doubt, go with a Pale Lavender--seldom is Lavender a wrong choice (talking Surprise Pink or Special Lavender here, not Groovy Grape!).

 

[ZDurler88]

I agree with everyone. R02 and R60 are fail proof and you cannot go wrong with them. Also, if you can get a lot of fresnels, I don't see the harm in twofering those as well so you could have two downlights for each area. You could use a pale pink and pale blue or swap the pink for amber or lavender for your downlights.

 

[skeller]

Thanks everyone for your help. It is much appreciated. I will try some of these ideas and let you know how it works out.

-Steve

 

[scotteckers]

For the top light, try going with R54 Special Lavender. You can't go wrong. It's a great neutral. For something more bold or "happy", you can always use R34.

As for the McCandless setup, I agree that it's a good solution for you. I still use it on many, many classic productions.

Scott