First Lighting Design job--I'm LOST!
- Thread starterRosco
- Start date
I am assuming these one acts are straight shows not musicals so specials are less important. As suggested set up your areas in a logical way, overlap them a little so they blend and that will allow you to use them as your specials. Once you have your acting areas and your top wash, if you have anything left use them to double the acting areas in another color so you have options. The chances of getting a special in the right place and the actor actually hitting the right spot with no practice is slim.
Tex
Active Member
It's the biggest contest anywhere. It has its drawbacks, but overall it's a positive experience for kids.Ahh the Texas High School one acts.... that takes me back aways.We have nothing like this at the state level in California---its a real shame.
Play selection is key. I always end up second guessing my first choice. Right now, I'm leaning toward The Elephant Man, but Rhinoceros is creeping into the back of my mind and it's starting to excite me.
Sorry for the hijack. Back to lighting...
kicknargel
Well-Known Member
There's lots of good advice here, so let me offer a (slightly) contrarian view.
First, there's thrust, and then there's thrust. I've worked in thrust stages where maybe 75% of the audience has a more-or-less front view, and the shows are played more-or-less forward. In these cases I still use a 4-point system, with a straight front (6:00), sides somewhat more saturated and saturated backs. So not everyone's getting exactly the same picture, but generally the face is in the frontlight, toned by the side and the stage is toned from the back. People on the extreme sides get more saturated light on part of the face when an actor is facing them, but that doesn't bother me.
I also typically do high sides (from a steep angle) with a soft breakup in R53 or other very pale color. This adds definition to faces and allows you to be more saturated in your area lights, as you perceive the pale highlights as white light, even if it's not hitting 100% of the face.
And I'll do other toning washing and whatnot on top of that. This is for musicals, and gives me a lot of flexibility in looks. The problem with doing a four-point pale system is that you use up so much equipment just to create a basic look. If you have it, great. I think my system works in slightly under-resourced venues.
Since this is a festival you may also consider whether the shows will be playing the thrust, or were they blocked on proscenium stages and will be playing all front? You may not need to worry about the thrust all that much. (But better safe than sorry I guess.)
First, there's thrust, and then there's thrust. I've worked in thrust stages where maybe 75% of the audience has a more-or-less front view, and the shows are played more-or-less forward. In these cases I still use a 4-point system, with a straight front (6:00), sides somewhat more saturated and saturated backs. So not everyone's getting exactly the same picture, but generally the face is in the frontlight, toned by the side and the stage is toned from the back. People on the extreme sides get more saturated light on part of the face when an actor is facing them, but that doesn't bother me.
I also typically do high sides (from a steep angle) with a soft breakup in R53 or other very pale color. This adds definition to faces and allows you to be more saturated in your area lights, as you perceive the pale highlights as white light, even if it's not hitting 100% of the face.
And I'll do other toning washing and whatnot on top of that. This is for musicals, and gives me a lot of flexibility in looks. The problem with doing a four-point pale system is that you use up so much equipment just to create a basic look. If you have it, great. I think my system works in slightly under-resourced venues.
Since this is a festival you may also consider whether the shows will be playing the thrust, or were they blocked on proscenium stages and will be playing all front? You may not need to worry about the thrust all that much. (But better safe than sorry I guess.)
