Lighttechie-
-A few months ago I designed and executed a very adventurous
plot for my high school's rendition of Les Mis. I second both
Gaff's and Icewolf's sentiments both about designing with your ears and
Gaff's approach to color and
intensity for this show. It is EXTREMELY
dynamic in terms of the
plot line, which is echoed strongly in the score. I can't remember a
cue from my show that was triggered by the music--as it is, there are very few lines spoken without some sort of music at least in the background--it is an opera after all!!!
In reference to a few tricks and things that I used that worked well as
Gaff was hoping we would mention, I'll offer a few.
Haze or
Fog (or both) is a must if you can afford it and you can assure it won't set off your alarms. The Broadway version is notorious for the amount of atmosphere they use during their performance. I used both a
hazer running continuously for general atmosphere as well as a fogger placed behind the
barricade to give a billowing, battle-like
effect. I also positioned lights (ACLs to be exact) be behind the
barricade to appear like muzzle/
cannon fire during battle scenes--they also acted as a great
backdrop for the final battle--sort of like rays of sunlight cast over the fallen solders. If you can't get ACLs, some of your 26 degree Source 4s with some kind of break up in them would work great in the
fog/
haze positioned on the
deck with pigeon plates behind the
barricade.
I think you have the right idea with your
plot, however I would make a few changes in terms of positions of instruments. Personally, I think that lekos work better as a high side
instrument because they can be shuttered and controlled better to avoid spillage onto the
cyc or out into the
house as opposed to a
PAR. Also, the quality of the light is flatter and can sometimes simulate sunlight or moonlight better than a
par could--it will also look better in the
haze I believe.
I would use all your PARs for top/back light. They will give you a broader, smoother coverage than lekos would. Depending on the size of your
stage, you might be able to use 4 instruments per color
wash (might I suggest red, blue, and white for your washes--really jives with the show).
I think using toplight/downlight lekos for each acting area is a great idea--divide the
stage into sections and work that way. I would also save a few fixtures for specials on top of the
barricade (a
key light straight down center looks great when certain flag waving happens or people die dramatically). You might also want to save a few fixtures to do a full
stage gobo from the pipe-ends--looks great in the
haze and adds tremendous texture--can save you the trouble of wanting to paint your whole
stage floor with cobble stones!
My
plot employed nearly 200 fixtures with several moving lights,
LED was units, and scrollers for my side light. I know we all aren't so lucky--but you can really do this whole show with those three aforementioned colors and a few, well placed specials. Be creative--see what you can beg/borrow. Try and go as saturated in terms of the color as possible--you'll be happy in the end. That's all I got for now. If you would like to see some images from the my version of the show to spark your creative flame, I would be happy to
send them along. Email me.