Side Lighting in musicals and straight plays

[Esoteric]

So again, having seen South Pacific, what are everyone's opinions here on mids and shin kickers in musicals and straight plays? I have never used them (outside of dance numbers) because of the fact that an actor can walk in front of them and stand there with a huge hot spot on their feet or torso which to me is very distracting.

How does everyone else feel about this? The last 5-6 musicals and plays have seen (including 2 touring shows, but only 2) they have used them. We were taught that is a no, no, but is it really acceptable?

Mike

 

[kenneth]

As with any design aspect, it all depends on where it is being used.

It can be really effective or look ridiculous. In my opinion, it's something different to experiment with and I'd try it out in some situations where the director is wanting to create a sinister character, as it will cast shadows across the actor's face.

We used top lighting, which is in many ways similar to side lighting. It was in a production of Dracula and we had Dracula on top of rostra with a single red gelled light creating great shadows down his face. Very effective.

Kenneth

 

[seanandkate]

I rarely use them for straight drama, mostly because it's hard to sell as a motivated light source--you just rarely SEE light hitting you from that angle. I have used it for specific effects, but never as a system. High sides and tips I use all the time. It's doesn't look as odd and still gives the body nice definition.

 

[midgetgreen11]

Well, I think it depends on the desired effect. I recently used two systems of sidelight for A Midsummer Night's Dream, (A deep saturated orange/amber, and congo pink). For some shows it might not matter how close the actor is to the light, perhaps the hotspot makes no difference.

I think there's a time and place for it, but not every scene and every number requires it. Often it can just add extra color to a scene.

 

[Esoteric]

Those were my thoughts as well.

When used as color or in a non-realistic scene or to wash scenery that is cool, but I am seeing it more and more as a key and or fill light. Which is very odd to me and doesn't look quite right as the actors move across the stage.

Mike

 

[SteveB]

So again, having seen South Pacific, what are everyone's opinions here on mids and shin kickers in musicals and straight plays? I have never used them (outside of dance numbers) because of the fact that an actor can walk in front of them and stand there with a huge hot spot on their feet or torso which to me is very distracting.

How does everyone else feel about this? The last 5-6 musicals and plays have seen (including 2 touring shows, but only 2) they have used them. We were taught that is a no, no, but is it really acceptable?

Mike

Like everything with lighting, nothings a "No No", but there needs to be a reason for the choice.

Often times with musicals, shins and lo sides aren't used as there's no place to put the units, what with all the scenery that is usually moving in and out of the wings. This is especially true of stuff on Broadway in NY, where the theaters are small and crammed with scenery, as well as true of the touring versions of Broadway, whose tour design was somewhat driven by the original Broadway version, and may well be playing somewhat larger venues, but still has ton's of scenery going in and out. It's not unusual for tours to have side towers that fly out for scenic moves and are thus not always available for certain scenes.

Other musicals, that may be dance heavy - Movin Out, Chorus Line, Chicago, as example, may NEED the angles to help tell the story, especially if scenery isn't telling time and place. many "book" musicals, I.E., something that derived from a book and/or that might be more plot oriented from script, might require a more natural and motivational light.

For Drama ?, anything goes. We had a tour this past fall of "Of Mice and Men" that used our side towers, shins included, as key light for sunsets and sunrises, as well as other uses. Nothing says that the angles aren't appropriate, and if the positions are not interfering with scenic moves, then it's not unusual for an LD, especially on a big production, to fill every nook and cranny with units, if only to have it available should the need arises. The use of ML's and/or units with scrollers adds ton's of flexibility for an LD when the Director is throwing curve balls.

Steve B.

 

[Esoteric]

Yeah, this was a touring show but he had them in the false procenium and in 1 because no scenery came in and out that way. But there were times when they looked just awful. I love Donald Holder's designs, but honestly there were times when the shin would be blasting away at the mid section of the diva as she had an intimate moment. When she crossed to the other side of the stage it looked brilliant with good fill angles, but when she would cross back, again, a huge bright spot on her side (that had to get warm as long as she stood there sometimes).

With all the follow spot use (anytime anyone spoke on stage, even for one line they were in a follow spot), I don't see why it was necessary. It was nice fill, but to me distracting at inopportune moments.

I guesss that is part of the design game.

By the way, using them for effects I get. I did a production of A Dolls House with a mid made of 16 beam projectors for the final scene (when Torvold opens the window), and I used them for a forest scene that was acted out on the floor in Titus Andronicus. I have used sides and balcony fronts for sunrises/sunsets.

But this was odd.

Mike

 

[rochem]

I've never used a full shin or mid wash outside of dance shows, but I love using individual shins for a specific effect during a scene, usually only for a short moment to highlight something specific. Like someone else said, there's very few times in nature when a light would be coming up at you from the floor, so selling it as a motivated light source is difficult. Most shows I design don't use anything lower than a head-high, primarily because large scenery moving in and out makes having sidelight booms in every entrance impossible.

When designing dance, however, I love the look you can achieve from shins. There have been many shows where I would have loved to be able to use shins, but scenery made that impractical. I doubt I would ever use it as a key light in a musical or drama (except maybe for a specific effect), but I love using shins to add just a touch of fill light to complete a scene. Not enough to cause hotspots on an actor's legs or anything, just enough to soften some of the harsh shadows caused by higher-angle fronts and sides without the flattening effects of footlights.

 

[Grog12]

Lets see, fire pits fire places, (shins) desk lamps, candles, (mids)

Yeah those things arent in our everyday lives.



Also just because its a "straight" play doesnt always mean "natural" lighting. In fact it tends to lead to a very dull show.

Fight to put lights everywhere if you have a purpose for it.

 

[Spader]

I think that I saw this when I saw South Pacific on Broadway...whenever they needed something large moved offstage, the ladders (which were built like cages to protect the lights) were flown out of they way. I thought that was interesting.ay.

 

[rochem]

Lets see, fire pits fire places, (shins) desk lamps, candles, (mids)

Yeah those things arent in our everyday lives.

I guess I should have been more clear. For me, these would fall under the "specific effects" category, as they would primarily be used in one isolated area of the stage as opposed to as a full-stage wash. I have used shin-mounted units to represent fireplaces as well as candlelit desks, however in all of these instances, I only used one or two instruments tightly focused on a specific area, rather than using a full-stage wash. As I read it, the OPs comments were about using a shin/mid wash without any obvious motivating source, as opposed to a clearly motivated unit serving a specific purpose.

 

[Esoteric]

I am all for putting lights wherever you have a purpose.

What concerned me were the hot spots on people when they got too close to the lights on either side. For me, I think, I would have used boom boxes instead of straight sides. It is just too much of a risk than an actor will stand there with a hole burning in their side.

Mike

 

[Grog12]

I guess I should have been more clear. For me, these would fall under the "specific effects" category, as they would primarily be used in one isolated area of the stage as opposed to as a full-stage wash. I have used shin-mounted units to represent fireplaces as well as candlelit desks, however in all of these instances, I only used one or two instruments tightly focused on a specific area, rather than using a full-stage wash. As I read it, the OPs comments were about using a shin/mid wash without any obvious motivating source, as opposed to a clearly motivated unit serving a specific purpose.

Lighting isn't just about motivating source. Its about mood, emotion, time, place. As designers you shouldn't limit your choices because it "doesn't occur in nature."

I am all for putting lights wherever you have a purpose.

What concerned me were the hot spots on people when they got too close to the lights on either side. For me, I think, I would have used boom boxes instead of straight sides. It is just too much of a risk than an actor will stand there with a hole burning in their side.

Mike

Only a poorly focused and cue'd light will leave a hot spot on an actor. This goes for lights from box booms and FOH positions as well. I've seen shows where the FOH hot spots were more distracting than the boom positions.

 

[Esoteric]

Then the touring production of South Pacific needs a new ME.

Mike