Hi! I am directing Shrek the Musical and I'm also stuck doing the light design since there's no one else to do it. I am stuck on how to do the silhouette lighting that this show calls for.
It is needed twice, once at the end of Who I'd Be, I have Shrek and Fiona
downstage left and right in the dark with Donkey center
stage in the light. The problem is I don't want to have to paint Fiona green for 30 seconds of a song, so if I have her put on the ogre ears and some how light her so it's just her silhouette, but how do I get this look?
And then in act two when I have Fiona's body double in green paint onstage when she's talking to Donkey, how would I light that scene? I'm not going to have a set piece for the barn, so I'm thinking of doing another silhouette upstage left to make the magic of
theatre, maybe?
Any ideas would be very much appreciated! We open next Friday so it's coming right up!
@Darci Faye 1; Appreciate I can't see your
theatre from here thus I may be suggesting an option beyond the capabilities of your facility, available inventory of lighting fixtures on
hand and / or budget.
That said:
2; Consider back-lighting from behind and above. Ideally you'll be able to position your
fixture U/S of a
masking border and high enough to keep your source above your patrons' sight-lines so your patrons' are not distracted from your performers by a bright green light in their eyes leaving them squinting to see your performers.
If / when you back-light from directly behind your performer(s), your performers' will have zero light on their faces while facing directly D/S towards your patrons but will be high-lit around their periphery, along with the tops of their hair and head plus their shoulders, hips and the tops of their feet / boots.
I have no idea what lighting fixtures (and their wattages) you have available to you so there's little
point in my suggesting a 2 Kw
fresnel, or any other
unit, when you don't likely have one in your inventory.
General rules of back-lighting:
- Back-lights are normally higher wattage units. (Capable of being brighter than your front lights)
- Back-light fixtures can rarely be too intense.
- If / when back-lights appear too intense, you can always dim them down with your dimmers or by adding
neutral density gel.
- Back-lights
NEED to be powerful since from your patrons' perspective, the back-lights are lighting only a small percentage of your performers' bodies.
From the perspective / P.O.V. (
Point Of View) of your performers and crew, your performers' will appear BLINDINGLY bright when viewed from anywhere U/S of themselves but your patrons NEVER see your performers' from U/S or your wings.
Realize the light from your back-lights will end up illuminating beyond your performers. Optimistically you'd want it to land on the hopefully matte black floor surface of your
stage and 'magically' stop there without reflecting back up as if from a mirror and illuminating either the faces of your performers' or glaring in the eyes of patron's seated in your 1st, 2nd or 3rd balconies. [What I'm saying is: A glistening / gleaming polished floor like Mom's dining room would be your enemy.]
As I mentioned 'way back at the top, I have neither knowledge of your space nor can I see it from my location in Canada north of Donald's wall. Optimistically I've provided a few thoughts for you to cogitate upon.
Bottom Line: Basically try a BIG BRIGHT LIGHT from overhead and directly
up stage of your performers then add color to taste.
With best wishes for success in your endeavors.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
