Hi everyone!
My name's Chris, and I'm a lighting designer (in training). I'm actually an undergrad studying Film and Television production, with a focus on lighting, so a lot of what I do is camera-oriented. I've gaffed dozens of short films, advertisements, music videos, etc, and I'm working as an electrician on more and more features all the time.
But I also do theatrical lighting, obviously, or I wouldn't be here! Stage lighting was actually where I got my start, as I worked as an assistant to the lighting designer in a 450 seat theatre in my hometown during high school. When I left for college, I stopped working in theatre, and started focusing exclusively on film and tv. Now, in my final year of school, I'm diving back into theatre, and just landed my first real gig as a lighting designer for stage! Well, it's "real" insofar as it's at a real NYC downtown theatre, albeit only 60 seats, and totally unpaid. But I'm excited nonetheless.
Lighting is something I really care about. We experience so much based on what we see, and everything we see is light, and for me, it's really thrilling to be able to manipulate something that produces so much sensation.
My first question! Can anyone point me towards a thread that might discuss water effects? The first scene of this project takes place next to the East River in NYC, and I want to front light the actors with reflected ripples, something tranquil and organic to contrast with the harsh sodium vapor lamps that dominate much of the rest of the play. Any recommendations for specialty units that could do this? The budget is pretty small, so I need to reconcile that with a unit that doesn't look too club-y, or too much like a special effect light.
And one other question: any New York based lighting designers familiar with the Cherry Lane Theatre? The studio, specifically. I'm not going to have a ton of time for rigging, so if the space has any weird little idiosyncrasies, I'd like to know ahead of time.
Thanks for welcoming me to this site!
My name's Chris, and I'm a lighting designer (in training). I'm actually an undergrad studying Film and Television production, with a focus on lighting, so a lot of what I do is camera-oriented. I've gaffed dozens of short films, advertisements, music videos, etc, and I'm working as an electrician on more and more features all the time.
But I also do theatrical lighting, obviously, or I wouldn't be here! Stage lighting was actually where I got my start, as I worked as an assistant to the lighting designer in a 450 seat theatre in my hometown during high school. When I left for college, I stopped working in theatre, and started focusing exclusively on film and tv. Now, in my final year of school, I'm diving back into theatre, and just landed my first real gig as a lighting designer for stage! Well, it's "real" insofar as it's at a real NYC downtown theatre, albeit only 60 seats, and totally unpaid. But I'm excited nonetheless.
Lighting is something I really care about. We experience so much based on what we see, and everything we see is light, and for me, it's really thrilling to be able to manipulate something that produces so much sensation.
My first question! Can anyone point me towards a thread that might discuss water effects? The first scene of this project takes place next to the East River in NYC, and I want to front light the actors with reflected ripples, something tranquil and organic to contrast with the harsh sodium vapor lamps that dominate much of the rest of the play. Any recommendations for specialty units that could do this? The budget is pretty small, so I need to reconcile that with a unit that doesn't look too club-y, or too much like a special effect light.
And one other question: any New York based lighting designers familiar with the Cherry Lane Theatre? The studio, specifically. I'm not going to have a ton of time for rigging, so if the space has any weird little idiosyncrasies, I'd like to know ahead of time.
Thanks for welcoming me to this site!
