Functions and Qualities of Light



Functions and Qualities of Light

Resources

Reference...

J. Michael Gillette. Theatrical Design and Production, 4th edition. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company. 1999. Chapter 12: Lighting Design

[pic]

The functions, or purposes, of light:

1. Composition: The creation of a series of images which assist the playwright and director in telling the story.

2. Visibility: The responsibility of the designer to provide enough light for the audience to see the performer.

3. Modeling: The use of high light and shadow to reveal the three dimensional form of the performer.

4. Focus: The designer's use of contrast to focus the audience's attention.

5. Information: The use of light to establish the time of day, the season, and the location of the play's action.

6. Mood: The reflection of the ever changing emotional content of the play. It is, in a way, very close to the style of production.

The controllable properties, or qualities, of light:

1. Intensity: The amount of light reflected by the performer and the background.

2. Color: The color of the light reflected by the performer and the background.

3. Direction: The direction (or angle) of the light determines the length and location of the shadows cast by the performer and the three dimensional props around him.

4. Distribution: The distribution of light determines which part (or parts) of the stage will be lit.

5. Texture: Texture is the quality of the light -- its diffusion or clarity. Does it have a soft edge or is it hard edged? Is the field of the light smooth, diffuse, or is it heavily textured?

6. Movement: Movement is any change in the intensity, color, direction, distribution, or texture of the light. Such a change is a light cue.

Direction

Link to A Few Notes on Instrument Placement

The standard directions of light and the effect each can produce on the actor:

|1. Front light by itself, |[pic] |[pic] |

|even when cross focused, | | |

|gives a very flat quality | | |

|to the figure, but it is | | |

|good for lighting the | | |

|actor's eyes. | | |

|2. Side light reveals the |[pic] |[pic] |

|dimensionality of the | | |

|actor. Side light from both| | |

|sides of the stage will | | |

|produce adequate, although | | |

|shadowy, visibility. A | | |

|little front light will | | |

|help the audience see the | | |

|actor's face. | | |

|3. Back light highlights |[pic] |[pic] |

|the actor's head and | | |

|shoulders and can be used | | |

|to separate him from the | | |

|background. | | |

|4. Down light is very |[pic] |[pic] |

|dramatic but it is not very| | |

|good for lighting an | | |

|actor's faces. | | |

|5. Up light reverses the |[pic] |[pic] |

|position of the shadows. It| | |

|can be used to create a | | |

|moment of horror. | | |

Images created in Virtual Light Lab.

The traditional front-of-house mounting positions in the proscenium theatre:

1. Ceiling Cove (or Ceiling Beam), a slot in the ceiling of the theatre, is the standard front-of-house mounting position in most (if not all) theatres built since 1950.

2. Balcony Rail.

3. Box Booms, a vertical pipe, located in the box seats

4. FOH Pipe (or truss) hung over the first couple of rows of the orchestra and the

5. Follow Spot Booth in the back of the balcony.

Mounting positions available on stage:

1. Electric Pipes: Generally the spacing between electric pipes is 6 to 10 feet with the First Electric hung 1 or 2 feet upstage of the Act Curtain. There are four electric pipes on the JFAC MainStage.

2. Booms (or ladders): The spacing between booms (or ladders) is also generally between 6 and 10 feet. In a dance show it is not unusual to locate a boom on each side of the stage directly under an electric pipe.

3. Floor: Footlights and rovers-- a single light placed on a short stand --are considered floor mounted lamps.

4. Set: Backing lights and on stage practicals (such as a wall sconce or fire place effect) are often mounted directly to the set.

Positions we have in Thomas F. Kelly Theatre:

1. Ceiling Cove.

2. Projection Booth.

3. Electric Pipes

The boom:

A boom is a 10 to 12 foot vertical (1" or 1 1/2" diameter) pipe screwed into a large heavy (50 pound) base. It is the standard mounting position for side lights in a dance show. Booms are not permanent mounting positions. They are rigged and cabled for each production and struck when the show closes.

The ladder:

A ladder is a pipe frame (which looks like a "ladder") suspended from the grid or the ends of an electric pipe. Instruments mounted on a ladder are used to provide high angle side light. The major advantage of a ladder is it will keep the floor clear and uncluttered. Like the boom, it is a standard mounting position for side lights in a musical or dance show.

Where I normally hang side lights:

I tend to mount side lights at the ends (starting approximately 20' left and right of the center line) of the overhead electric pipes. These high angle side lights are generally referred to as Pipe Ends (or simply Ends) in the professional theatre.

 Why:

Because it is fast and efficient. Hanging and powering 24 lamps on 6 booms will take approximately 8 man hours. Hanging and powering 24 lamps on three electric pipes will usually take less than one man hour.

Color

Color media is usually referred to as "gel"

Gel, an organic product, was the original color media. Because it tended to fade under high wattage lamps, it was replaced by an acetate (plastic) based product (Roscolene or Cinemoid) in the mid 1950s and a poly-carbonate (also plastic) based product (Roscolux or Lee) in the early 80s. Gel has remained the traditional, or generic, name for theatrical color media.

The three most commonly used color systems:

Roscolux, Lee Filters and GamColor

   

Eleven basic acting area colors you would stock.

Specific gels using the Roscolux series of colors...

1. Two ambers: a warm, almost no-color bastard amber and a darker, heavier BA;

1. R01: Light Bastard Amber

2. R02: Bastard Amber

2. One pale yellow for "realistic" sunlight

1. R08: Pale Gold

3. Two pinks: a soft, warm, no-color pink and a more intense, darker, pinky pink;

1. R33: No Color Pink

2. R34: Flesh Pink

4. Two lavenders: a warm lavender and a cool lavender

1. R51: Suprise Pink

2. R55: Lilac

5. Four blues evenly spaced between icy, no-color blue and very dark blue.

1. R63: Pale Blue

2. R67: Light Sky Blue

3. R69: Brilliant Blue

4. R80: Primary Blue

Link to a Virtual Demonstration of the Theatrical Use of Color.

The difference between a warm color…

|[pic] |Warm colors are generally associated with fire and sun light -- No Color |

|R01: Light Bastard Amberr |Pink, Pale Yellow, Light Bastard Amber... |

    A neutral color…

|[pic] |Neutral colors appear warm when compared to a cool color and cool when |

|R51: Suprise Pink |compared to a warm color -- Special Lavender, Suprise Pink... |

    And a cool color.

|[pic] |Cool colors are associated with the sky and water -- Pale Blue, Light |

|R63: Pale Blue |Blue Green... |

6. What is the McCandless Color Scheme?

|[pic] |Stanley McCandless (1897-1967), the long time lighting professor at Yale |

|McCandless Color Scheme |University, believed that the actor should be lit with two lamps |

| |separated by approximately 90°. One light should be gelled in a warm |

| |color (R01: Light Bastard Amber) and the second in a cool or neutral |

| |color (R51: Suprise Pink). |

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