Paul Roberts Posted June 25, 2006 Share Posted June 25, 2006 And hello. I'm currently looking for some informative books about the basics of stage lighting and lighting control. I'm going to order 'A Beginner's guide to Stage Lighting' By Peter Coleman as the reviews I've read are quite positive and it seems quite a handy book. What other reading material would be regarded as essential? (I'm also looking for some books on Health & Safety regarding this area of work as well, so if anyone knows of anything informative please let me know). Many Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted June 25, 2006 Share Posted June 25, 2006 Click the images to go to the relevant Amazon product page ... http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/087830147X.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg - the old favourite, now in its sixth edition and well worth a read. http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/1854592734.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg - excellent book, with a lot of non-technical discussion with some of the industry's most respected practitioners. http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/1904031048.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg - a good choice if you're looking for a book which covers H&S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Roberts Posted June 25, 2006 Author Share Posted June 25, 2006 Cheers Gareth, much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted June 25, 2006 Share Posted June 25, 2006 How about these:Personally, the Reid and Pilbrow books are my favourites for beginners to read. Francis Reid, The Stage Lighting Handbook, (Macmillan Education Australia, 2001) 087830147XNeil Fraser, Lighting and Sound Theatre Manual, (Phadon Press, 1988), 071482514XGraham Walters, Stage Lighting: Step-by-step, (A&C Black, 1997), 071364639XPeter Coleman, Basics - A Beginner's Guide to Stage Lighting, (Entertainment Technology press, 2003), 190403120XFrancis Reid, Lighting The Stage, (Entertainment Technology Press, 2001), 1904031080Max Keller, Light Fantastic, (Prestel Publishing, 2000), 3791321625Nigel Morgan, Stage Lighting for the Theatre Designer, (Herber Press, 1995), 18715697103Brian Fitt, Joe Thornley, Lighting Technology: A Guide for the Entertainment Industry, (Focal Press, 2001), 0240516516Robert Simpson, Lighting Control: Technology and Applications, (Focal Press, 2002), 0240515668Nigel Morgan, Stage Lighting for Theatre Designers, (Entertainment Technology Press, 2003) 1904031196Jackie Staines, Lighting Techniques for Theatre-in-the-Round, (Entertainment Technology Press, 2000) 1904031013Brad Schiller, The Automated Lighting Programmer's Handbook, (Focal Press, 2004), 0240806026James L. Moody, Concert Lighting: Techniques, Art and Business, (Focal Press, 1998) 0240802934Richard Pilbrow, Stage Lighting Design, (Nick Hern Books, 1997), 1854592734John Offord, Lighting for "Romeo and Juliet": Patrick Woodroffe at Vienna State Opera (Entertainment Technology Press, 2002) 1904031161 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted June 25, 2006 Share Posted June 25, 2006 I was going to go through Paul's post and make all the links clickable to Amazon, but then I thought "heck, wouldn't it just be a lot easier to link to this post instead?" ... don't know why I didn't think of it in the first place, really. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Roberts Posted June 25, 2006 Author Share Posted June 25, 2006 I was going to go through Paul's post and make all the links clickable to Amazon, but then I thought "heck, wouldn't it just be a lot easier to link to this post instead?" ... don't know why I didn't think of it in the first place, really. :( Hey up, another little goldmine of info. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted June 25, 2006 Share Posted June 25, 2006 And hello. I'm currently looking for some informative books about the basics of stage lighting and lighting control. I'm going to order 'A Beginner's guide to Stage Lighting' By Peter Coleman as the reviewsAh, Mr Coleman. He of the folically challenged brigade from Stage LX, if I'm not mistaken! :)Excellent chap, always helpfull I wasn't aware that he'd been writing again, but suspect that those books he has penned will be of a pretty good quality. Mind you, you can't go far wrong by reading Francis Reid and Pilbrow. TD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Roberts Posted June 25, 2006 Author Share Posted June 25, 2006 Mind you, you can't go far wrong by reading Francis Reid and Pilbrow.TD Looked at a review of one of Francis Reid's books some months ago, he seems a very popular choice of author. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Coker Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Reid & Pilbrow are ok as long as one remembers they are craft based MANUALS - one could possibly argue that the Reid book is about lighting rather than lighting design, but I suspect that the OP will be happy with this. (I will admit that I recommend the Reid book to my students!) The best sections of Pilbrow's second edition are the interviews with LDs. Here is the first chapter from my forthcoming book "A Beginner's Guide to Stage Lighting": 1. Read or create the script/piece/installation2. Think about it3. Forget all that toss about 45 degrees, lumens, watts.....4. Think about it some more5. Put lights in places where they tell your narrative 6. Think about it even more That's it. Remember that Reid & Pilbrow are one voice in a chorus of many and that they, along with most of the other authors, represent a very narrow Western way of making lighting for performance - to be fair to them, I think they would probably acknowledge that. Right, that should get things going.I expect the mods will move this to the "Ken's Barking Statements" section, but that's fine Have a nice day KC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daemon Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Reid & Pilbrow are ok as long as one remembers they are craft based MANUALS - one could possibly argue that the Reid book is about lighting rather than lighting design, but I suspect that the OP will be happy with this. (I will admit that I recommend the Reid book to my students!) Remember that Reid & Pilbrow are one voice in a chorus of many and that they, along with most of the other authors, represent a very narrow Western way of making lighting for performance - to be fair to them, I think they would probably acknowledge that. Yes I'd agree in part. What the 'system' for say lighting a play that Pilbrow describes does is give a pretty good base. A good designer will be able to add to this to create his own look. It's pretty hard to completely mess up a design using those methods - they are certainly something that everyone should learn. Apart from cabaret and rock shows I always seem to include at least the traditional 45/45 area breakdown in any show I design. It's amazingly useful, especially if the sides are split. Sometimes it doesn't get used or just adds a bit of fill but it's nice to know it's there. It also helps for the inevitable re-blocking that happens in the theatre. Ben. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Some Bloke Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 No-one yet has mentioned that the best way to learn lighting design is not to read books at all, but to go and see as much as you possibly can and learn from everything you see. I've been designing lighting for 25 years and I still learn something new from every show I watch, including my own! I learn what works, what doesn't work, what suits a particular genre, what colours go together, what moods are created when certain lighting is mixed etc. You can't pick any of that up from reading books. Spend the money on tickets! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Roberts Posted June 27, 2006 Author Share Posted June 27, 2006 No-one yet has mentioned that the best way to learn lighting design is not to read books at all, but to go and see as much as you possibly can and learn from everything you see. I've been to see a variety of performances as part of my AS Drama course this past year. Both myself and the rest of the class spent a lot of time analysing the effectiveness of the lighting effects, and through that I've got a lot of ideas stored mentally that I hope to use in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickwoolley Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 No-one yet has mentioned that the best way to learn lighting design is not to read books at all, but to go and see as much as you possibly can and learn from everything you see. Spend the money on tickets! :P Well said JSB! Completely agree! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 You need to read at least some of the books first, then go and see how it looks. To the beginner, what is missing from th visual picture are the reasons that certain things are where they are. A show with strong backlight as a feature could be seen as 'the way to do it' - with the observer not noticing the front light that is there, but not overtly. So - a bit of both is in order. When Richard Pilbrow changed the format into a craft and art split book, it was much more useful top everyone. In terms of interest, the John Offord Romeo and Juliet was the one that made me think! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_s Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 Here is the first chapter from my forthcoming book "A Beginner's Guide to Stage Lighting": 1. Read or create the script/piece/installation2. Think about it3. Forget all that toss about 45 degrees, lumens, watts.....4. Think about it some more5. Put lights in places where they tell your narrative 6. Think about it even more That's it. Remember that Reid & Pilbrow are one voice in a chorus of many KC this is a bit iKENoclastic..... agree with the thinking bit, but I like having stuff from 45 degrees (from behind, anyway) a bit off topic, but the good books have been listed and very good advice given from all perspectives, so I'll just shut up now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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