Theatrical Lighting

[vividclouds]

Hello Everyone,

 

Ive heard a lot about the forum and always thought I should join, now I have and it's good to be here.

 

I wondered if I could start by picking your brains, I am designing the lighting for a show at the moment, Alan Ayckbourns Table Manners.

 

I do not want to let the lighting distract from the realistic mental, verbal and physical abuse portrayed on stage, the lighting must be subtle and do justice to this form of highly strung, black comedy. I have to find a balance... and my first point of call for research is the script. There, in the front of the book, is a lighting plot. It tells only of the general effect and the time of day for each scene but it was at least a place to start.

 

Act 1, Scene 1, Evening

To open: Effect of early evening sunshine

 

Act 1, Scene 2, Morning

To open: Effect of bright summer morning

 

Act 2, Scene 1, Evening

To open: Effect of late evening light, summer

 

Act 2, Scene 2, Morning

To open: Effect of bright summer morning

 

On first impressions there is very little for a lighting technician to do, but look deeper into the play and one finds hidden opportunities. First of all, there is a window on the set which looks out to the garden. This gives a direction for the light to come from and a chance to show time of day through the use of the light levels and colours visible in the garden. Secondly, when looking at the script one notices as scenes progress they become darker and more stressed, then they climax. During this onstage journey the lighting can play a key role in the mood which fills the audience. Minute changes in colour and illumination levels can make emotional adjustments of behemothic proportions.

 

Wondered if any of you who have lit realistic plays before have any advice to offer?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Tom

[Ike]

Probably the biggest thing to think about is shadows. Imagine where the light would be coming from and then make sure the shadows reflect this no matter where the object creating them is. There is nothing worse than somebody walking across the stage and the shadows changing direction or size when the obviously wouldn't in real life. Try and avoid having multiple shadows for a single object as this once again will shatter the realism. In late evening shadows will be large, on a cloudy day less obvious, if it is indoors will the primary source be light from the widow or somewhere else?

 

Second point is colour. At night most people automatically put cold blue filters on everything which can be effective however it can be overdone and make it look too cold. The reverse is also true of people thinking that just because its during they day everything should be orange.

 

While at first there may not seem to be a lot to think about a slight mistake in the lighting of a realistic piece can ruin the mood a lot more than for a rock gig or panto.

[david.elsbury]

A lovely night look which we are using for my play at the moment is not using blue at all but 1/4 Colour Temp Correction. Becuase when this scene fades into the next, with open white, the temp correction appears much colder than the warm tungsten. (sorry not very well explained)

 

-david-

[Stu]

I take it you mean your using L203 (Tungsten to Daylight 3600K)?

 

Stu

[sam.henderson]

Another factor to be considered when doinf straight theatre so to speak is noise.

 

Some lanterns (like pars) can give off quite a bit of noise sometimes and if yourae going to use movers (whch I doubt you will for this style of performance) they can obviesly also generate a fair bit of sound

 

Sam

[david.elsbury]

L203 (Tungsten to Daylight 3600K)

Wouldnt know the number, but yes sounds right

 

-david-

[Stu]

Some lanterns (like pars) can give off quite a bit of noise sometimes

This normally isn't a problem is big theatres if you've got your LX bars deaded at a decent height because the noise of the ring would be absorbed by the borders, legs etc near the lanterns.

 

I certainly have never noticed the ring of a dimmed Parcan in a proper theate space, it only becomes an issue in little studios.

 

Stu

[benweblight]

movers (whch I doubt you will for this style of performance) they can obviesly also generate a fair bit of sound

 

Sam

not nessesarily, there are some movers which are quite quiet (varilite?)

 

not that you would use them anyway

[Stu]

and if yourae going to use movers (whch I doubt you will for this style of performance)

not that you would use them anyway

 

Depends on the staging of the play, and what is required from the lighting rig. A touring production might decide to shove in a few quiet wash lights to save rigging lots of lanterns to do multiple colour washes, therefore saving on meatracks, multi etc

 

Or you might have a LD with more budget than he knows what to do with.

 

It's always the shows you least expect that roll out a mover or two...

 

Stu

[gareth]

there are some movers which are quite quiet (varilite?)

 

not that you would use them anyway

Why would you not want to use Varilites for straight theatre? VL5's and VL1000's are two of the most theatre-friendly moving lights I've ever had the pleasure to use.

[mac500]

The VL5B is an excellent light for theatrical use as its colour mixing is for the more pastal shades.

[gareth]

In response to Vividclouds's original question (which, incidentally, I thought was an excellent question, and asked in a very clear and well-thought-out way...)

 

From what you tell us about the piece and the way it's being staged, I think you're very much on the right lines in terms of trying to go for the realism angle, whilst trying to work in somthing of the darker feel of the later moments in the piece. Use your lighting design to complement what's going on on the stage. Don't attempt to overcomplicate things - if a scene just needs one static state, light it that way. I've seen people get too clever for their own good by putting in a whole raft of cues where none are really needed, and it often proves to be their undoing.

 

In terms of how you can achieve a realistic look ... Ike's already mentioned the point about shadows, and in a way that's the key to it. Getting right back to basics, when you're looking to light a scene realistically the first thing you need to ask is "Where's the source of light in this scene?". It might be the sun, it might be a window, or a table lamp, or some overhead lights, or whatever - identify what your primary source of light is, and work from there. Once you've got that nailed down, you can then look at what you need to add in the way of secondary sources (e.g. if there's sunlight streaming in through a window, there's going to be some bounce off the wall opposite the window, so you're going to need to consider some 'fill' from that direction as well).

 

Take some time to look at situations involving natural light, at different times of the day and in different weather conditions. Look at the way light works in the natural world, and take that as your basis for the way your lighting design evolves.

 

Lastly, don't be afraid to experiment a bit - if you're wondering what would happen if you used a certain colour from a certain direction to light a certain scene, try it! If, when you start to light the scene, you find it doesn't work, it's not the end of the world if you have to replace a few colours with something else. Obvisouly you should be aware of not taking this to extremes by constantly making changes to your design right up to press night! But be prepared to be flexible in terms of the way your original concept for the design evolves.

[Just Some Bloke]

I agree with everything above. I'd just add some other things to think about.

 

Firstly, what is in the fourth wall? The fourth wall is, for those who haven't heard the term before, the one which is removed for the audience to see through; in other words it's unseen at the front of the stage. Would there be another window in there where lots of light can flood in from, or would it be just a wall with no window. Look at the set design again and make a decision.

 

Secondly: what about practicals? Do you want to hang a real BC bulb with lamp shade above the set (sometimes works in studios with low height). Would there be wall lights? Or table/standard lamps?

 

Thirdly, would the artificial lights be on in the evening, or will there be enough light coming through the windows. If it's later on, the curtains might be drawn.

 

Fourthly, it's all very well to bring in light from one direction where the original source would actaully be, but if any of the audience are behind this light, they won't see the cast properly so you'll need some 'fill' from another angle.

 

Finally, if you want to point out the 'abuse' that's going on, why not consider putting in some soft focus gobos so that you can differentiate between 'clean' light and the 'dirty' light from the gobos. It's a texture thing.

 

Hope That Helps.

 

JSB