One For The Lighting Designers...

[MattBreen2008]

Hello All,

 

As a Lighting Designer myself, I design for quite a few local am dram performances. Next week I am preparing a presentation on the history, development and future of Theatrical Lighting and also it's purpose.

 

I'd like to get the thoughts of any lighting designers on the following 4 questions. In some instances I've offered suggestions as to what I believe the purpose of Lighting is but would really appreciate your thoughts and views as well. I'm not trying to catch anyone out, nor am I asking you to do the presentation for me because I know how infuriating other forums from students can be!! This first question might appear a little obvious/a stupid question but I think it's something thats quite basic but also important and indeed if more designers asked themselves this before sticking a lamp up and hoping for the best, there would be no such thing as a bad designer!

 

1. What is the purpose of theatrical lighting?

 

Highlighting performers facial expressions/movements

Contributing to create the desired atmosphere (dramatic tension etc)

Or is it just to create spectacle? Something that looks visually interesting (E.g. when the big beat kicks in at the finale, you bring in Fly bar 42 and your movers create a big, glittering finale)?

 

2. When lighting a show what do you consider to be Rule No 1. on the Do's and Dont's list?

 

3. What do you consider to be the most significant development or milestone in the History of theatrical lighting?

 

The removal of the gas lamp and introduction of electricity?

The introduction of communication technology (DMX512 etc)?

The introduction of intelligent fixtures etc?

 

4. What 1 piece of equipment/procedure or 'thing' do you think could really improve how a lighting designer works/how a production looks and really enhance the industry further?

 

This can be anything you think would improve the industry... Better desks, communication technologies etc

 

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Thanks in advance

 

Matt

[Bryson]

The first person to post a "homework" post gets kicked in the kidneys. Clear?

 

1. What is the purpose of theatrical lighting?

Highlighting performers facial expressions/movements

Contributing to create the desired atmosphere (dramatic tension etc)

Or is it just to create spectacle? Something that looks visually interesting (E.g. when the big beat kicks in at the finale, you bring in Fly bar 42 and your movers create a big, glittering finale)?

 

All of the above, depending on the production. I think you have them in the correct order of priority there, too.

 

2. When lighting a show what do you consider to be Rule No 1. on the Do's and Dont's list?

 

Can I see what I'm supposed to see?

 

3. What do you consider to be the most significant development or milestone in the History of theatrical lighting?

The removal of the gas lamp and introduction of electricity?

The introduction of communication technology (DMX512 etc)?

The introduction of intelligent fixtures etc?

 

None of those. I'd go with the first memory consoles that recorded timings - Lighting Design is 4-dimensional - I consider the timing aspect to be as important to the design as the other 3 dimensions.

 

4. What 1 piece of equipment/procedure or 'thing' do you think could really improve how a lighting designer works/how a production looks and really enhance the industry further?

 

I'm not sure exactly what you mean - do you mean something that doesn't exist yet? Hell, If I knew that, I'd be out there trying to make one.

[vinntec]

Here is my tuppence worth as a long serving amateur LD:

 

1. What is the purpose of theatrical lighting?

I can't remember who said it, but "an actor who can't be seen can't be heard". So anyone speaking or singing for any time should be well enough illuminated for face to be clear.

 

Second atmosphere - "Where Is Love?" with the right mood lighting will have the audience crying. Metamorphosis with atmospheric lighting can have a human insect without makeup which still works. The right lighting when you have partial sets - I did Guys and Dolls a few years ago in a venue which couldn't fly scenery so mission scenes were literally a desk and a few benches, but the audience afterwards were convinced there was chapel scenery (there was a New York street amd skyline visible throughout but obviously dark for the mission scenes).

 

Third - realism (when its needed). The audience should not have to guess its a sunny or overcast day, or if its electric or lantern lighting internally. The light has to appear to come from the light sources - sun or moon or streetlamps if outside or windows (which might be the audience wall) or practical lamps if inside. (Incidentally if the scenery has shadows painted on then they have to line up with your direction of motivating light or it looks really odd - I speak from experience as once corrected the flat set suddenly became 3D). So if you have a lampstand supposedly lighting a room then there must be an emphasis of lighting from this direction - backed up with conventional lighting to mimic the light bouncing off walls/ground etc.

 

2. When lighting a show what do you consider to be Rule No 1. on the Do's and Dont's list?

Do - what the Director wants! Try to persuade if you don't agree but they make the final call.

Don't - do something the Director does not want! Don't go off into fantasy land and lay on all kinds of effects which weren't asked for. That doesn't mean you can't suggest ideas but again the Director decides - good ideas are invariably adopted [nearly always!].

 

3. What do you consider to be the most significant development or milestone in the History of theatrical lighting?

In truth its probably electric lighting and pioneers like Stanley McCandless who worked out how to use it. For me personally, however, being quite old I started on manual dimmers (Strand Sunset) where several operators literally had to hang over each other to make a lighting change which could be different every performance. The introduction of memory consoles did away with all this and made LX cues much more predictable - at the expense of making the LX operator a lonely person away from everyone else.

 

4. What 1 piece of equipment/procedure or 'thing' do you think could really improve how a lighting designer works/how a production looks and really enhance the industry further?

As an amateur I cut all my gels by hand using cardboard templates. If only I had a cheap machine to do it efficiently for me!

 

Peter Vincent, UK

[LeeStoddart]

1. What is the purpose of theatrical lighting?

 

- Providing visibility for the stuff that should be visible and invisibility for those that shouldn't

- Creating the atmosphere, setting the mood, re-enforcing the feel

I would exclude "create spectacle" as a specific objective (I have literally had three bars fly in for the finale and the lighting go mad - but that was because the requirement of the atmosphere, setting and feel at that point of the show was for spectacle)

 

2. When lighting a show what do you consider to be Rule No 1. on the Do's and Dont's list?

Do be a part of the design team, don't try and light a different show from the rest of the production team.

 

3. What do you consider to be the most significant development or milestone in the History of theatrical lighting?

I think Bryson hit the nail on the head - the memory desk provided the greatest freedom

 

4. What 1 piece of equipment/procedure or 'thing' do you think could really improve how a lighting designer works/how a production looks and really enhance the industry further?

A time machine would be really useful - then we really could take all the time we need to create what we want

Another invention that would be really good is a lighting fixture which includes a beam throw parameter - so that the beam reaches the objective point and then stops - we could avoid those unsightly shadows - and be really specific about what was lit and what was not.

Perhaps a little more realistic is wireless power and hover fixtures (silent obviously) so that every fixture can be exactly where we need it to be without all the hassle of rigging

 

hmmm (TM used without permission) you wanted 1 thing - in which case it would be "better communication within the production team" the ability to get everyone's mind onto the same page would make for much better productions all round.

 

(Oh and whirled peas too while we are at it)

[Ken Coker]

Read the following then come back and ask again:

 

Aronson, A. (2005). Looking into the abyss : essays on scenography. Ann Arbor, Mich., University of Michigan Press ; Bristol : University Presses Marketing [distributor].

 

Baugh, C. (2005). Theatre, performance and technology : the development of scenography in the twentieth century. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

 

Bentham, F. (1980). The art of stage lighting. London, Pitman.

 

Bergman, G. s. M. (1977). Lighting in the theatre. Stockholm, Almqvist & Wiksell International.

 

Chandler, D. (2007). Semiotics : the basics. London, Routledge.

 

Coleridge, S. T. and N. Leask (1997). Biographia literaria. London, Everyman.

 

Eco, U. (1976). A Theory of Semiotics. Bloomington, In, Indiana University Press/Macmillan.

 

Elam, K. (1980). The semiotics of theatre and drama. London, Methuen.

 

Fischer-Lichte, E. (1992). The semiotics of theater. Bloomington, Indiana University Press.

 

Graves, R. B. (1999). Lighting the Shakespearean stage, 1567-1642. Carbondale, Ill., Southern Illinois University Press.

 

Jakobson, R., L. R. Waugh, et al. (1990). On language. Cambridge, Mass. ; London, Harvard University Press.

 

Kress, G., van Leeuwen, Theo (1996). Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. London, Routledge.

 

Langer, S. K. (1951). Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite and Art. London, Oxford University Press.

 

Langer, S. K. K. Philosophy in a New Key, etc, pp. xviii. 313. Cambridge.

 

McCandless, S. (1939). A Method of Lighting the Stage. New York, Theatre Arts Inc.

 

McCandless, S. (1964). A syllabus of stage lighting. New Haven, Conn., Drama Book Specialists.

 

Morgan, N. H. (2005). Stage lighting design in Britain : the emergence of the lighting designer, 1881-1950. Cambridge, Entertainment Technology Press.

 

Pilbrow, R. (1997). Stage lighting design : the art, the craft, the life. London, Nick Hern.

 

Rees, T. A. L. (1978). Theatre lighting in the age of gas. London, Society for Theatre Research.

 

Reid, F. (2001). The stage lighting handbook. London, A. & C. Black.

 

Shakespeare, W. and H. F. Brooks (1979). A midsummer night's dream. [London], Methuen.

 

Simpson, R. S. (2003). Lighting control : technology and applications. Oxford, Focal.

 

Svoboda, J. and J. Burian (1993). The secret of theatrical space : the memoirs of Josef Svoboda. New York, N.Y. ; Tonbridge, Applause Theatre Books.

 

KC

[simschr]

Thanks for the comprehensive list of books there Ken.

 

Greatly appreciated,

Chris

[MattBreen2008]

Thanks to all those who have replied and given your thoughts. To the person who supplied me with a reading list, when I'm opening a library then I'll definitely contact you. The purpose of the question was to get the thoughts of both experienced and am dram lighting designers - trying to get a broad range of opinions and your thoughts on the practical and theoretical application of Lighting Design - not those of authors.

 

Like I said I'm not trying to get people to do homework for me as it's not even a homework task - in addition I supplied answers to my own questions to prove this. These questions that I've asked weren't even set questions - they are questions that I have developed myself to allow me to give an insight into the job of a lighting designer and the development of the process.

 

Regards

 

Matthew

[robloxley]

"I'd like to get the thoughts of any lighting designers on the following 4 questions": and Richard Pilbrow, Francis Reid, Fred Bentham et al are/were not all highly experienced lighting designers with plenty of practical and theoretical knowledge, rather than just book authors?? For your 'presentation on the history, development and future of Theatrical Lighting and also it's purpose', reading a little sounds like a great recommendation. It's interesting to see how much and how little has changed since McCandless' book of 1932, for instance.

[Just Some Bloke]

1. What is the purpose of theatrical lighting?

 

Improve the production

 

2. When lighting a show what do you consider to be Rule No 1. on the Do's and Dont's list?

 

Do improve the production, don't make it worse

 

For those who think I'm being facetious here, I'm not. I've seen quite a few shows where the lighting got in the way of me enjoying the production - in the same way that a bad mix can get in the way of a good music event.

 

3. What do you consider to be the most significant development or milestone in the history of theatrical lighting?

 

A wellknown ageing topnotch LD said, when asked the same question, "the hook clamp" as it speeded up rigging no end. I think maybe it was the shift in acceptance of the LD's role in the creative team, rather than just a hanger on who turned on the power and mixed some colours in the toplight battens.

 

4. What 1 piece of equipment/procedure or 'thing' do you think could really improve how a lighting designer works/how a production looks and really enhance the industry further?

 

More time for plotting and tweaking.

[Guest lightnix]

1. What is the purpose of theatrical lighting?

Oddly enough, it's there so that the performers can be seen on the stage. Otherwise, it's called "Radio" :P

 

All that stuff about mood, atmosphere, scene-setting, etc., is secondary to this simple requirement

 

At least - that was (more or less) the explanation given to us at college. Today, I'd add that it allows the Director (through you, the LD) to control what is seen on stage and how. I'm not sure what else I can add to that, though - without becoming subjective.

 

 

2. When lighting a show what do you consider to be Rule No 1. on the Do's and Dont's list?

That the lighting is just a part of the production, not its Be All And End All. You are ultimately an artisan, working for a Director with an overall vision and should not automatically assume the right to total (or indeed any) artistic control over your work, which should ultimately integrate with and not dominate the production - unless called upon to do so.

 

OK, it doesn't always work out that way and some Directors' overall visions may need a little more *cough* "realising" than others :) But it's as good a starting point as any IMO.

 

I think there's a lot to the argument though, that, "really great lighting goes unnoticed", especially in Theatre.

 

 

3. What do you consider to be the most significant development or milestone in the History of theatrical lighting?

Quite simply: The thyristor dimmer :)

 

It was this invention which...

• Allowed larger installations to become more practical, affordable and accessible. A gallery of levers and wheels could be replaced by a much smaller bank of faders and the dimmers located remotely. What would previously have only been practical in a large theatre, suddenly became available to schools and colleges - at a fraction of the price.
   
  
• Allowed lighting rigs to become portable. The concert lighting industry owes its very existence to the thristor dimmer IMO - although "portable" back in the late '60s / early '70s apparently meant lugging huge great Rank Strand racks, designed for permanent installation, around on international tours - it took a couple of years for the touring rack, as we now know it, to begin evolving.
  

The memory desk was a giant leap forward, it's true - but it couldn't have happened without the thyristor dimmer.

 

I'd say that DMX comes a close second and has had broadly the same effect - now magnified by ArtNet. DMX was / is a bit of a rubbish protocol, though; so I'd say that digital protocols in general, should take 2nd place.

 

 

4. What 1 piece of equipment/procedure or 'thing' do you think could really improve how a lighting designer works/how a production looks and really enhance the industry further?

Tetrachromacy (although I think you have to be a girl to possess it as a human - see also...).

[MattBreen2008]

Hello All,

 

Thanks for your thoughts and contributions - I'm just putting the finishing touches to the presentation now and would like to thank you once again

 

Best Wishes

 

Matt Breen