Lighting narrow acting areas

[vinntec]

Need some advice. I am lighting Bedroom Farce in a tiny theatre with a low grid. Two bedrooms are downstage at slightly different levels, and the third across the back upstage. The main lighting for the DS rooms is a no brainer as it has to be straight-on and backlit to keep them from spilling into each other (and steep at their US end to reduce spill into the third room). With the lanterns I have left, I could provide side lighting from one side only into each of the DS rooms, coming from the other room's direction, to provide some modelling. Is this worth doing at all - and if so is it better to be as straight across as possible or would angled from the front be better? Also, assuming main light in each room is O/W or lightly tinted, should these be same or similar colour, or would a blue wash like L201 be better? Costumes are present day and a mixture of colours, rooms are pastel or drab colours (and downstage rooms only have small sections of wall showing).

Thanks in advance - Peter

[AndyJones]

Hello Peter,

 

Hope you are well! The main thing I would say is that the side lighting you add needs to be logical. Unless you can give it a sense of logic I don't see that you gain much? Reflected light from within the room wouldn't act as a key light of any kind? Any key side light would come from the off stage edge, as this is where there is likely to be a window?

 

Just my thoughts

 

Regards

 

Andy Jones

[dbuckley]

When I did Bedroom Farce I used a different tints palette for each of the three rooms, but I've no recollection what they were :wacko:

[vinntec]

The main thing I would say is that the side lighting you add needs to be logical. Unless you can give it a sense of logic I don't see that you gain much? Reflected light from within the room wouldn't act as a key light of any kind? Any key side light would come from the off stage edge, as this is where there is likely to be a window?

Hi Andy - the front and back lighting should be enough to illuminate and remove general flatness. It would be usual to also have side-lighting from both sides to help modelling which can be at fairly steep angles if I had unlimited resources. The motivational lighting from the DS rooms are from overhead pendants, there is no natural lighting coming from the sides (late evening and night scenes). So side lighting is only needed to make the actors look more natural but with what I have available I can usefully only cover the room properly from one side, from the direction of the adjacent room, as shadows from this can go anywhere without causing too many problems. In the other direction I would need multiple steeply angled lanterns so avoid spillage into the adjacent room. One option I am toying with is to wash sidelighting from both sides, but to take it out when the adjacent room goes dark (and rely on front/back only at this point). Does this make sense? Peter

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

When I did Bedroom Farce I used a different tints palette for each of the three rooms, but I've no recollection what they were :wacko:

Hi David - that's precisely what I suggested to the director last night! O/W, salmon, and straw would reinforce the feeling the rooms are in different places and match the mood of each room. A blue wash on top for each would be perfect but I don't have the resources for this as well as sides. If I tint the side lights blue (and have them angled from the front) this would look fine except when the adjacent room needs to be dark and I would would probably have to take them out (which would alter the colour balance). Oh my aching head... Peter

[smalljoshua]

Could you not then use the top light instead of the side light, if you feel that this would provide a nice effect and be less hassle to implement?

 

Josh

[Just Some Bloke]

It's always better to have lanterns left over than to throw too much at it. If the front and back give a good look between them then stop at that point.

 

You may suddenly find in the Tech that you need a couple of extra lanterns and if you've already put everything you've got on the rig then you're stymied (sp?) b*ggered!

[vinntec]

Could you not then use the top light instead of the side light, if you feel that this would provide a nice effect and be less hassle to implement?

Hi Josh - in this tiny theatre the backlights are already almost toplights if I don't want to blind the audience! Thanks for the idea though. Peter

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

It's always better to have lanterns left over than to throw too much at it. If the front and back give a good look between them then stop at that point.

Hi Eric (and others who have contributed ideas) - I went back to first principles today: do I have sufficient front light to properly cover each room without spilling too much upstage? Have I got as much backlight as I can get into each room without blinding the audience? Are the entrances/exits for each room properly covered? Do I have all the lighting effects covered which this show needs? After this I ended up with only a few lanterns left - which I will leave in the storeroom!

Regards -- Peter