J Pearce Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 I've found my students quite like 'Basics - A Beginner's Guide to Stage Lighting' and 'Basics - A Beginner's Guide to Lighting Design', both from etbooks.co.uk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mal421 Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Light Fantastic - Max Keller. Amazon have it reduced at the moment to £38 although I got my copy from a secondhand shop for £1, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowtang Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I teach the Stage Lighting Module to our Degree Production students here at GSA and I recommend "Stage Lighting, The Technicians Guide" by Skip Mort. It's fantastic, very easy to read and comes with a DVD too. It's about £18 on a popular website... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 The problem of choosing a single book is complicated by the breadth and range of the subject now, compared with just a few years ago. I remember very well as a teenager, having Francis Reid for the chatty useful anecdotal very british side of things and then Richard Pilbrows first version of his book for the US perspective with lots if useful lists, plots and drawings. Everybody at that time went on and on about Fred Bentham's book, but I couldn't get one - and only a few years later when I did, I was glad I didn't read it earlier, because I've always done things with Francis's book as the key and kind of proof it would work before I tried it myself. Benthams approach was different, and I don't think it would have suited me following it. In recent years I've bought a few about modern desk programming and found them just not suitable for my way of doing things. I'm still certain that for me, I'd still pick the Reid books, then Pilbrow again. Not so much for the equipment specific stuff, because that's just out of date now - some bits by a long way, but the process they use is still sound, and worthy of a read. The contemporary books seem to me to be trying too hard to cover a very narrow area. Nick Moran's book is good for beginners as it has good explanations of the physics - and is presented in a kind of educational style. Very different to Reid's conversational style. I suppose the real point is that now, a single book is just not enough - and maybe this is where the real libraries come in. You need to be able to have a selection, then buy the one that is best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyld Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I suppose the real point is that now, a single book is just not enough - and maybe this is where the real libraries come in. You need to be able to have a selection, then buy the one that is best. I agree. I actually recommend all the books mentioned in the thread and put them into various reading lists for different students, courses and interests. I like Skip's book and DVDs for school pupil technicians starting out and those novices only partially interested in lighting. I advise towards Moran regularly, Reid, Pilbrow, Keller, Bentham, Coleman, Essig... the list goes on and that's before we get into more specialist areas. If a student has a particular mindset, I might send them off somewhere else. Maybe even Ost! I'm not sure that 'killer app' type book is achievable in the subject. Or even desirable. Start with one of those books, and aim to read them all in the end :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Start with one of those books, and aim to read them all in the end :) The 'technical theatre' section in my library downstairs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterT Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Start with one of those books, and aim to read them all in the end :) The 'technical theatre' section in my library downstairs... I can't help but notice your 'Pyrotechnic chemistry' book there Brian... if it's this one then yikes that's an expensive volume right there. Back on topic, there are loads of books out there and I would suggest you avail yourself of your local library and see what they've got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I can't help but notice your 'Pyrotechnic chemistry' book there Brian... if it's this one then yikes that's an expensive volume right there.Yep, that's the one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Sadly, my local library don't have a single one! A search of suffolk libraries reveals that in ALL libraries, there are 3 copies of Francis Reid's books, and only one is on display, the other two are in the suffolk 'store'. To be frank, my local library I used to go to each week in the seventies has the old reference library as the only non-fiction section, and each clump of Dewey numbers is about Brian's size. In my day, the books went on for shelves and shelves. Very sad. Francis was told by his publishers they weren't interested in more lighting books. He also wrote the only decent book I've ever read on theatre admin, and that too died. I have to admit when I first started doing the work in suits, rather than blacks, that book was (and still is) my bible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgallen Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 The Francis Reid book is my first lighting bible (ok maybe a slightly earlier edition... I'm not quite as young as I still think I am!). Neil Fraser's Stage Lighting Design is my second and links in quite nicely with the Francis Reid book with an alternative look at 'the first ten lanterns'. http://www.amazon.co...x_ya_os_product The example rigs built around the 'test' questions I find very inspirational. Neil also gives more weight to backlight which I think is a bit overlooked in Francis Reid's book. Richard Pilbrow's The Art, The Craft, The Life is also worth looking at although less of a practical reference in my eyes, more a nostalgic read!Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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