Week 3: "Ewoks will make me forgive a multitude of sins" (Or: GOAT!)

Claire already made the Shakespeare pun, so I went with the quote.

As You Like It tech was a great experience to observe, because not only had I had the opportunity to closely observe (and take part in) programming and a little focusing earlier in the week, but Darrin had also been kind enough to walk me through his magic sheets and systems, so I was able to see how they were working together to create cues. It was cool getting to see the adjustments as it went along, as well as the interactions between the designers.

Architectural lighting: AN ADDITION. Okay, so apparently I'm writing about South Coast Plaza for this blog, and not the next (whoops). Let me say that I appreciate the lighting in buildings more since blogging for 157, and although I'd never actually been to South Coast Plaza, the obvious amount of time (and money) spent on the melding of decor and lighting is impressive. It's fairly obvious who the mall the is target towards, and what messages most of the stores are trying to send. Their varied success (Tiffany's is, I think, very successful, while Barney's cultivates a dark air that I find off-putting as someone who has never shopped there) is interesting, and while we pointed out a great many of the reasons for this (lack of coherence, clarity of focus, a clear sense of intent) I'd never really thought about the idea of legacy - or, I guess, the inheritance of lighting that just has to be dealt and worked with. Now that I'm thinking on it, there are places that I know several stores have gone through (in various places I've lived) that probably had to deal with the established architectural lighting and had many of their decisions/looks already dictated.

Disneyland: Thinking back, the only times I really notice architectural lighting are when they make some kind of beautiful picture (have some character of their own).  I notice when I walk into a space - like the Disney Hotel - and see that the lighting compliments the decor, but I don't really think of them as separate entities. I also notice them if they aren't adequate (bad lighting at night, dim lighting in stores, etc.) I expect its easier to notice in a place filled with character (like Disneyland), but I'll definitely start paying more attention.

Theme Park Lighting I find so interesting, because it seems to me like it's a marriage of architectural and theatrical (I think dance, because that seems more abstract to me, but the storytelling element is more clear). Last time, when I went on Haunted Mansion, we were hypothesizing about the ghosts dancing (which are so incredibly cool and clearly MAGICAL). I think because it's a theatrical space we - or at least I - am more prone to noticing the ways that light is being used (we even looked back a few times during that  - or maybe it was Pirates - and I can remember being impressed with Space Mountain's lighting effects).

 I think I'm going to think more on these things, but it feels at the moment like so much to absorb (next time: thoughts on World of Color, because I am processing), and whole other world of "ordinary" and
"extraordinary" design I didn't really consider all that often.

Plus, you know, magic.