Week 4: Brushstroke

4: BRUSHSTROKES
(SORRY LONNIE!!)

Our brushstrokes lecture brought me to a new level of understanding in terms of the the bruskstrokes came to be, and the variations among them. I already knew the basic 3, but hearing about their alterations and the subsequent invention of new, or altered brushstrokes was eye opening.  

The idea that followed me around most this was the concept of F2. In a camera, the F stop indicates the width of the aperture, and hence the depth of field of the photograph. Of course, when we start talking about F2 on a fixture, I immediately start trying to unpack the comparisons. 

 

 The photo on the left was shot at F 16 or 22, the tightest the aperture on the lens I used could be. The photo on the right was shot at F1.8, the largest the aperture can open on the lens I used. On the camera it becomes a matter of how much light you want to let in, and how much detail you want to reveal. The picture of the Swedish country palace was shot in broad daylight, and I wanted to get the gravel in focus as well as this palace that was really far away. With the spoons, I wanted them to feel cozy and intimate, and the lighting was also very low. Convenient. The comparisons between light design and photography are limitless.

In essence, one of the more complex elements of "brushstroke" is focus point. The edges of your subject can be blurred or crisp. The point of focus can be small, or can be large, and based on the shape of the reflector, it changes. It's all starting to make sense. You can obtain different angles of Lekos in order to change this.

I was backstage yesterday during As You Like It and noticed a pattern along the SR wall of the house- and instantly thought, HM- what kind of light is being used that this pattern is being picked up through this mesh? How far away is the light? Where is it? Had I not been going on stage in a matter of seconds I should have liked to figure it out. The light must have had F2 in the right place to be picking up a pattern and throwing it on the wall.

Brushstroke is probably the element that people consider least when thinking about stage light (when they AREN'T lighting designers) but aside from angle it seems to be one of the most important. It's the first elements that influences the quality of light.