Week 10: Nature Walk and Wrap Up!

This quarter has been one of my favorite experiences in school by far. I designed a DCP of two one acts of which I had never designed two shows on one plot. So that was fun, and a definite learning experience. I took a beginning directing class and got a whole new perspective on viewing theatre. I was a light board operator for a first time designer, and a light board operator for a graduate designer for the last production of the 2013-2014 year. During that I designed an independent project for two second year graduate actors, which turned out much better than expected. Then there was this class which was a bit of review at times but others it was all new which was amazing to hear first of all is the way that Lonnie explains things during class. He makes it completely easy to follow along and there were never times where I didn't understand something. The other part of this class that made it such a fantastic class were the different perspectives that came from my classmates. It was such a rich environment to be around and it made my quarter. 

Now the last "field trip" was a nature walk in Costa Mesa. Now when I'm outside I do notice the difference in light on people, but something I don't notice is how it looks on the bushes and trees or on the ground. Also the way the shadows changed the color of the ground was interesting to note. Apart from a refreshing walk, there was also so much to learn. 

Week 9: Plotting

I was extremely excited to have this lesson because it was going to me a glimpse at what was going to be in the full scale class on plotting that I am taking in the fall. I'm very interested in the process of plotting, and I feel like I was never taught the correct way to do it. When I would normally sit down and make a plot before coming to UCI I started with what's called here the conceptual magic sheet but it was a much smaller scale drawing. It only consisted of a figure in a plan view, and then some arrows pointing to it in different directions, with some moods that I wanted from that angle along with a color I had in mind. I would then take that small drawing and implement it into each area I had on the stage after breaking the stage up. I would then look at each area and decide what was the best place for the light that most matched the drawing. So I guess in a way it's the same process I think the way I know just takes a lot more time. Also to learn about the different throw distances and beam angles will help a lot in later designs. I'm glad I feel I am ready, and I'm glad Lonnie believes I am ready for this class. We will just have to wait and see how difficult it really is. 

Week 10: Dirty, dirty baby, or, Durango why don't you love me?

Nature Walk:
It was so fun to go on this little hike and notice how the light changes. Even if it was just standing in a couple different directions at the same spot. It really was a great decision to do this walk after the plotting class to get a sense of where the sun (source) is and its angle at the time. The way the sun hits these flowers to the left, I would say are diagonal backs? The sun really outlines these little flowers very beautifully, creating a glowing effect, making them look divine, special, magical, desired. I also learned a lot about the use of gobos in realism, how it's a range of hard and soft edges, not just one consistent outline. I definitely cannot wait until the day we can create a light for the theatre that can work even closer to the sun, filling in the spaces all around. That would be magical. But I suppose we could also just direct more shows outdoors, during the day, noon, and night. (Dramatic Imagination)

Fifth of July:
Ugh!!! MARTHA!!!!! HOW?!?

Dramatic Imagination:
I definitely got a lot of inspiration out of this book to use more of my imagination, who would have thought. I loved that the book stimulated the creative side of my brain. Especially since many books we read for class is all technical. This was a beautifully written collection of essays and I can see why we are told to read it in multiple classes. It reminds us to bring the art back in the theatre, and process of making it.

Week 10: Pretending We're At the Ocean

I never realized how much of a water creature I really am until now- I've been here for a month and all I can think about sometimes is how good it's going to feel to jump into the Pacific when I'm back home. We went to Sand Hollow today ("the beach") at a lake near Saint George. I went with a group of awesome ASMs. 

The sun was so intense and so high that literally the surroundings looked like a cut out. The canyons around us looked like a flat painting and we were in some make believe little oasis in the middle of this big baking picture.  Someone mentioned while we were playing in the water "Just over there, I think I've seen that painting before in a hotel room."

They probably have. 

I think I realize now what Lonnie sees when he is pained with excessive front light. Like you are watching a cartoon and are simultaneously baking in an oven. Just, no.

There seemed to be a kind of thin layer of what you could almost describe as smog all around the horizon flattening out the picture even more- but I have a feeling it's just that you can see so FAR that all of the layers of thin haze and density pile up. I'm not sure how the scientific part of that actually works but everything in the distance seemed a little hazy and like I said, flat. As you can see below, the mountains in the distance aren't clear in the distance. They almost look purple. I'm trying to notice if that effect is consistent, or changes based on the weather conditions. It almost seems like smoke. 

Once the sun got lower, I could immediately starts to see the details in the canyons, the cracks and crevices etc. I'm learning a LOT about angle here. These rocks are like a constant light model with a lot of unique shapes, and we get to watch them change throughout the day. What's amazing is that the angle can actually influence the color, or rather the way we perceive the color. Is that even theatrically possible? 

Brandon Standon, the beloved HONY photography recently posted this quote under a photo of two doctors: 

"We’re eye doctors."
"What’s something about the eye that most people don’t realize?"
"The eye doesn’t see. The brain sees. The eye just transmits. So what we see isn’t only determined by what comes through the eyes. What we see is affected by our memories, our feelings, and by what we’ve seen before."

I find this amazing and so applicable to everything we're considering with light, theatre and story. We are evoking with our work, but if you take this idea into consideration, than with whatever we do there will always be an element of the unknown. Each unique experience within each individual on the team and in the audience will literally see, and perceive the work differently. Incredible. 
This class/quarter/exploration has been incredibly important to me in the way that I observe the world around me. It reminds me daily that we draw the inspiration for our art (and the way we perceive the art we see) based on what we experience and notice around us. By nature of being conscious artists it must make us more observant, conscious awake people. I have enjoyed carrying Robert Edmond Jones with me throughout the year. I appreciate how opinionated he is- it makes me realize how OKAY it is to have an opinion- because if we didn't, what would we be doing here? I think my first favorite thing, though, aside from his revelatory observations in Light and Shadow, is how he openly comments on every element. Jones understands and teaches that every element is important and connected. The collaborative element of theatre is to me, one if it's most prevalent and exciting components- the collaboration yes, between people, but also between different mediums of art, ideally headed in the same direction. 


Happy finals week everyone!!!
(I've seen white sand beaches and black sand beaches, but never red. Have some more photos.)

Week Ten: The End of the Beginning

First of all, I haven't been able to comment on anyone's blogs - Claire, just I tried to comment on how much I loved seeing your adventures through your art, and for some reason it wouldn't register. Sad. But, to the matter at hand:

It's kind of ironic that this was one of the first pictures I took on our field trip this week, considering one of the shows I designed for this quarter. I hadn't really thought about it in that context, that natural light (and shadow) can appear to be wrong or unnatural onstage. It makes sense with some of the frustrations I've had with finding that line, or when something is working for me in the sense that it would look like that in nature, but I'm worried that for some it might just look like it wasn't lit well enough on the stage. That trade off is interesting to me.

I'm going to go ahead and add some other pictures I took too:

(The sunset picture)
 I thought these colors were interesting, especially when contrasted with the sky we could see and the ways that the smog distorted the color.

 This is the picture I sent to Claire. I like it because a) sunset reflections and b) the major difference in the way the sun shines at that angle, and the colors it produces, is interesting. There are a lot of different colors of darkness.
On a separate note, I should probably text you back, Claire.




Wrap up: Although there are some points and descriptions that I disagree with (notably his views of what is aesthetically necessary in an actor and the position of a director), I think that many of the ideas that Jones talks about are important. Honesty in theater is something I've been thinking about a lot in the last year, specifically in regard to acting. Although there are contradictions in the way that Jones seems to see the world I can see, considering his job and the times in which he was working, how he would feel that way. It's important to view these things in historical context, and I think recognizing those contradictions and disagreements is what makes thoughtful art.

This class (/these classes, stemming back from 50C) has taught me a lot, and I know it'll be useful as a actor, director, writer, and hey, maybe even lighting designer? One of the things I'm most glad to have learned in my two years here is that I don't have to be just one thing.

(And, I have to say, very sad that I missed bowling today. It looked incredibly fun.)

Thanks, all, for being awesome and intelligent and as interested in things like sunsets and shadows and reflections as I am. And thanks to Lonnie for trusting me to actually light a show. On a stage. With people.

WEEK TEN!!! Wrap Up & Such

WOW!! This year has flown by, and I would have never guessed that I'd be taking a lighting design class to end my freshman year!

Nature Walk:
The nature walk was beautiful. I love being outdoors, and although I like to rant about walking up steps/ walking long distances, it was the perfect way to end our final week of instruction. My favorite part about the nature walk was being able to watch the sun slowly set. I had never gone on a walk around sunset time to pay close attention to the changes in scenery/color that occur as the sun drops.  It was the perfect opportunity for me to see the warmth of the sun in various lights or shades, and was able to discern the differences between the sun at 60 degrees, and the sun right at its setting point. The nature walk was also the perfect opportunity to take note of fabulous textures, where shadows are just as effective and just as important in design as exposure and light. I loved when we waked through the shades of the trees on the lawn because this is where I truly noticed texture (from leaves etc). However, throughout the walk, it was fascinating to see that texture is in everything, and is truly a part of the "perfect picture" that we so often work to obtain. Lonnie repeatedly touched on how we could never create the nature walk setting in its' entirety onstage and I believe that this has to do with how a nature walk is the purest form of revelation from honesty.. which leads into my next point:

The Dramatic Imagination:
One of the most important concepts that I have learned from this book and hope to carry with me throughout my life is the importance of honesty in art. In honest design, there is a sense of deeper meaning, as if the designer has come in touch with humanity in it's purest form. I believe that this honesty reveals and brings an audience straight to the message/purpose of a piece. I think about honesty in dance from both the choreographic and performing standpoint. As a choreographer, one might tend to think commercially, what will bring in the crowd, be the most popular and will transcend time.  However, the best work (as the book reads) has to be true to what motivates/inspires/speaks to them, and I think that staying true to this will bring the audience to the message in the best format (even if it isn't direct), where there are no distractions or loss of concentration. In performance, one has to leave their ego, worries, fears, everyday stresses (etc) at the door  to evoke feelings and bring forth a message that the audience can reflect upon. I think with lighting, a designer and his/her minions (crew) are both performers and choreographers. I think that in lighting, one has to truly focus on aspects from both perspectives to work for the good of the piece and the overall message. I respect set designers (lights, sound, set, costumes props etc) in a way that I hadn't before taking this class and I feel that designers (as all artists are) are incredibly in touch with their humanity and bring their experiences to the stage in a way that inspires.

Week 9: Plotting

When I first heard about plotting in the 50C class, I was scared because it was made to sound like some upper division calculus something or other that I would not understand. But surprisingly, this lecture made me excited because it incorporates the math that I actually do like! Simple algebra and geometry. The only thing that seems daunting would be learning how to fully utilize Vectorworks. Which to me seems like a huge 10 levels beyond what Excel is... I guess I was surprised by how much I enjoyed learning the technical elements, or right brained elements of the design process. It doesn't seem so daunting now. It was also a really nice review of the different lights and their placement/use (i.e. box boom, high sides) . I seemed to have not retained that information as well as, say color theory.

Over the weekend I was also able to see "A Sweet Surprise", the DCPs lit by our very own Gilly! I thought the white cyc was beautiful and really made the cherry blossom detail on the set stand out. When the show started, my eyes started getting really overwhelmed by the brightness of the cyc and for about 5 minutes I was holding my hand to cover half of the cyc because my eyes were getting weary of it. I loved the red special cue a lot. But I think that moment fell short for me because the actor wasn't particularly more devilish in the moment, which I assume is supposed to be the peak exposure of his true nature. For surprise, I thought the composition was quite beautiful. In terms of setting though, I don't know how much I see them being in a diner because it had a very film noir feel to it. Overall though, I think for Gilly's first lighting design out of class, this was pretty successful.

Week 9: Reverence and Reprieve

 This was at the very top of a hike, where we collapsed for a while. The day had been mostly clear, but when we got up top there was some cloud cover. This is from a couple weeks ago, because this Sunday I spent the day in St. George and regrettably the open sunlight was powerful and bright and overbearing but I couldn't think of much to say about it. 

When Europeans immigrants got here back in the day and, well, founded the Mormon faith, they were so in awe of of Zion and the surrounding area that they believe Jesus himself walked these lands. A lot of the paths and locations in the Park have spiritual names like "Angels Landing." I keep looking for when the lighting feels angelic and reverent. I feel like sometimes it is open, harsh and desert like, and sometimes it feels like Angels really have come down out of this same sky and walked all over this red rock. This was one of those moments. You can tell, because Connor is obviously in some state of bliss. Partially because we had just reached the top of a mountain, but also, look at the light. There is deeper shade below him, underneath the humongous rock he climbed to lay on top of. The light was cool and soft and a gentle reprieve from the rest of the day. It was very quiet and still up there. It instantly had us all in the most peaceful, respectful mood. We all just picked rocks to climb up and chill on. Around 10 of us and we maybe laid around up there for 45 minutes- not talking, just looking at the sky and thinking quietly.

It's incredible the way the surrounding light can impact us. The way we feel, what we want, what we even believe it would seem. Light can make us think of new things because it frames and alters our perception of our surroundings. Things change meaning altogether based on the way we are lit. 

Week 9: Some kind of pun with the word "rep"

Today is my post-strike day, and so I've spent it remembering all the things I still have to do in the next two weeks.

First: plotting. Some of the things I took notes on were ones I had picked up in the last week, from necessity, but I'm also fairly confident that I won't be able to retain it all. Especially without weekly reminders and/or plots due. It seems to me like plotting is an ongoing (and for me, possibly never-ending) learning process. There are things like dealing with area light (making that the largest variable) which seem intuitive, now that I know them, but that never would have occurred to me going into designing this show. I don't really know when my next opportunity to design will be (...) but I hope that kind of stuff will become a more natural way of thinking. And then there's the math (I know it isn't difficult math, but I'm a little out of practice.)

Thanks to the heroic efforts of the cast, crew, and Kyle (and Yasmin, who dropped by to help until she saw it was under control), strike went pretty smoothly last night. We left around 11, and all that remains is for me to return some of the equipment that I borrowed. Shout out to Kyle and Yasmin for being awesome and helping with finding the right Rep Plot file in the crowded board (among other things).

I haven't gotten the pictures yet, but as soon as I do I'll definitely post a couple.

There were a few things I wish I'd done differently, including some CYA (see, I remembered the acronym!) light for blocking changes that were made without my knowledge and late in the process (well, one. The other spot on the stage with less light was completely my doing). It's kind of ironic, considering my history with using every light possible, but I found myself wishing for a couple more specials to fill out those moments. Don't get me wrong, I'm still proud of the show and process. I liked that I was able to design both an outdoorsy, bright day and an intimate restaurant. I liked my color palate.  And I thought it looked pretty cool, in the end (I also liked that I didn't have to re-patch much). I learned a lot - as a designer and also just as a human. And I kind of wish I'd done this earlier, so I could have done it more than once. :)

Week 9: Craft v. Design

I apologize if this shows up twice on the blog site, for some reason my blog wouldn't post:

Wow! So much information in this week's lecture.  Discussing plotting in design kind of blew my mind because I had no idea that there were so many steps involved in designing a show.

Now that I have reflected, I feel overwhelmed by the entire design process but more aware of the steps that I need to take when designing a piece. I feel overwhelmed because I feel like I've never recognized the amount of work (and the hours of processing) that go into developing a conceptual world for the audience members to completely enter. There are so many steps that must come before a designer can even think about plotting, and I had no idea, which is why I feel that  lighting design seemed almost impossible (because I had no idea where to begin). However, because of this lecture, I feel that I am more aware of the sequential order of the designing, and thus, I have a grasp on how one begins to "make art" -Martha Carter. 

So the process:

1. Design Statement: a script treatment, scene by scene narrative breakdown communicated in angles and movement that says a lot about the entirety of the plot (right, Lonnie?).  One of the most important things to note about the design statement is that a lighting designer does not have to be incredibly detailed about their design concept, for this might take away the design from the designer. Details can be changed/altered by a director, and can take away from the entire vision that the designer is hoping to display. 

2. Conceptual Magic Sheets: breakdown into translations of light, and needs to be specific enough to think/visualize in terms of lights. The concept magic sheet is a step in the process that allows a designer to think about the big strokes of his/her design: brushstrokes, angles, colors and textures. 

3. Scene by Scene System Magic Sheets: this is probably the most complicated part of the process for me to understand. Color, gobo, and systems are determined here. We talked about the various angles of light that are present in the theatre, and how a designer has to be aware of the angles and the distance of a source/system (and what he/she is attempting to present) so as to not only capture the performers (visibility light), but to also play with the dynamics of the design. This process actually occurs twice because of details/edits that are often made in design (right, Lonnie?)

The above processes is a part of the entire design process. Designing is vision, concept, idea, inspiration and communication with the other designers/director of the show/piece. This must, must, must be separated from plotting because plotting should not include design in it's own process, but should be a process of listing and details. In this state, a designer works on the math, the beam angles, the obstructions, and the minutia of the design. I love that Lonnie emphasized that we must separate our design from our craft (plotting) because we use completely separate hemispheres of our brain. I love how this pertains to dance. I am really interested in choreographing a piece this summer (through collaboration with a jazz student from Berklee) but am nervous to start the choreographic process because I have trouble separating the craft from the design when creating pieces. Design is conceptual, and craft is detailed, perhaps the specifics. A designer must have the vision/concept in mind in order to even entertain specifics, and now that I have reflected on this, I feel that I am less overwhelmed and more excited to begin this collaboration! Thanks Lonnie for the life lesson!