June 1 - June 12

For the last two weeks, you learned about costume development and figure drawing! Thank you for the beautiful renderings and collages! For the next two weeks, we will be exploring lighting design. 

MONDAY: 
Read the textbook pages (in the downloads section) that lay out a fundamental understanding of theatrical  lighting technology and design. Take notes on these pages, paying specific attention to the blue "Design" sections. 

TUESDAY:
Watch the recorded lecture on Lighting Design here: https://youtu.be/yUHrLdgsKjU 
Take notes on the lecture, stopping and starting if necessary. Focus on what I am verbally saying to know what is important to write down.

WEDNESDAY:
Watch the second part of the recorded lecture on Lighting Design here: https://youtu.be/eQ0vg1MtjE4
Take notes on the lecture, stopping and starting if necessary. Focus on what I am verbally saying to know what is important to write down.

THURSDAY:
Watch the third (and final) part of the recorded lecture on Lighting Design here: https://youtu.be/By6KiAmv-wY 
Take notes on the brief lecture, stopping and starting if necessary. Focus on what I am verbally saying to know what is important to write down.

With the remaining time in Thursday's 25-minute time, begin your Gobo Photo Hunt assignment! (If you do not know what a "gobo" is, you need to watch the lectures.) 

• Locate three separate, interesting "gobo" textures occurring in the world around you. They might be inside (like light coming through a window or another room) or outside (like sunlight or a streetlamp shining through a tree/foliage). 
  • Try going on a walk or walking around your house at different times during the day and at night. 
  • Remember that a gobo is a texture that is shown. It is not the light source itself or the object itself. Think of it like the outline/shadow of the object.
• Take pictures of these three separate "gobos". Write a one-sentence description for each photo. The photos and sentences should be in a Word document. (Reference the example in the downloads section.)
• This assignment is the first part of your Final and will not be turned in until next Wednesday with the rest of the Final.

FRIDAY, 5th - FRIDAY, 12th: Lighting Design Final Project Instructions

• Objective: To explore and apply three primary elements of lighting design (color, texture, angle) in a home-lab/mini-lab setting.
• Due Date: Seniors – June 10th, Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors – June 12th , but you may turn it in sooner if you like.
• How To Turn In: Submit to www.turnitin.com as one Word document. Things that should be on the Word document are underlined in the below instructions.
• Criteria/Instructions:
  • Part 1: Gobo Photo Hunt Assignment (Instructions for Part 1 are in Thursday's instructions above.
  • Part 2: Gobo Creation Assignment
    • With paper/aluminum foil and scissors/craft knife carefully create a gobo of one of the textures you observed in Part 1. Examples are provided in the downloads section of the website.
      • You may do this in one of two ways:
      • Use a flashlight as a stencil. Cut out the stencil and create the gobo. Tape the gobo onto the end of your flashlight. OR
      • Cut your gobo into a larger piece of paper and shine a light through the paper for the desired effect.
    • After creating your gobo, take a photo of the outcome of your texture experiment as well as the gobo itself and include this as the next step in your Word document. Notice how the “focus” (to use a term from the lecture) of the texture becomes crisp and clear (i.e. “hard edge”) and fuzzy and unclear (i.e. “soft edge”) as you move the light source.
  • Part 3: Miniature Light Lab 
    • This is the bulk of the final project and should take the largest portion of the allotted time. Examples are provided in the downloads section of the website.
      • Set up a static (unmoving) scene with small objects from your home. These objects might be dollhouse furniture, salt and pepper shakers, etc. Your creativity is the limit, but it should not change from picture to picture.
      • Place these objects on a deconstructed cardboard box, a solid color sheet, or a photography backdrop. Anything will work as long as it is solid in color.
      • Using items from around your home, create multiple lighting cues (referenced below). You may use food coloring in bottles/glasses of water or colored plastic sheeting to create your colors. You may use any kind of products from around your home (i.e. netting, craft supplies, other toys, etc.) to create texture. Experiment with angle in placing your light sources in front, side, back, up, down positions. Reference the lectures for details about the impact of these angles.
      • Cue 1: Basic McCandless (i.e. one warm and one cool front lights at 45 degree angles from the acting area)
      • Cue 2: A Clear Cut Focus on one object in your scene.
      • Cue 3: Use of a gobo
      • Cue 4: Use of another gobo
      • Cue 5: A wash of color on the scene
      • Cue 6: A creative cue of your choosing. Mix color with gobos if you want and experiment with angles. Get interesting! 
      • Take photographs of each cue and label them clearly in the word document.
• Part 4: Brief Reflection
  • Write a small paragraph about what you found interesting about lighting and how you think these concepts translate to a large stage. Include any lingering questions you might have.