Week 4: Knife Light and Oedipus Rex

My Wife was sitting on the couch (that's her toe), and exclaimed "do you see that light?" I didn't. She described what she saw, and I maneuvered so I was right behind her and could see the sharp lines of light.
This knife-like light isn't an unusual phenomenon, but still I felt wowed - impressed. It had an austere quality. For some reason it made me think of the latter portion of Oedipus Rex, just after he's stabbed out his eyes - the clarity of what he's done so sharp it maim. . . Two sharp knife-like beams hitting a black, bare stage. Oedipus comes out of the palace after blinding himself, between these two beams. His double transgressions, killing his father and marrying his mother, hurt mentally like the two fresh wounds that were his eyes. How could this most closely be achieved? Two mostly shuttered Lekos? Add a bit of fog to the air?

CHORUS An end too dread to tell, too dark to see. 

OEDIPUS (strophe 1)

Dark, dark! The horror of darkness, like a shroud, 
Wraps me and bears me on through mist and cloud. 
Ah me, ah me! What spasms athwart me shoot, 
What pangs of agonizing memory? 

CHORUS No marvel if in such a plight thou feel'st 
The double weight of past and present woes. 

I found this next image online.  Leko? Two of these next to each other would look like eyes. Can this beam be shaped to be more in a single plane, instead of round? Would we lose the sense of eyes

A GOBO with two slits I think would only appear clear when striking the floor. The beam wouldn't be as clear.

I know using eyes as a lighting motif for this show is pretty obvious, but still much could be done to make the appearance of eyes part of the story. Angle, color, intensity, location, and coherency could vary for differing effects. A Director and Actors may decide different characters notice, not notice, or deliberately ignore their appearance throughout the show, at different times.

Here's the phenomena occurring in the natural world in a big way:

One problem with this idea is shown in this next picture. It's taken just one foot to the right of the first. The light still has a sharp quality, but each beam appears a bit different. Some are narrower from this angle than others. 

Week 4: Obligatory Sunset Post

I'll start by pointing out that almost everyone's posts this week will be about this beautiful sunset, BUT THIS SUNSET DESERVES IT. Look at it! Its beautiful! It looks like a lot of graphic design from the 1980s. Kinda like those stripes you see on the sides of late 80s early 90s pickup trucks. I love how the top of the sunset looks like darkness creeping over the light. I also had fun figuring out how many colors are actually involved in this sunset! I would love to recreate this on stage with lights one day. It would be a perfect editions to a story.

Week 4: Containing Light

Light is something that can touch us, but we ourselves can never physically take hold of it. We can feel it's temperature if we hold our hand out long enough, but we can't grab it and throw it around like a ball. Yet, we can bend and manipulate it without physically having to touch it. What I loved about this Ursula Berlot piece is that it's able to manipulate how light is being viewed through the opposite of physically grabbing it. Instead, a mirror is used to trap the light right where it wants it, the projection compressing the light into intricate floating cutouts. It makes me think about the lights in theaters and how they have the ability to do the exact same thing with a light source, a lens, a reflector, and a gobo. I highly doubt we'll ever be able to solidify light itself and hold onto it, but with surfaces that reflect light, we can create the illusion of doing so. 

Week#4 A Painted Sunset

On my way back from Drama 101 what caught my eye was this beautiful sunset. It almost seemed as if the sky was a painting. I love how you could see the blended colors from cold to warm. Seeing how the brightness of the sun making the gaps between the leafs more defiant is absolutely gorgeous. Plus it was a cool afternoon, so there was a slight bit of mist which makes it slightly foggy. But the colors were crisp and bold. It was nice enjoying the view and seeing how the cold colors slowly take over the warm colors. Watching the colors blend in and transition to another makes me wonder if this effect could be done with the Strip Lights shining onto the RP Screen. I remember seeing something similar to it while watching Metamorphosis, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. But it would be amazing to recreate this background onto the stage.

Week 4: Smoke

Fire is such a primal form of light, and yet it's captivating to watch no matter the scale. Theater has tried to mimic fire safely on stage, some efforts more successful than others. But when partnered with the medium of smoke or haze, the fire seems to take on even more of a living body. It's magical to look upon and creates a new dimension to look upon a source of light. Both fire and smoke move in such a manner and when technology improves over the next couple of years, they could revolutionise how some design is done, especially in raw plays that require such a primal form of light. Naturally, too much fire or smoke can have disastrous consequences, not just health wise but also aesthetically wise, but when the balance is found, it can become a play within a performance that has the audience on the edge of their seat.

This image is not mine, it was found on this website:
http://www.hull.ac.uk/visibility/concept1.htm

Week #4 Lack of Light

Why, you may ask, have I selected a picture of a power strip? Because recently, this was one of the only sources of electricity in my apartment after most of our plugs stopped working, and I have never been more happy to see a little orange light indicating "on" in all of my life. At first, things were fine without most of our lights or outlets working. We live in a house with many windows, and barely use lights during the day anyways. I stayed home, and used the one working power strip to plug in my computer and write my paper. 

However, things got ugly around 5:00. I was supposed to go somewhere at 7, and was not ready. Once I realized my room was getting darker and darker as the sun began to set I realized the whole "no lights" thing was going to be an issue. I took a shower in relative darkness, and had to leave my door open for any streams of light to come through. By the time my shower was done, the sun had set, and the house was pretty dark. I went around the house and collected as many lights as I could, trying to plug them into the power strip so I could see myself as I did my makeup. However, despite the use of around 4 lamps, it was still nearly impossible to put makeup on. Thats when it hit me. During the day, when natural light is pouring through our windows, I had been putting on makeup in my room. However, at night, I had unconsciously been doing it in the bathroom because the lighting there (overhead) was much more suited to providing full coverage light than the lamps (all of which had lampshades) which only cast light up and down, barely lighting my face. I thought it was incredible that something that seemed as simple as light had been altering all of my routines for months, and I had just then, in the absence of proper electricity, noticed it. This caused me to ponder all of the other times light plays a role in life. When I wake up in the morning, wether or not I go for a run, if I feel safe walking, wear heavier/lighter makeup or lighter/darker colors, how awake I feel, when I go to sleep. Light is everywhere, effecting what we do always, we just don't notice it unless it is thrown off. 

This observation, when applied to theater, shows just how important lighting design is in creating an "authentic" feel, or setting a mood. 

Week #2 Sunset Over Ice

I took this photo overlooking the lake I live on in Illinois in early january, overlooking the frozen lake. One of the things I love about the light in this photograph is how beautiful and intense the colors of the sky are and how they switch from deep, golden yellow to purple. I also found it really interesting how the colors reflect on the frozen lake. They are equally as bright, but do not have the same quality as the light being filtered through the clouds. I have always found the way light gets "caught" up in clouds to be fascinating, and this photograph captures that well. 

Week #3: 5 Shades of Gym

So I was at the Arc waiting for the bus on Thursday and I saw the sky like this. The different shades of light were intriguing. Although it felt dark, I felt a sense of hope. The slight light in the middle of the photo brings out a slight sense of hope. The dark clouds engulf most of the sky, but the light pierces through the different shades of the dark clouds. I see 5 different shades of colors, which is quite unique to me. Even with the different shades of color, the amount lighting to the ground doesn't seem to change. I feel that this picture allows me to appreciate the amount of light we get even when at darker time.

Week#3: Golden Leafs

It was just a calm peaceful morning as I was heading to the Clare Trevor Theater. At first my eyes were caught by the sun lighting hitting the side of the tree making the leafs lightly golden and crisp. But what made me want to take this photo was when I saw the crow on the branch. With the sky clear of clouds, you can see the outline of the crow. It was hard to get a shot of it with his head turned so I could get the entire body outline of the bird. What I also liked was how you can see each item individually outlined; for example the light blue sky slowly fading lighter as you look down at the photo, and the crow itself sitting on the branch, and the individual leafs resting on each tree branch. Seeing how light brings out the beauty of nature, it just makes you want to appreciate everything even more.

Week 2: Pasadena

Recently, I had to drive my family into Pasadena for a family dinner, and naturally I was focussing on the road, but once I got into old town, I began to notice how different the light felt from the freeway. The rain was pretty heavy, and the pools of water on the road reflected the light from the street lights and traffic lights so beautifully. I began to think of the medium at which the light was being portrayed. Haze and fog are common in theater, and the effects of the lights shining off of them can be magical. Water is more uncommon, but it's not an impossible medium. Metamorphoses is a play heavily centralised around water, and many Cirque du Soleil performances implement water as a medium. The effects on the light can be breathtaking and I believe add a greater sense of reality onto the stage if implemented correctly.

I did not take that picture, because I was driving and that would be dangerous. The original site for this picture is here:

http://framework.latimes.com/2011/02/16/more-rain-in-southern-california/

Week 2: Awesome food lighting!

One of the many things I love about light is that it can drastically change the way a subject appears based on the angle, direction, and position the light source is at. I took this photo of a bowl of olive oil with vinegar, while my friends and I were making caprese sandwiches a few weeks ago. My creativity took flight when I had the idea to take the picture from underneath the transparent bowl. Because of the fluorescent source light on the ceiling, the olive oil appeared to be more of a neon yellow, and the blobs of vinegar became a tinted dark red. So the entire mood changed from cooking in a home kitchen, to feeling like someone could be studying cells under a microscope in a high tech science laboratory. It was pretty cool to realize that this huge change was the direct result of changing my perspective from the source light.

Week 2: Best Night of My Life!

This was taken at one of my shows at the House of Blues with my band! This was during a very upbeat, exciting medley we were playing and I feel as if the lighting designer added purples and reds because it gave the stage such an excitable feel. As we were playing, the yellow lights were moving, which to me on the stage increased my energy as the performer and made me get into the music even more than I already was! From what I recall, the lighting designer also changed the lights from reds/purples to calmer colors such as blue and green when we played calmer songs during our set. The designer was very accommodating to the performers, which I really appreciated even though it was their first run through for every band that went on. Impressive!

Jazzmine Farol

Week 2: The City Night

I took this photo when I was in China during my summer vacation.  There were not many clouds during that night, but the air pollution made this city smoggy.  However, I liked the HIDs' design because their color was beautiful and they made the city's landscape clear.  For example, the yellow lights on the bridges and streets showed the shape of the peninsula and the river.  Moreover, the red lights were used to decorated them so they wouldn't look dull.

Week #2 That Sefie Game

I took this photo at a friend's party with one of my friends. The way the light hits the picture gave it a beautiful heavenly affect. It captivated me with its holy white look and the bliss shadows that doesn't create a silhouette that covers the picture in a way that enhances the feel of the photo. The intensity of the lighting is soft and concentrated in a way that doesn't look faded yet not too bright. It's the perfect light for the perfect photo.

Week 2: Beach Sunset

I know posting pictures of the sunset on the beach is overdone, but i really liked how the sunset looked on this particular day. I went to have a picnic on the beach and we arrived just at the moment the sun was setting. I really loved the way the sky was full of so many colors. The picture does not do the beauty of the sunset any justice. The sky had different hues of blue, yellow, orange and even pink in the sky. Despite the sky having so many color the sun was what obviously caught my eye because it was the only source of light. Everything behind me was already starting to look very dark because the streetlights were not yet on.

Week 2: Praise the Sun

Waking up early this morning I looked out the window to see this awesome display of sunlight and clouds mingling. I loved the way the clouds had this rippling effect, and the gradient made from the thinning of the clouds this is why I always love cloudy weather, especially in the early mornings. The texture of the clouds gave it this really cool surreal quality, I took a few minutes out of my daily morning routine to just stop and appreciate this. I really hope as the day progresses we get to keep the clouds, so periodically I can take the time to appreciate the light and clouds. It was also cool watching as the sun as it rose ever higher piercing the cloud in front of it and increasing its intensity over the landscape.

Week 2: A Little Lighting Magic

I work in the Entertainment Department for a certain very popular local theme park. While many people in my position claim to have the magic of this place ruined by their experiences backstage, I have found that my experiences have only added to my appreciation for the moments we provide for guests. So much of the magic is preserved through spectacular lighting design, and one experience in particular comes to mind. I recently worked in the new location which involves a certain snow man from a very popular movie. The main attraction of this new location is a large snow play area filled with fluffy, sparkling, white snow. While the guests are in the room playing in the snow, hundreds of lighting instruments are perfectly colored and focused to make the snow look inviting. However, once the park was closed and the last guest had left for the night, the LED's turn off and the horrible fluorescent work lights come on and the snow is revealed to be one of the biggest letdowns I've seen in my backstage explorations. It is brown, dull, and slimy looking, much like you would expect snow that has been trampled on by hundreds of princess dress clad toddlers to look like. I couldn't believe how big a difference the lighting design made in the look of the attraction, it truly is magical.

Week#2: Peaceful Night

I was outside with my hall mates in Quenya using little lanterns and talking about our future goals. As we sat down I looked at the lanterns and started to imagine how lovely would it be to see them on the grass and letting out a light soft glow, and giving off a warm cozy feeling. After our gathering I took all the lanterns and found the darkest spot to place them. At first I chose to use the brighter lanterns that gave off a cool crisp vibe. But later looking at these three lanterns that were cast off to the side, gave me a new idea to take this shot. I took the three lanterns that gave off a warm vibe and decided to put the brighter one at the back so the light coming out of it can slightly outline the two dimmer lanterns in the front. If I had a better camera and more lights it would be lovely to see a field of warm colored lanterns like stars on the floor. Either way, it was a very enjoyable moment to take this photo! :3

Week 2: Blood Wedding Shadow Play

I was recently in a production of Federico Lorca's Blood Wedding which included dynamic use of light and shadow play as a method of storytelling and visual imagery. I played the Moon and was lit from behind to be seen by the audience from behind a sheet. I used my silhouette to create grotesque and sharp shapes that created this surreal world where the personified moon had a voice and led Death (also personified) to find those lost in the forest. Light was so important in this show and we used it to create shadows that told stories of this heightened reality in Lorca's poetic and colorfully written play. This experience was a prime example of how we used light as a design element to create an entirely new and ominous world without having to change the set at all.

Week 2: London View

I took this photo a few months ago, while I was studying abroad in London. I had just moved in to my dorm room, and this was the spectacular view from my window. I was captivated by the way the orange of the sunset melded into the blue of the sky - it was almost an ombre effect of afternoon into evening. The streaks of light permeating the surrounding sky looked to me like something out of a Turner painting. It was just dark enough that the buildings and the foremost clouds were silhouetted, back-lit by the sunset, and I thought it created a wonderful showcase of the city's skyline. The whole view seemed magical to me: this was London, and I was living there.

LED

 I was looking a picture of how a change of focus the color of the light changes from blue to green. Both photos were taken at the same time however one was focused and the other (left) wasn't, it gave the nice shadow on the picture. I definitely changed the color scheme of the picture that gave more clear crisp look at the features of the costumes. Having the focus changed gave a nice filter in the picture that highlighted the color very unique.

Sunshine Girl

A while back I took my little sister Leila to the park to blow bubbles. Dusk was approaching, and the sun was in a position that provided some stunning back-lighting. I seized the opportunity and pulled out my phone to get some pictures. This one is by far my favorite. The sunlight defines the skin of her dark cheek and brings out the natural highlights of her light brown and red hair. The rays streaming in are a result of a shadow being cast by a nearby tree. The grass in the background is normally a dark and lush color, and it now looks like it is being viewed through a low intensity sepia filter. All in all, the picture is almost dream-like.

Week #2: Directing Outside...in the dark

I have been rehearsing an independent project I'm directing on the side of the Mesa Arts Building at night. It will also be performed there. (It opens in a week! Check the callboard for info!) It's very dark during our rehearsals and our performances will be too. So our lighting designer has provided us with two sets of flood lights (pictured sideways above because I can't figure out how to rotate it.) These lights provide enough light to see my script, but only if I'm standing in the right spot. If I turn slightly away from the light source a shadow will be over my script and I can't see it. This has gotten me thinking about shadows, how I can use them to my advantage in this production, and where the sources need to be to do so.

Week 2 My Happiness

My Happiness

I took this photograph at the most recent festival I attended. It was Insomniac's Countdown. As you can see the talent that goes into designing the light for these shows are breathtaking. Because I go to many events that have amazing light designs like these I wanted to take this class so I could further understand and appreciate the real work that goes into creating these experiences. Lasers typically play a big part at these particular events so therefore every time I see them I truly get so happy because it brings back all the happy memories I have with all of my closest friends. 

Week 2- The Moon Over UC Irvine

 

 

I was walking to my choir practice at UCI one night when I noticed the full moon shining bright in the sky.  I was standing on the bridge that connects the Humanities area to the Arts complex and took advantage of the view.  As I looked at the picture I had taken, I noticed the differences between the natural yellow glow the moon was giving off and the bright white light the street lamps had.  Both the moon and the street lamps worked together to create the mysterious silhouettes of the trees in the background.  There was also an unseen light that lit one of the buildings in an orange glow.  The combinations of light and shadow painted a beautiful night in the city portrait and it felt magical as I gazed at the scenery before me.  It made me feel like I was in the right place at the right time and I felt grateful to be at UCI. 

Week 2: Feeling directly, seeing indirectly

At lunch, feeling the warm sun on the back of my neck, I reflected on experiencing light without seeing it's source. Looking directly into the source would be actually harmful for me. We often talk about light as something seen, but there's more to it. How does an actor find their light onstage? Often by "feeling" it. The heat on the skin, the wincing effect on the eyes.

After I took a a few selfies of myself with the sun I considered how impossible it is to look at the source of the light of the sun at all. The sources,  nuclear reactions occurring deep inside the sun, are completely hidden. What I'm seeing in this picture is the effects of those reactions on the outer layers of the sun. These are then filtered by: The atmosphere; camera lens; the processing and display capabilities of the devices used; the atmosphere again; my eyes. Even in a conventional light bulb, looking directly at the filament would be difficult, if not painful.

Is light more hidden then seen?

Week 2: Morning Stream of Light

Every morning I'm woken up by a stream of light shooting straight into my eyes, through blinds that won't shut all the way. On a normal day, this light is the worst possible thing to wake up to, especially when my alarm doesn't go off for another hour. Yet, on days when I'm awake before the sun is, there's something beautiful about it. Maybe because it give off a soft yellow glow that bounces onto the walls, adding color to an otherwise blank space. Maybe because when you capture it with your camera and look closely, you'll see how the light bends, creating a kaleidoscope of colorful rays. It's interesting how many dimensions there are to a simple ray of light. How you don't have to wait for the end of a rainstorm to see a rainbow. Beams of color can be found at the right angle of a camera or the right surface. When we take the time to look at what's shining right into our faces, we see the combination of colors coming together to create something beautiful. It's like a magic trick: If you study the trick, you can see the intricate breakdowns that create the illusion.

Week 2: Sunset on the Bay

This is kind of an older picture from my senior year of high school, but I took it during prom when we had a cruise on the Bay (I'm from the Bay Area). I have a series of pictures of this sunset as it traveled across the horizon, but this one is my favorite because the peaks of the bridge frame the sun perfectly. I love the way the sun reflects on the water and it almost looks like a road - the way it paints the water gold where the light hits it.   It was a rare clear night in the city so the light from the sun was uninterrupted by the usual fog. You can see the silhouette of the mountains in the back behind the bridge and to the left is the skyline of San Francisco. I can still remember how beautiful the sky was that night, everything was illuminated and orange (which was great because there was a Giants game that night as well). This picture always reminds me of how beautiful nature can be.

The Daily Light

So this is the lamp that lights up my room every night since our apartment does not have installed lights on the ceilings. As you can see, it's not the best light, but it does make me feel as ease because of it's the low intensity light. The cover dims the light, allowing it to not become too bright and deflects the source of the light in my vision. Once the cover is off, the light become too intense and the source of the light cannot be avoided by the eye in my room. This light serves as my sun in the room, and I don't think I would have gotten through the first quarter of school without it. The light is more concentrated towards the ground, which is where I do my homework. You can say that the cover acts like a reflector. On the ceiling, the lights outlines the little parts sticking out, which creates a desert-like field. All in all, this light is the best,

Week #2 Half-Lit

So one of my light bulbs died on me yesterday while I was taking a shower. It was actually pretty scary considering my vulnerable state. Fortunately, nothing else happened, and I finished my shower faster than usual. Looking around the bathroom, it was darker than before. I can still see fine, but it is definitely not the same. Funny how you don't really think about bathroom lights twice until one of them dies, or how necessary any source of light is in your life. At least I didn't. Looking at those lights, it definitely feels unwholesome, awkward. Then I wondered what would've happened if both lights when out? I could've slipped, tripped, and/or fallen. Now, I'm kind of glad it was only one light instead of two. I guess moral of the story is be appreciative of bathroom lights :)

Week 2: Illuminated Clouds

I live in glorious Northern California, in the beautiful redwood forests that our state is known for. I feel that typically it is colorful clouds at sunsets or sunrises that receive the most appreciation, but as can be seen here, these white glorious fluffballs were interacting with the sun in a wonderful way, where the light behind the clouds created shadows on the side facing me, while brilliantly illuminating other parts of them. The beams of light can be seen shooting from above the cloud, and the sky itself is several different shades of blue because of this. I was also inspired to take the photo because of the silhouette of the trees against the sky. It was quite the magnificent sight to behold.

The Perfect View

I was on a road trip with my sister and we had the opportunity to stop at the Grand Canyon. It was a perfect day out, the sun was climbing high in the sky, the wind was perfect and the sky couldn't have been more blue. The sun is truly a beautiful light source, the way it captured every crevasse of the canyon was beautiful. What was fascinating was the farther you looked out the bluer and graying in canyon seemed to get. It looked like the clouds resting on the earth in the distance and the horizon looked perfectly white. I was in awe. I felt warm and happy standing there staring off into the distance. I could have stayed there all day. :) Maybe next time I'll go camping there and see what a sun set looks like.

Searchlight in Darkness

I was outside talking with family and freezing. Outside was very foggy and dusty because the roads were dirt roads. I saw headlights coming our way and the gradation of the headlights due to the dirt and haze. Considering my apathy for being cold, I already had a disposition to not wanting to be outside. I was already anxious and tense from the environment, and it was dark. When the headlights suddenly appeared and seemed to continuously moving I was curious but cautions of who would be out in a secluded part of that roadway at that time of night. I really enjoyed the creepy cold glow radiating from the ground that the headlights created as it came over the hill. The glow had a mixture of cold from the color of the headlights and a creepy feeling from the source coming from the ground.