The Art of Lighting Design Part I
By Stephen EllisonI use the word art in the title, because lighting is more than the technical aspects. The end result of your work is art. The title you are given is "Designer", not technician. A technician works with the equipment, the designer works with creative side. A designer creates mood with color and shadow. How you create this mood is with fixtures and color. As a painter works with paint, or a sculptor with stone, you work with light.
At a church I work with, the people thank me for what I do. However I say back to them, "Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to do my art."
Most people are not aware of the cost to do my art. First is the cost of the time spent by the cast getting ready to perform. Second is the cost of the space to perform in, third is the cost of the set to perform on. Then there is the cost of the lighting equipment needed to make light. When you add all that up, even in a church where most of the cost is donated, you will find that you still have a large figure.
Good lighting design can enhance any part of your service, from the regular service to the most elaborate productions. The place to start with any design is to answer one question: What is the setting?
The word 'setting' encompasses all aspects of a place. You can use this approach in lighting any space, either with a dynamic look or a static look. By dynamic, I refer to a space in which the levels will change over time. In this series of articles we will concentrate on lighting of a production.
So, you've been asked to be the lighting designer for your church's production of (fill in blank). What do you do now?
The first thing you need to do is to obtain a copy of the script and any music. At this point if you are given a complete script, avoid discussions with the director. Take the script home and start reading. The first time you read through the script, do it for fun. Read as if you are watching and not designing. This reading will give you an overview, and allow you to feel the emotional aspects of the story. Now start reading the script again, if you cannot write in the copy you have been given then you need to make a copy for yourself. When making a copy, center the script on the page leaving room on both sides for making notes.
On your second reading, take notes on the right side of the page. Here you are going to script out the lighting design and detail the various settings. Now the analysis begins. Read the script to find out what the author is trying to convey. Oftentimes the author will provide lighting looks and cues into the notes. Your job is to detail in your notes the Location, Key lighting source, Mood, Color, Specials, and Action. Read through the whole script and create a script for your design. Remember at this point that you haven't spoken with the director, and you do not know what your limitations are for this project.
Now that you know what the script entails in terms of lighting, it's time to find out how the director is going to interpret the script, as well as what the scene designer is doing and what limitations will be imposed as far as equipment, space and budget. The script may call for an extremely realistic scene, set in a proscenium theatre. The director is going to put this on in a thrust theatre with representational sets. Because the script, as written, takes 3 hours to perform, he has cut it in half. You are given an equipment list of 25 fixtures and 12 dimmers. Because all the work you have done up to this point relates to design elements you are in good shape. You can take what you are given and create a design which meets the needs of the production based on the design you have already have in your notes.
Over the course of this series of articles, we will continue to describe how to develop a lighting design. We will continue with script analysis, then move into translating that information into a design within a set of real limitations. All of this will be based on a musical production of the life of Jesus, set in a real church. We will be illustrating this series with actual note pages and final paperwork and pictures. Keep reading!
