Week #10 - Downtown Disney!

Overall environment:

So of course for my final lighting blog post I returned to Disneyland and visited Downtown Disney (DTD). Every inch of Downtown Disney is thoughtfully designed and imagined, so that each store holds onto part of its own identity, but everything fits into the Disney feeling. I think it is something to note that a phrase like "Disney feeling" is most likely recognizable and understandable by the majority of people, at least in America or southern California anyway. That in itself shows that Disney goes to great lengths to create an emotion that will leave a lasting memory in every part of their business, even an outdoor shopping mall like DTD. A main element of the design that makes an emotion stick with you even after you have left DTD is the lighting. I think the main thing the designers were trying to accomplish at DTD is a positive, happy vibe, but maybe a bit more trendy feeling than they have inside the parks, so that people of all ages, even adults, will want to spend time (and money) in DTD shopping and eating and drinking. The whole place is even more unified at Christmastime with the Christmas lights, which are all done by one Disney decorating/lighting team. All throughout DTD the Christmas lights are bright colors, almost reminiscent of a Disney cartoon.

This is the inside of Sephora, a chain store not owned by Disney. Sephora sells makeup, not clothes, so the display shelves and organization of the products have to be very carefully thought out. Sephora uses small down lights on the ceiling which are positioned to highlight the products below. There are also warm lights down below, right near the make up, near and on the mirrors, so that customers can see to try samples of the makeup. It is very important for the lighting in Sephora to flatter the customer's skin so that when someone tries on some makeup they will have a positive image of themselves and want to buy it. I also have to note Sephora's use of color- so much pink- because their main market is female. The lights hanging from the ceiling remind me of a woman's vanity, so they add to the store's theme in that way. I think Sephora is successful in their lighting design because of the warmth of the light to flatter customer's skin, utilizing the fixtures to add to the theme, and convenience lights for customers trying on makeup. Every Sephora store you walk into will have this lighting, whether it is in DTD or New York or Paris, which shows that the company has a strong design theme and self identity, which is one thing that will create loyal customers.

This is the inside of Disney Vault 28, my favorite store in DTD. Although this is a Disney owned store, it has a very unique identity and feeling, different from the giant World of Disney store and Disney stores in malls. The theme of this store is Disney couture. In this store Disney is trying to channel high fashion, like one might find in a high-end fashion magazine. The store is also themed after an old bank vault, giving it a small, cozy feeling, and also maybe hinting that everything in the store is on the pricey side. From the ceiling metal poles hang with silver metal lights on them, which are positioned to highlight the clothes, similar to the small white lights hanging from Sephora's ceiling. These lighting fixtures add to the industrial feeling associated with a bank vault. The lighting in the whole store is warm, adding to the cozy feeling. If customers are comfortable they will want to stay inside the store longer, and therefore buy more. I usually don't even buy anything here, but every time I am at DTD I go in this store because I enjoy the design of it so much. It makes me feel like I am some place really interesting, unique, and cultured, even though I am really still just at Disneyland. The display cases which are scattered throughout the store are lit like display cases at a museum, highlighting the products inside of them, but also creating an artistic appeal. I think this is the store with the most successful lighting out of all of the DTD stores because even though it is the Disney brand it has such a unique identity and design aesthetic which creates a whole shopping experience that transports you somewhere new.

Week #10: Andrew and the String of Lights

 The University Town Center is across the street from the campus.  Seeing that I lack superior resources (a car), I had to review a place closer to home.  In any case, multiple businesses populate UTC from restaurants to an army office.  However, the entirety of the center is linked by a string of lights at the top of the buildings.

 Between some of the buildings light bulbs hang further perpetuating the string of lights theme.  In these spaces they play gentle jazz music that reminds me of Disneyland's main street.  I feel like the designer was trying to create a Disney-like space: fun, bright, and a reminiscent of the "old days."  I think that they were moderately successful.  I feel like the combination of the music with the cuteness of the round strung light bulbs is effective at making a bright and fun space.  However, I feel like the building styles and the paint color contradict with the lighting.  They give off more of a "puebla" style vibe.  Also, I feel like the different companies need for their own advertising and theme throw off the entire design.

After walking through the center, I found what I considered the "fountain of inspiration" for the string of lights motif.

 The movie theater had a hidden string of lights underneath its roof.  I believe that the theater was designed first and the rest of UTC's design followed.  

 Fed Ex Office's design was the least effective. Though it is functional to its purpose of office work outside of the office, the purely florescent lighting is imposing, drab, boring, unflattering, and jarring.  Just walking by, I wanted to avoid it and felt shocked at how dull something so bright could be.  I think that by reducing the amount of lights as well as placing incandescent lighting over the merchandise (cards, ads, etc.) to give a more inviting and warm look to the places where customers spend money, Fed Ex Office can be both functional and inviting.

Brita's Cafe has the most effective lighting.  The picture is dark because Brita's utilizes "mood" lighting.  There are few incandescent lights inside that light just enough.  The warmth of the lights give Brits'a a homey feel, further supported by lighting the kitchen  The customers see their food being made by chefs in white hats as well as colorful pottery.  Brita's is extremely successful at separating itself from UTC.  When you walk in, the space seems larger and you feel like you're in a romantic film as opposed to just across from a college campus let alone 100 feet from a Trader Joe's.  The Christmas decorations fit right in at Brita's.  They add to the personal and family feel as if you were invited to a dinner at your favorite aunt's house.

All in all, I find the lighting in UTC as a whole contradictory and weakly united by the string of lights.  I do give the designer credit however as they had to work with vastly different business that had to have their own lighting designs.  Fed Ex Office's lighting is overdone, though functional while Brita's adds to the overall experience of their customers by creating a warm and inviting atmosphere that separates itself from UTC.

Week #10 Spectrum of Sugar: A Comparative Critique

I went to The Irvine Spectrum on Saturday evening thinking it was just another Saturday. When I arrived there I got an immediate reminder that it is close to Christmas. I  stood outside and observed that  the entire mall was adorned with lively Christmas lighting. I was captivated by the avenue of palm trees that had small Christmas lights wrapped around them. Walking on this path with the omnipresent lights on either side made me feel like I was in gliding in dream-land. It was a familiar feeling that I always associate with the holiday season. I was also drawn by how subtle they lit the architecture. They have lights on the wall that are covered with lamp-like covers, the covers refract the light and create a pattern on the wall. The pattern looks well-conceptualized over all. I noticed that each store had its own design element and there was an open ice rink with flashing lights that changed color. it went from blue, to orange, and pink. The water-fountains were lit with down-light sources that brought them a sense of grandeur and a 3-D quality. All of these pieces worked individually, but as I looked at the overall picture I did not see any correlation. The lighting was too busy and disconcerting. The over-all color combination was overly optimistic and it made the whole place like it was made of candy.

Individual Store Displays:

H&M

The lighting in this H&M clothing store display is not successful in my opinion. The primary function of lighting is to illuminate. Another important function of lighting is to focus or highlight certain areas of space or objects. The lighting on display fulfills neither of these two functions. The main reason for having displays is to show the products that are on sale in a way that catches the eye of the potential customer. I feel that the lighting on this display is dark, dull, and not eye-catching. In fact, the only light is angled towards the wall on the right hand side instead of the clothes that are supposed to be on sale. As a result the clothes appear boring, one dimensional, lacking texture, lifeless, and unattractive. There is more emphasis on the boxes than the clothes. Furthermore, the angle of the light makes the light hit the glass window, giving it a harsh appearance. I think that this store needs to re-conceptualize it's lighting for this display as it is making the product look lifeless. I am the store's target market and I feel that this display did not hit the target.

Hollister Clothing

I was drawn by the simplicity of this display at Hollister Clothing. I liked how the entire store appeared dark and they had small mood lights on the clothes. This is a significant display because it is outside and not inside a  glass window. It is dark behind the display and the customers can only see the clothes. The clothes in the picture are lit by two down lights at an angle. The light is appropriate for the fabric textures and colors that they have chosen. These pictures do not capture the objective depiction of what I witnessed. Hollister aims to attract a young trendy clientele and I think they achieved that with this display. I also find the contrast between deep darkness and subtle warm light very clever, it makes them stand out, since almost every store in this mall has colorful christmas lighting. I feel like this lighting was simple, well-conceptualized, and it gave the store a sophisticated image.

Week #9 - Concert Lighting

I attended a concert at the giant Gibson Ampitheater at Universal Studios this past week. I admired the lighting throughout the whole concert, something I had never taken too much notice of at concerts before. This photo is of the first opening band, which I unfortunately don't remember the name of. The band included a female lead singer and the rest of the band was male. The lead singer was dressed in a shiny white cloak, which picked up the lighting very well. Throughout their entire set the lighting was definitely used to bring the band into the world of whatever song they were playing, and to take the audience on the emotional journey as the band played. My seats were located to the far right of the stage, giving me the ability to see the ray of light coming from the lighting instrument that you can see in this picture. Haze was utilized to highlight these rays of light, as well as to give it a rock-n-roll concert vibe. What I noticed when I took this picture is how the lead singer is highlighted and the rest of the band is in darkness. I don't know anything about this band, but as a first-time viewer, to me this says that their main selling point is the female lead singer, and the musicians are her back up. This makes me think of No Doubt's history as a band (No Doubt was the headliner for this concert) and the drama bands go through when one member of the band, usually the singer, gets more attention. This band used a lot of color changes throughout, and a lot of lights in general, because the venue is so huge, and the lights had to read to so many people in a vibrant, energetic way. I was wondering how lighting for big concerts like this works... if the venue has a lighting designer, or if each band has their own lighting designer, and how it works when bands move from venue to venue during a tour and lighting grids/equipment change from venue to venue. Interesting stuff. 

Week #9 Lighting and Commercial Appeal.

My friends and I went to the Nas and Lauryn Hill concert on Saturday night. We were very punctual but there was a long line that went around the block for people to get in. We decided to stop at a nearby bar to quench our thirst with shots of Patron. I was intrigued by the lighting in this bar. The general mood was dim and smoky. They had a lot of multimedia going on and it was in the form of TV screens playing different channels. I think it was a clever move for them to dim down the mood lights and use the television sets and candles as the main lighting sources. Fluorescent lighting would have destroyed the 'sexy'-island feel that they succeeded in creating. The bottles in the middle shelf are lit with a cool almost no-color feel. This lighting has a lot of sex-appeal to me and I looked at them and felt like I was on a beach holiday in Miami. I think it is also strategic to highlight these bottles for commercial appeal. This image (perhaps the no-color lighting) made our throats dry and we found ourselves ordering cocktails.

Week #8. In-vuitt-ed.

I took this image at the Louis Vuitton store - South Coast Plaza. From a distance it looked as if the bags and shoes were floating. The lighting for this display came from down-lights as well as side angled-lights. This light is reflected by the gold flowers that attract the eye from a distance. I think they made a good choice of lighting the gold flowers in a way that makes them sparkle, it definitely makes draws the eye and one ends up looking at the retail products. I like the fact that the display is surrounded by complete black, the black makes is pop. This is a great way of focusing the light and controlling the gaze of the audience. I think I would further support this lighting with a soft cool blue to give it a less harsh appearance. In addition, I would rethink the positioning of the side angled-lights as they make the background a bit too bright, taking away from the main focus, which is the Louis Vuitton products on display.

Week #8 - Andrew and the Crimson Bridge

Please tilt your head....

This is the bridge that links the medical sciences and the science library at UCI.  I find this picture interesting because the lights isn't really that functional.  It is isolated in alternating pools of warm light.  They mimic streetlamps on an avenue more than they actually illuminate a pathway.  Also, the light turned up on my camera as much more of a saturate red than the simply warm-yellow I was seeing with my eyes.  

The light makes me feel lost.  As if I was wandering block to block in a tireless city, depressed, broke, and hopeless.  The colors of the sky in the back however give me a sense of the past.  The light in this picture reminds me that life goes on no matter what we do.  What we experience are comparable to pools of light.  Our paths are not fully illuminates; we must take steps into darkness to get to the next pool.  

Summary of my feelings from this light: Drudgery, wandering, dwindling.

   

Week #8 - Ancient Grizzly Legend....

Back at Disneyland. I'm actually glad I went back because the first time I went and noticed lighting around the park there were so many things I wanted to post on here about. This is a view of the river rafting ride Grizzly River Run. Every attraction has a different story, and the lighting is definitely one of the main effects that Disney utilizes to fully transport the guest into whatever story they are trying to create in an environment. The setting for Grizzly River Run is a former mining operation turned thrill-seeker's rafting route running through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains (yes, it's really that specific). The mountain, which looks like a howling bear, comes with a legend which says that the great bear's spirit can still be heard roaring at those who dare to intrude upon the sacred mountain. This story-telling language, with words like "legend" and "sacred" and "spirit," is quite rich and descriptive, which I'm sure helped whoever did the lighting design for this attraction to bring the story to life. The use of the mist with the lighting, especially at night, as seen in this photo, helps to create the feeling of the "great bear's spirit" and an ancient legend surrounding the mountain and the river. Mlondi and I were actually just discussing something else in regards to mist and light onstage... It is difficult to actually see a "ray" of light or a strong "beam" of light coming across a stage, and a way to be able to see this is by using fog or mist or haze. So haze can be utilized to help the viewer see rays of light, or as an effect in themselves, to create a sense of mystery, or whatever feeling the piece is calling for.

Week #7: Andrew and the Midday Moon

Okay, so whenever I take a picture of a celestial body, I swear that technology conspires against me to mute how spectacular balls of burning gas actually are.  Anyway, I took this on my way to school (lavender sky pic #2).  I found it intrigued by the color of the sun, how the sky and the clouds seemed to filter it into cold colors.  It reminds me of shadow puppeteering in Bali.  There is a light source behind a screen and silhouetted puppets tell a story in shadow.  This evokes a sense of mystery and playfulness.  I would love to do a silhouette dance using this form of light (like Mlondi did with Celeste) where we stack up on each other to make new shapes.  A perfect example : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKHP1usw0wQ

Week 7 - Vintage Instagram Tree

This picture was taken by a friend in the park on campus. To me this picture speaks of playfulness, happy memories, and Fall! The patterning of light created by the tree could be interpreted easily onstage with a gobo, to create the feeling of Fall in a piece. The photo is "instagrammed" which I am not particularly a fan of, as it makes it difficult to see the actual colors of the moment in time. But it is a comment on stylization and color. For this "instagram filter" it kind of creates a more brown look than the original image, which, to me, makes it feel more vintage. Perhaps this could be used to inspire a vintage feeling in lighting for a piece on stage as well.

Homework#7 Wade in the Water Children!

 I looked at the sky and what I saw made me smile. It reminded me of the sea. I took these pictures while walking on the bridge that connects the dance studios to the Mesa parking structure. What strikes me in these photographs is how the bright orange sun lights and highlights the moving clouds. This image is rich with contrasting colors. The sky looks bright and blue while some clouds appear white and some appear gray. This contrast evokes a mixture of emotion to me. The blue gives a sense of water and cleansing. The gray is more morbid. The tint of orange makes the clouds pop and gives them character. The clouds look like crashing waves of the ocean. I would use this kind of lighting in a choreography that had a mood change that goes from happy to morbid or visa versa. I would change the mood by adding and omitting the orange tint.

Week #6 : Andrew and the adventurer's path

Taken on the daily walk to school on a sunny So-Cal day!  I took the picture primarily because of the designs cast by the shadows, but I like the lens flare through the center of the photo.  This lighting fills me with a sense of playful adventure, like a ten year old going off to save the world.  It reminds me of a video game I used to play, "Tales of Symphonia" and traveling through levels fraught with monsters.  The animation is slightly comical, but the plot and storyline are sophisticated and complex, encompassing racism, deception, and manipulation by the more powerful.  In any case, this lighting is a single snapshot in the day of an adventurer.  I'm certain a gobo could create a similar design to the shade, but in order to get the brighter look, I would need to fill the stage with side lights (probably both shins and pipe ends).  

Week #6 : Vivre Dans le Luxe et Fantaisie

I went to Sunset Boulevard  and I was taken by this window display at the Louis Vuitton store. I was curious about how they lit the octopi-looking red design pieces. I saw how light is coming from the top as well as from the sides, making these design objects look 3-dimensional. I think the image would've fallen flat without the lighting that comes from the sides. It is lit subtly with a warm color. I like how I appear as a silhouette when I am standing in front of it and I started getting curious about how the image would change if i was in it and not just standing in front of it. This lighting exudes the luxury and sophistication that goes with the Louis Vuitton brand.

Week #6 - Christmas lights

This picture doesn't capture it too well, but these are the Christmas lights that I have strung up on the railing of the balcony of my apartment. Stringed lights have started to pop up all around the apartment complex and it makes me so happy! I have had my lights up for a long time, not just recently with the upcoming holiday season. I love bright colors. I have an orange desk, pink phone, red tv, purple guitar... you get the idea. I put these lights up as an expression of my personality, which I think of as bright and colorful. This example shows yet another purpose of light. In a lot of the pieces we have created in class we have used different colors to represent different characters, like I did with Andrew in my midterm project. I think it is quite a useful lighting technique to have a different color/feeling for different characters. It makes things very clear, usually, for the viewer.

Another thing this makes me think about is how much we use light in various ways at different times of year. Christmas lights all over the place in winter, putting a candle into a pumpkin at Halloween to create an eerie glow, birthday candles on a cake to make a wish on our birthdays. Light is so much more a part of important occasions than I have really ever thought of before. Not only is it the warmth of a fire that can bring people together on a cold winter night, but it also the warm glow. I think people tend to naturally gravitate to light. I know this post seems a little bit ramble-y, but I guess my point is that I think light has the power to bring people together, to help us express ourselves, and to help us celebrate life's occasions.

Week #5 AHH- Warmth from the Fog

While walking to campus on a foggy morning, the lamps just illuminated into the morning.  Each beam of light seemed to be tightly pulled into a string by the atmosphere and called me in towards the light.  What I like most about the light was its eminence (which is not fully apparent in the photo unfortunately) and the warmth of the light.  It awakened a sense of curiosity, like a moth to the flame and sucked my attention into one point.  This reminds me of how we talk in class how our eyes are attracted to warm light first.  Also, although I consider this morning to be "dark," it is actually quite bright.  The fact that the light has such warm colors means that my eyes are registering another source as brighter (we see the brightest light as white.  If the lamp was the brightest, it would look like white light).  Hence, I suppose that in order to get this warm, curiosity inducing light in a stage setting, I would have to either have a brighter source of light with it.  Or I could introduce the audience to bright light first so that they recognize that as white, take that light out and have the lamp be the primary source on stage.  I feel like the first would be more successful (spots perhaps?  Shins?) so the dancers could be seen.

Week #5: A Musical Composition

I recently went to downtown Los Angeles to catch up with an old friend. As we were driving in-between the tall skyscrapers of downtown LA I couldn't help but notice how the sunset looked behind LA  city hall. The color of the sky in this picture is a cold pale cyan with a tint of pale green that adds a warm atmosphere. This color of the sky represents creativity to me. It also brings a mood of serenity and tranquility to a somewhat dark city where tall buildings block away the light. I look at it and I can hear Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in my head. This also made me think of how in class we spoke about cold colors needing a bit of warm colors in order to gain depth and visibility. The way I would interpret this in the theatre is I would light the top half of the cyclorama from a high angle with a combination of pale warm and cold colors. This would create very elaborate silhouettes, especially if I have a big set on stage. This type of lighting would work for big ballet works or operas with big sets to establish time of day and mood.

Week #5 - Reflection

This photo is a still frame from a dancefilm I am currently working on. The day that I filmed this part was one of those wonderful, sunny California days. The sky was beautifully blue (which makes me think of my first day in this lighting class when I asked "Why is the sky blue?" I have yet to google that...) I love how saturate the blue is in this picture. This is a fountain on campus at UCI. Emotions that the lighting in this photo make me think of are refreshing, renewed, fluid, reflective, soothing, thirsty, alive, and vivid. I totally see movement in this photo, even though it is obviously a still photo. I, obviously, know how this photo was taken and what it is a picture of, but it makes me wonder if someone saw this picture without any explanation what they would think is going on... I would love to create this feeling onstage with lighting, with some blue color and maybe a gobo of some sort to create the wavy look. I wonder how else water can be portrayed onstage using lighting... I've definitely seen it done in some plays, but now I am sitting here trying to figure out how it was achieved. Possibly some kind of moving light or playing with the light reflecting off of some set or costume piece to create the movement of ripples.

Week #4 "Shaft"

I took this picture in South Africa before I came to the US. I was in an actors studio in Durban and I noticed that there was light coming in through the window. This light formed a perfect quadrilateral shape on the floor with defined edges. It created a secluded square of warmth in an otherwise cold, dark, and empty room. This light inspired me to step into the space, start moving and incorporate red fabric. I love how the intensity of light is showing the red color. It makes the red fabric appear three dimensional and one can see the contours of the fabric. When I took this picture I thought it was just a nice picture but with the knowledge I now have from Lighting 287 I am amazed at the intensity of light in this picture, the framing of light, the appearance of color and the shadows.

Week # 4 Beach Lighting

Last Saturday I made myself go to La Jolla Shores in San Diego. After spending hours in front of a computer screen my eyes were not familiar to natural light. When i glanced at the sunset I noticed how my eyes had accustomed to my computer screen and how foreign these concepts were to me. What really captures me in this photo is the reflection of the sunlight on the sand and the shadows in specific parts of the wet sand. It began to give me ideas for a choreography, to try to create that wet look for the floor and shadowy energy. It has been several years since I have last seen the sunset, but now taking this class I am beginning to notice the contrast in colors of lighting and how important details in mix of colors can really convey the tone of an image and or piece. Essentially the concept of shadows and brightness involved with different textures fascinates me because I always feel like this is difficult to capture in a dance choreography with lighting for concert dance. This photo has a level of intensity to it that speaks truth to me. It encompasses several layers of dark/shadow and bright versus loneliness and community because it brings out the honesty of how pure gods light is. If I were to light a choreography to this picture I envision a bright special coming from above possibly in a shape of a rectangle using blues and oranges from the side lights to capture the quality of nature.

Week #4 - Disneyland Lighting Revelation!

I visited Disneyland this week, and all I could pay attention to was the lighting everywhere!!! I have been to Disneyland about a million times. I worked at Walt Disney World in Florida for 5 months in 2010, and I worked at Disneyland from June 2011 to June 2012, and now my boyfriend works there. I grew up with Disney, going to Florida basically every other year of my life. Honestly though, going to Disneyland after starting to look at light in a new and different way in this course at UCI, was amazing. It was almost like I was seeing the park for the first time. This, to me, says that I don't usually notice lighting everywhere I am on a regular basis, and this makes me sad. I was missing out on so much magic! I think I definitely used to take light, whether theatrical or in life, for granted.

I took this photo from the top of the ferris wheel (Mickey's Fun Wheel) in Disney California Adventure Park. The photo captures Paradise Pier, Carsland, Tower of Terror, and the city of Anaheim surrounding the park. There were so many pictures that I took of lighting on this trip to Disneyland that it was really hard to choose just one for this blog. Even in just this photo alone, there are so many things I could talk about. But I am going to focus on the mountains of Carsland.

I was very involved in the growth of Carsland, working as a Guest Relations guide while it was being built. I was a docent in the exhibit all about the evolution of Carsland and the process that the Imagineers went through with the folks at Pixar to create the land. For that reason, these mountains hold a lot more emotional value than they might for someone who didn't have that same experience. The mountains are truly an inspirational work of art, genius, and collaboration. They are vast. When you are standing down in the mountain range you are truly transported to the inspirational mountainous scenes along Route 66. Emotions I connect to this, which are definitely reflected in the lighting of the mountains, are serene, inspirational, epic, vast, awe-inspiring, nostalgic. To me these mountains are all about a journey. The journey from the story of Cars, but more importantly my journey growing with this part of the park during my first year in California, and also my journey which I took when I drove across the country from NC to CA through the beautiful scenery of this amazing country of America.

Disney is the best of the best when it comes to perfection in technical theatrics. At times this can be a bit overstimulating. But usually it usually just takes my breath away.

Week #3- Andrew Hallenbeck and the Gobo-like shutter

This is the light/shadow cast by the shutters in my bedroom.  There are more panels of light layered over each one (you can see this in the second panel from the left) that would kind of flash (can't find the perfect word) in intensity.  The clean cut at the top of the panels as well as the distinctness of the pattern combined with the flashy-ish sensation and different intensities of light gives the light here an electronic feel for me.  It was like the light was processing data or at least symbolized the processing of data.  I think lighting like this would be most effective on the cyc so the audience would get a clear picture of the design.  I do have to wonder though: can gobos give the flashing layers of light?

Week #3 "A pattern emerges....where do I go from here?"

This photograph was taken at the Claire Trevor School of the arts outside Cyber Cafe and the Drama Department. In this picture I am taken by the shadow of a tree which forms a big beautiful pattern on the ground. What came to my mind when I saw this pattern was the idea of binary oppositions: dark/light, white/black, good/evil, warm/cold, happiness/sadness, summer/winter, day/night etc. I am also captivated by how the shadow of my arms and camera show and fill this pattern. I am inspired to experiment with a theatre piece that incorporates shadows and infuses the contrast/juxtaposition of darkness and light. In our first class we learned that Lekos/ Gobos can create shapes, texture/ patterns. And I have seen this on stage in a piece called 'Beautiful Me' by South African master Choreographer Gregory Maqoma (with choreographic contribution by Akram Khan and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoiu). Here is theYoutube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BDtgpobPzk

Please look at the pattern on the stage floor from 00:52 to 01:32.

Week #3 Sunday Afternoon

This summer I traveled to New York City and captured some great photographs of the natural sunlight beaming onto buildings and theatre venues throughout downtown. I took this photo because I noticed how the shadows were captured in such detail and how vibrant the lighting tones were in the frame. What stands out the most to me in this picture is the clarity in the colors and how it really affects the attention of the viewer. When I view this picture I am able to feel the temperature of the day and get the peaceful yet cosmopolitan sense of the city. What do you think? This picture has a strong sense of life to it and even though everything in this picture is still, it is able to capture energy with the shadowing and shades of brightness. This picture makes me feel liberated and free in the sense that I am able to do anything in the world and conquer any challenge that I may have. Even though the colors seem clear to us, in a sense we have to remember what our eyes take in as white light as well, and what colors really are instead of what they seem to be. I love and really appreciate the perspective of the architecture in this picture and the bright lighting also. I fell that the contrast in colors and how they layer over one another really leaves the viewer with a sense of almost being there in the moment.

Week #3 - Judged by Big Brother

I noticed these lights one night at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, and the way they looked from my vantage point. Unlike my last post, which was also at the School of the Arts, which made me feel inspired and epic and ready to take on the world, the lighting I saw here seemed much more daunting and authoritative. The lines in front of the lights, created by the building's architecture, seemed jail-like to me. Then I was thinking about our conversation about different kinds of white light and how our eyes accept different kinds of "white." It was at this moment that I noticed the lights right on the path in front of me:

I took this picture to show the two different kinds of white light existing in the same frame. The warmer lights coming from the lamp posts seemed much friendlier and welcoming to me, while the brighter, harsher white lights above on the building made me feel rigid and like I was being looked down upon by some greater, judgmental being, like a Big Brother of sorts, the "administration" of the world, authority, greater powers. My main lighting focus for this blog is the harsher lights on the building, I just included this second picture to show the sharp contrast in different whites. Next to the lights on the building, the lights from the lamp post actually appear yellow, yet without seeing them next to the lights on the building, our eyes would accept them as white.

Week #2 Andrew Hallenbeck: Rays from lekos?

Firstly, I would like to stress that this is not my picture (compliments of Google), but it represents a strong lighting image in my memory.  My father was driving away me to Irvine to begin my second year.  It was overcast and drizzling   When I looked behind me at the mountains, I noticed crisp beams of light penetrating the clouds and shining onto the mountainside.  I had feelings of retribution and judgement, but also of enlightenment and mostly awe.  The single rays on the grey landscape spoke strongly to a feeling of a guardian angel: strong and heavenly, but stern and reserved (I wanted to say "picky" but I couldn't find the right word...).  I think the easiest way to recreate the lighting here would be to use spotlights.  I feel like lekos would make the strongest statement (judgement) but aren't as soft as the light in the picture.  Thoughts?  Fuzzing the edge or parcans etc.?

As I walked by the UCI Barclay Theatre I noticed this beautiful sculpture that caught my attention right away. I began to envision the sculpture as a dancer and thought how lighting can truly have a strop impact on stillness. After taking the picture, I noticed that the way the lighting was revealed in the picture was not as powerful as being in front of the sculpture that night. I would like to know how to make lighting have such a strong impact in the way that it does in live performance as in still photos or on video. This is very important to me because documenting dance is as important as a choreographer for me as the live performance. I found that this sculpture was a strong image with lights all around it reflecting its beauty.

Week #2. "Inkwenkwezi" (Stars)

Last night I went to my friend's brother's birthday party in downtown Fullerton. We drove down one of the main streets and all the trees on that street were covered with lights. These lights were everywhere, whether I looked up, to the right or to the left. This was one of the most beautiful images I have ever seen in my life. I got lost in all these lights. I started dreaming. It was as if I was floating in space with a billion stars. These lights also reminded me of Christmas time. And I started facing the fact that this Christmas will be the first I spend away from home, from my beloved family. This evoked feelings of sadness mixed with hope, light, and a lot of dreaming.

Week #2 - Epic School of the Arts Backlighting - Gina

Tonight I was leaving rehearsal for a dance piece I am choreographing. I was feeling awesome and creative and excited. I rode my bike out of the school of the arts under this sign, and I was inspired to stop and take a picture for this blog! The letters for Claire Trevor School of the Arts are lit from underneath and to me this lighting makes the whole area feel completely epic at night. I include this second, close up, picture because upon further observation I noticed how the shadows of the letters appeared on the building behind the sign. The way the letters are lit make them seem as if they are floating freely in the sky. Combined with the architecture of the school of the arts, the emotion that the lighting evokes for me is epic creativity, in the silent stillness of night. Perfect. I want to go take on the world!

-Gina Carli

Week #0: Atmosphere/ Smoke Gives Depth

My summer was filled with an eclectic arrangement of jobs within the lighting community. I had the chance to see a lot of things, meet a lot of people and learn more than I can possibly say. But of all the interesting things I witnessed this summer the most surprising lighting effect I saw was while I was driving to Tustin for Kickboxing. There was a car that was going up in flames that was sitting off to the side of the road. As the fire department came rushing in to put out the fire the smoke that was once black turned pure white. The smoke filled the air for about a mile. All I remember is that the rays of light that the smoke was causing me to see was so cool that I had to take a picture as I am sitting in traffic. I love how the smoke caused the rays of light to become visible to the human eye. The atmosphere/ smoke in this picture gives more depth to this scene. Even though you do not see the sun in this picture the atmosphere allows you to distinguish the angle of light and approximant time of day. -STACIE

Welcome to Dance 287 Fall 2012 Lighting Journal

Now that you have decided to enhance your appreciation for light, I want to help you develop your eye for light not just in the theatre but in your life.

In order to more effectively understand how light can alter the perception of the audience; we need to first understand how it alters our perception on a daily basis.

As we move through the quarter, I hope that this blog will help you to discover light in ways that you have not seen before.

Perhaps you'll see colors you've never noticed before, you may recognize the angle of a certain light, and maybe you will find ways to articulate how a light makes you feel.

In order to assist with this process, I've created this blog so that all of you may contribute a short piece each week on an aspect of light that you have noticed throughout your journeys.

This can include a beautiful sunset, a great rock concert, a well lit store, or just what happens to your emotions when the sun moves behind a cloud. Anything and everything can be included.

Please start your title for each posting with the Week of the quarter and a sybject.

Your postings do count towards your final grade.

Please include photos with your post to help us see what you are describing!

Whether or not you continue in lighting design after this class, I hope that this online journal will help you to discover inspiration for you art in daily life.

Thanks and Happy Blogging!!

Lonnie Alcaraz