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