Week 2: Brush Theory

This week was more of a retaught session than a review. I am really thankful that we went through the different brush strokes and what they can do for a design. I have honed it down to parcans, fresnels and lekos: raw, flooded and crisp. I knew all of this, I just totally forgot why they appeared so differently from each other. I relearned about focal points and curvatures that differentiate focal points on certain instruments. The more curved, the shorter the focal point. We also learned about beam degrees, with the ratio of 50 degrees being 1:1 (10 ft beam). This helps with designing in the Nixon, because there is limited space.

This lesson made me think about my design for Oleanna. I know that the play takes place in a very real world, so I will use brush strokes that blend in to create an interior environment. I would also consider a par for the raw and heightened situation at the end of the play, I may want a haunting feeling. This brought to my attention the use of shutters and making lines for what is visible on stage. As the lighting designer, we set this boundary, and I think that is very powerful. This lecture also helped in terms of my transitions for the show, they are going to be more technical and may involve a little theatrical flare (in opposition to the main feeling of the show)...we shall see. Overall, I have some better understandings of which brush strokes to use in my design. I am excited! Here is the picture of the beach I took the other day, I feel like the colors are pretty and could represent what a cyc would look like if we flooded it with different instruments, same color scheme: