Week two: brush strokes and shadowing tech

This week was a good refresher course on brushstroke and different qualities of light. I'm glad I had our class period before the tech on Angels in America, because I was able to follow more of the conversation. Stacie was trying to figure out what degree of light to use for the prostitute sex scene behind the set, and she was discussing the merit of a 50 degree vs. a 90. I understood it was because of the throw onto the floor with the limited space behind the set.

During class I really got a grasp on the difference between the Source 4 instruments and the others, I had always been confused with the concept. The more we went over about system choice the more affirmed I was with my project, having already picked my lights.  Now I could probably pick them all out if they were on.

Tech for Angels was really interesting, one of the main things I learned from observing was the director and designer collaboration. Gavin would ask if he could see a cue slightly differently, and Stacie had her cheat sheet to quickly  alter her previous design to please the  vision.  Some cues took more work than others, but Stacie always made Gavin's ideas her own while adding his needs. She didn't give up her artistic vision, which I really respected because she pleased everyone.

I could tell that Stacie was stressed. Who isn't during tech week? I'm happy she was the one I got to ghost, she held a  collected composure no matter what happened, even the trouble with the fluorescent effect. It's a frustrating situation, but she didn't give up on the idea, just told Gavin that they were putting it on hold. She did it so confidentially, I would have been really nervous to tell that to a director. She has a great decorum even when she's unsure, a quality that I am really going to emulate when I go into tech- Lord knows I'm going to be baffled just about the entire time.

I learned about attitude this time, whereas in focus I learned the technicalities. Both are equally important for a designer to be successful. Thanks Lonnie for making us go to these!