Lighting Designer’s Toolbox

Today Objective: Explain the materials and paperwork that make a lighting designer’s job possible. Agenda: Journal; Museum; Notes; Summary and Reflection. Journal: Please list any questions you have at this point about lighting design. If you have none, please describe how you would use nonmotivational lighting in a scene where two characters are in a fight at the park in the middle of the night.

French Scene Breakdown Used by designers, directors, and stage managers to ID who is onstage at a given time to create rehearsal schedules, etc. Rationale: whenever someone enters or exits, it’s probably going to affect the mood/feel of the show. There will likely be lighting changes here, so this is the most logical places to start breaking down the show. Lighting designers will use this breakdown to create magic sheets (50 french scenes = 50 magic sheets)

Magic Sheet A drawing that shows where (location and direction) and what color light is in a given scene. Example- café at night. Dark blue down light; Amber front light Designer reads the show, breaks it down into French Scenes, and creates a magic sheet for each one. Then, they all have to be combined—choices must be made to “recycle” the lights rather than use 30 different purple lights in 30 different places.

Image Research Must be done before the magic sheet is done! It’s hard to know what the lights are going to look like until you have explored all of the options. Very seldom will you find a single image that conveys your thoughts/feelings relating to the show. Create a collage of SEVERAL images to help define the look and feel of the lighting in the show. Connotative and Denotative

Light Plot Detailed drawing that shows every single lighting instrument, where it’s located, what channel it’s plugged into, and what color gel is in it. Often tells what area of the stage each light will illuminate as well. Use the magic sheet to help create the light plot. Light plots are different in every performance space.