Week #1: Coming Into Focus

While sitting in the courtyard in front of the Gillespie studios, I was captivated by what I saw along the pathway before me.  A few days prior, we'd just learned all about how to use our dimmers in lighting class.  We learned about all the parts; how to connect them to power, each other and the board; and how to focus them.  It was a fascinating, yet challenging lesson, as I have never worked with dimmers before, beyond being the subject of their gaze.  I'm still learning how to use those shutters!

The above image captured so much of what we talked about in our dimmer lesson. The shadow of the tree reminds me of a gobo, and how I'd need to run the barrel in order to further sharpen or blur the image. If the bottom of the image is stage left, and the top is stage right, it would appear that the entire stage is not lit, and perhaps another dimmer (or 2) may need to come into play if the goal is to cast light on the whole stage.  Also, the stage right edge of the lighting frame is cutting on a diagonal.  Maybe this would be a conscious choice by a designer. However, if the left and right edges of the frame need to parallel to each other, I'd use my shutters to correct the shape.

At the very top of the image, there is a bit of light.  This reminds me of how the light from a dimmer can spill onto the stage, and lead us off into the wings - off to learn more about the world of lighting design!