Backlog

So i didnt have the internet at home for a while. this meant that i didnt make as may updates (since i usualy update at the end of the day).
But i have been keeping a pen and paper version for the month without internet. here is what you missed

Sept 7

Running around today trying to figure out my elective I took a ride in one of the art dept Elevators. Now this is not a very impressive feat, but while I was in the elevator I noticed the odd polish on the metal wall gave this interesting reflection on the faces of everyone in the elevator. The light source was from the small incandescent in the ceiling but the reflections were these interesting swirls of light, giving a felling of motion almost.

Technically the elective is figured out... but I still want to know if it’s right for me

Sept 8th

More thoughts on FYF

In retrospect I realised how much the sound and lights actually ruined the show for me, and yes in many cases bad tech can totally ruin a show... (Unless it’s Shakespeare in the park) The one band I wanted to see was school of seven bells, so I busted my ass to get across the park from the mountain goats to get a good spot. So first of they did an extra long sound check, that in the end involved one of the girls from the band coming out to make adjustments herself (which were re adjusted by the tech right after she left) then they finally got onstage and every song was bracketed with awful feedback and the band members looking at each other in despair and over to the sound guy with malice. Then there were these projections, which were a series of screensavers and the occasional live clip washed out in saturated colors. Now I know they had decent equipment there. All the boards were road hogs, and it looked like they were using Hippos for the media (although I could be wrong since I got escorted away by security when I went to take a look)

Hippos for those who don’t know come with a wide variety of effects that anyone can figure out provided they have 15 minutes of spare time and a brain. And if it wasn’t a hippo even the most basic media servers have decent effects programs... so why not use one of those programs rather than running the 80s filter. I feel like this is what you get when you hire a group of people who don’t give a crap about what they are working on (Except for the one board op on the small stage) and I think this is a vital lesson to learn. If everyone has a vested interest in what you are creating then it will show in the art, but if your team is just there for the pay check, then they are bringing everything down.

Sept 9^th

Interesting discussion in today’s class... I now have a list of everything I could do wrong in a plot; therefore if I use this as checklist I should never have any technical errors on my plots... I think if I approach everything with a bit more precision I could eliminate most of the major errors I will make.

Sept 12^th

There’s something to the sunset in fall, I am uncertain as to what the quality is that like so much, perhaps it is tied in with the nostalgia and memories of my youth, and returning from school after the first few days of being back, I also miss the smell of dead leaves.

I think there is a big difference to the sunsets I have witnessed around the world too. Here in long beach the sun has this warm almost golden and red quality to it. Up north I feel the sun sets differently. There is a bit less warmth to the sun set. Perhaps this could be due to the proximity to the equator, but I think it could be also attributed to the gross levels of smog in the air. I think there is also a noticeable difference between the seasons.

I man there will obviously be a difference due to global positioning and all that stuff, but I wonder how noticeable it is to the average person...

Sept 14^th

There is a bit of a hill I have to walk on my way home, I was lucky enough to be walking this hill today at sunset. I really liked how as cars drove past me their shadows extended to these long shadows I expect from a sunset, and then disappear.

Sept 16^th

I agreed to work on the Symphony showcase. The main reason I did this is because the idea is extremely interesting, but also I love working on musical shows. Music and light have much in common, and the director believes that light will have to be with the music, so it’s bound to be an interesting show.

Sept 18^th

Today was lefty tech. I stopped by the theatre to see how Heather was doing and to see how lefty was going. Now I had heard that the stage was going to be red but I think I was still kind of surprised when I saw the red stage and the hue of red the stage was. What I think is very interesting, is that it gives off a very nice reflection; I think it’s always a bit of a risk to do something like that, but it almost gives the lighting designer a little bit extra fill light.

I think that’s why I like the showcase room so much, because it has a very light collared reflective floor, even if an actor can’t find their light there’s a chance they are still going to be caught with the reflection from the floor.

Sept20th

I gave my first lecture of the semester today. Surprisingly not a bundle of nerves I was last semester when I gave a lecture. I was surprised and mildly disappointed that many of the people in the class never had high school physics. I feel like this would be something that should not left out of a high school curriculum. Physics are the building blocks of the universe, how can this be ignored in school?

You need to check this guy out

Normally i am opposed to photos of the homeless, and photos of cats.
i find that they are a bit too cliche but Christophe Huets work is amazing.
bonus points for a nicely done website.
the photos themselves were done by other artists and he did the photo shop work, but they are still impressive none the less.



Seriously check it out

i want to get this printed again

i still have the negative

FYF Fest

Or is it just FYF since the last f actually stands for fest?

There were 3 stages, the two big stages had about 20 moving lights (looked like mac 2k profiles)and LED strip lights
the small stage had about 8 moving lights (Profiles as well)
out of the three of them, i think the best run was the small stage. the board ops on the large stages just seemed to run effect after effect with no consideration for the music.
the small stage board op, realy had a feel for the music and the bands styles.
for example, cold case was playing and he turned off all the conventionals and just did a slow sweep that built with the music. whereas on the big stage, with Local natives the board op just threw up strobes and color chases at random intervals.

the small stage also did this really neat effect using a Spirograph gobo in the haze. this is definitely something im gonna use during the drag show if it comes back (since i have the same gobo in my personal collection)

last night in oslo

The show opened last night, and it was spectacular. My first big opera and it went really well. To all those Nay sayers who said “I wouldn’t be able to keep up with david” or “there’s no way you can track 70 moving lights” I say HA! I did it, And I did it well. Now I know what it means to be a good assistant, and what someone needs to do to be a good assistant. This also means I am going to expect a lot from my assistants. I mean after all if I can keep up with 78 moving lights, then anyone else should have no problems tracking the 5 in the QE for Night of the triceratops. There is much more to reflect on, but right now I need some sleep

tosca day 14

Day 14
Tomorrow is opening night. Today I watched from the balcony and took photos. I was trying to take photos of each cue, and found it supper difficult to figure out when some of the cues changed. A lot of the cues in this show are very subtle; I spoke to David about it afterwards, because I find the cue timing is one of the biggest problems I have.
It’s something that needs to be taken in to careful consideration, because there are certain moments that absolutely call for a well timed cue. For example the tedium at the end of act 1 finishes the music cuts so the lights should cut as well. If there was a fade it would look weird, but alternately the pull down to toscas famous aria in act two can be much more subtle. I think it would be a bit easier for a musical or an opera since you have the music to work with

tosca day 13

I find the use of texture in this show rather interesting, I recall that early on in the rehearsal process Kevin Knight (set and costume designer) commented on David’s use of the Upstage Profiles during act 1 and act 2
The Upstage profiles are used to create texture on the walls, in act one they cast an almost daylight looking light with a break up on the door and the SR walls roughly going in the direction of the window gobos, the light looks almost like the reflection of daylight off a marble floor, the lights are at a very low level so it’s very subtle but it adds a nice level of texture to the walls.
In act two the gobos are used in a similar fashion, but they are a much darker blue to match with the moonlight coming in through the windows.

this is going to go in my steal from David file. i think used subtly this could have a good effect on the mood of the scene, and my next show is going to be very moody, its a nice effect i think because its so subtle, but when its not there, (like it was for the first cues today) you kind of notice.