theatre appreciation: chapter 10

shotgun mike

A microphone that is highly directional and is aimed from a distance at a specific area.

general mike

A microphone that picks up sounds in the general area toward which it is aimed.

PROPERTY: color

Color is a very powerful part of lighting. - theatre lights easily changed to one of hundreds of colors by placing colored material (gel/gelatin, nowadays usually plastic like mylar or acetate) in slots in front of lighting instruments

focus

Refers to the fact that beams of light are aimed at -- focused on -- a particular area.

lighting rhythm

Since changes in light occur on a time continuum, they establish a rhythm running through a production. - lighting changes help establish rhythm + timing the director needs for drawn attention into the action -stark blackouts: unsettle us - languid + slow fades or gradual cross-fades: allow more thoughtful transition - has effect on our interaction with + understanding of the world of the play

motivated sounds

Sounds called for by the script. - ex: car crunching on grave, car motor turning off, door slamming = sequence of character arrival

lighting shape & form

The lighting designer must enhance the visual world of the play by revealing the objects in that world as interestingly as possible. - lighting from front (lights above audience towards stage) makes objects look flat + uninteresting - designer must enhance actors + other visual elements of the play with lighting + color from side, top, behind

sound designer

The person responsible for arranging and orchestrating all the aural aspects of a production. - first reads script, noting places sound needed - large-scale musical: decides number + type of mics, placement of speakers, all other aspects of sound reproduction - then consults w/ director to determine exact nature of sound reqs (sound effects + amplification) - preshow + intermission music, mics, special prerecorded sound effects, preshow announcements

What are small wireless receivers that allow certain audience members to hear the dialogue spoken by performers, sound effects, and songs and music?

assistive listening devices

lighting designer

The person responsible for creating, installing, and setting controls for stage lighting is the lighting designer and their collaborators. - have background in technical + mechanical aspects of lighting - have broad, creative visual imagination - ability to translation words + actions + feelings into color, direction, intensity

PROPERTY: distribution

The position and type of lighting instrument being used and the angle at which the light strikes the performers onstage. - aka direction (The source from where the light comes, the type of instrument used, the points on stage at which a light beam is aimed) - earlier days: footlights (row of lights across front of stage floor) - footlights: disadvantage of shadows on faces, eliminated with advanced lighting, now only used to recreate look/style of classic play in 18th/19th century - today: most lighting from above

High-tech lights often used by rock musicians move up and down and from side to side, change colors, and change the sharpness and width of a beam of light and allow for numerous decorative or atmospheric patterns, are now used industry-wide. Such lights are called?

automated lights

Because early rock concerts were staged in multi-use spaces with pre-existing grids, the lighting design for those concerts during the early days were focused on what elements?

clear illumination slight changes of color mood

What are the four controllable qualities of light used by a lighting designer?

intensity, color, distribution, movement

The purpose of what is to show the location, color and type of every instrument used in the lighting design.

light plot

True or False: Sound effects in the theatre can be produced effectively with either advanced technology or with age-old manual theatrical mechanics, depending on the style of the production.

true

What special effect is a very dark blue light that causes costumes and scenery painted with phosphorus to glow?

ultraviolet light

lighting mood & style

Theatre combines all areas of a production to establish the mood and world of the play. - mood established for audience -> individ. production areas can manipulate mood throughout the play (esp. thru lighting + sound) - action, scenery, words in conjunction with light, tell us exactly what the mood is

A light that is typically used to light the large cyclorama all the way upstage is called?

a strip light or flood light

sound design

aka sound reproduction & sound reinforcement

The sound designer's primary collaborator on any theatrical production is the?

director

A conventional spot light that throws a sharp, concentrated light and allows for the shaping of the beam with shutters is called a(n)?

ellipsoidal reflector spot light

Blending sound by balancing all the elements from the various microphones with the master sound recording in order to achieve an overall balance of sound is called ___________.

mixing

Sound amplification is sometimes thought to be controversial because...?

... its detractors believe it is often overdone with the sound being too loud, mechanical or artificial.

In an effort to enhance the visual world of the play by revealing the shape and form of three-dimensional objects, the lighting designer...

... lights the performers from the side, top, and behind.

Colors are chosen by a lighting designer to...?

... support the varied action of the play. ... support choices made by the scenic designer. ... support choices made by the costume designer.

process of lighting design

- great deal of visual research - see one or multiple rehearsals for feeling of production, see furniture + stage business, consult w/ director - draws a plan (light plot): location + color of each lighting instrument, kind of instrument, area of stage focused on

types of stage lights

1) ellipsoidal reflector spotlight (ERS) 2) soft-edged spotlights 3) floodlights, strip lights, border lights 4) automated or moving light (intelligent fixtures)

properties of stage lighting

1) intensity 2) color 3) distribution 4) movement 5)

environmental sounds

Noises from everyday life that help create a sense of reality in a production. - ex: street traffic in city, crickets in country, loud rock music from stereo in college dorm - usually heard as background

lighting designer's collaborators

- assistant designers - ppl who help create the light plot - master electrician: preparation, hanging, focusing of lights, accessories - moving light programmer

floodlights, strip lights, border lights

- bathe section of stage/scenery in a smooth, diffused wash of light - singly or in groups - provide general illumination for stage/scenery - can be blended in acting areas - "tone" settings + costumes - mostly used to illuminate cycloramas at rear of stage, or ground rows along the floor of the stage

lighting visibility

- chief/most important function of lighting: illumination or visibility - must see performers' faces + actions - designer establishes balance that allows for visibility while meeting other design objectives effectively

history of stage lighting

- first 2000 yrs: theatre mostly outdoors during day - sun: excellent source of light - nighttime + shifts in lighting: imagination used (torches or candle for night, language) - around 1600 C.E.: theatre -> indoors - candles + oil lamps = illumination - Philippe Jacques DeLoutherbourg: installed lighting above stage, used gauze curtains + silk screens to achieve subtle effects w/ color - 1785: Argand lamp, invented by Aime Argand of Geneva, introduced (glass chimney + cylindrical wick to create steadier, brighter light - 1803: theatre in London installed gaslights, lighting more easily controlled + managed, risk of fires - 1879: Thomas Edison invented incandescent lamp

lighting controls

- lighting design most technologically developed element of theatre - fixtures can be hung all over, person sitting at console

soft-edged spotlights

- most popular: Fresnel - Fresnel: high-wattage spot, helps dissipate heat, create only a soft-edged beam of light that can be focused down to small spot or flooded for large area, designed by Auguste Fresnel, concentric rings, designers use for toplighting/backlighting/to cover large stage area w/ wash of color, used in positions near stage (behind proscenium opening, mounted close to action on arena or thrust stage) - parabolic aluminized reflector (PAR): emits oval beam - accessories used (on PARs & Fresnels): barn doors, color changers/scrollers - barn doors: flaps that can cut off an edge of the beam - color changers/scrollers: increase the options from one color to 15 colors on single instrument - Auguste Fresnel: designed first lenses that wouldn't crack w/ intense heating/cooling (for lighthouses)

ellipsoidal reflector spotlight (ERS)

- most widely used conventional fixture - creates bright, hard-edged spot - edge can be softened - lenses of diff focal lengths allow 8 diff standard-size beams depending on distance - useful from any position in theater - "workhouse" of contemporary lighting practice - has special gobo slot for pattern projection - followspot: another typically hard-edged spotlight controlled by operator designed to follow leading performer - originally: igniting mineral lime in front of reflector in back end of long metal tube, created slightly green light ("liking to be in the limelight")

sound effects

- sound necessary + important component of theatre - earlier years: various devices developed to create sound - gunshot: hinged pieces of wood, firing gun loaded w/ blank cartridges - recorded sound

body mike

A wireless microphone that is attached to a performer's body or clothing.

cues

Any prearranged signal -- such as the last words in a speech, a piece of business, or any action or lighting change -- that indicates to a performer or stage manager that it is time to proceed to the next line or action. - blackout: all lights shut off at once - fade: lights dim slowly, changing scene from brighter to darker - cross-fade: one set of lights comes down while another comes up - split cross-fade: lights that are coming up are on a different fade count from the lights that are coming down (most common due to computerized control)

sound effect

Any sound produced by mechanical or human means to create for us a noise or sound associated with the play. - today: mostly digitally downloaded

sound reinforcement

The amplification of sounds produced by a performer or a musical instrument. - w/ growth of electronics + computerization in music, more instruments amplified

lighting focus & composition

The director & lighting designer collab in creating continually moving visual composition that keeps the audience focused on the central action of play. - allows character to slip into position w/o audience wondering how - careful focus of light integral - adjacent lighting + acting areas overlapped in focus allow actors to move w/o leaving lighting - designer must control spill of light in front of + behind actor so it's not distracting

PROPERTY: intensity

The first property of light is brightness, or intensity. - can be controlled by devices (dimmers); make lights brighter/darker - dimmer: electric/electronic device that can vary the amt of power going to lights - night scene in dim light, day scene in bright light - computer control systems: lighting intensities can eb set at levels btwn 1%-100%, compared to 1-10 on older manual controls

PROPERTY: movement

This is where the lighting design comes to life. - eye carried from place to place by the shifting focus of lights (follow spots, automated lights changing direction, performer carrying candle/flashlight - subtlest + most effective: lights down in one area then up in another - lighting cross-fades: shift focus location to location, color to color - good lighting design change focus w/o audience realizing