Final Post

For the final post, I decided to go with a much deeper theme.  We think of light as a subject that is part of this Earth, but we sometimes forget to acknowledge is that light can come from above. . . in this case the stars.  People know that during a dark night sky, the moon seems to light up our sky and sometimes even paths.  What we at times forget to acknowledge is that the stars also play a role in lighting our Earth.  The stars also produce light, thanks to their gasses because the lighting of the stars is much more dim and not as bright as the sun or moon, it produces a  much more dim, almost dark lighting to the Earth.  In the article a French artist named Thierry Cohen, played with the idea of using the natural dim lighting of stars, to light up the world's largest cities, such as San Francisco, Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro.  He took away the bright, white, florescent lights, produced by homes, buildings, etc and replaced it with the natural dim lighting of the stars found in rural areas such as Montana, mountain ranges, etc.  As a result, he created these pictures with huge bustling cities, with minimal lighting provided by the soft light of the stars.  Light is truly all around us, it is just a matter of paying attention to it, and how it lights all of us up.


https://www.wired.com/2014/11/thierry-cohen-darkened-cities/#slide-10

Party Lighting and Color

Last week I went to a birthday celebration and was able to observe how they used color in the lighting to create a certain environment. For the majority of the night, the lights were  a deep pink hue. The party's theme was "A Night in Paris", so this lighting helped bring out the romanticized Paris ambiance. 

Later on, the emcee started to shift the mood to get people out to the dance floor. At this point, the lighting was filtering through different colors as the volume of the music increased. There were tent-like figures that had lights inside of them which served to add variety to the lighting scheme. The changing colors gave more energy to the room and complemented the upbeat, remixed pop music playing.

lighting journal 4

This past weekend I got to spend a couple of days in Cambria, right next to San Simeon in central California. One of the places I got to visit was Hearst Castle. I've been there before, and each time I go I'm always mesmerized by the swimming pools there. The photo above is of the Roman Pool, an indoor swimming pool that's laid with mosaic tile. The tour guide told us that the tiles were made of glass, and because the color of each tile is so intensely saturated the effect is really mesmerizing. The way that light filters into the room causes the water to act as a mirror and reflect back the pattern of the tiles that loom above it. The room looked like it was a continuous circle of indigo and gold, and the water looked like it was cobalt instead of clear. I have to say though that the splendor of the room and the light was somewhat ruined for me when I thought about how Charlie Chaplin probably peed in this pool on one of his visits to William Hearst. Nevertheless it was still incredible.

Sirens

As I was napping on a ride home from a UC San Diego tournament late at night on Sunday, I woke up to some heavy traffic due to a car accident. After a few minutes, a police car passed us with its sirens on, and it made me wonder why the colors red and blue were chosen for the lights. My guess was that the red gave a sense of urgency and also tends to mean stop, while the blue is harsh on your eyes and grabs your attention even more, since it stands out from the sea of red tail lights, especially in traffic at night. I looked this up later, and there doesn't appear to be one right answer, though my guesses are possible ones. At any rate, it took me a little while to fall back asleep after that.

Maybe Not the Best Day to Go.....

SOOOOOOOOOO....... around week 3, a group of my friends and I went to San Diego's Gaslamp District for Easter Sunday! This picture was taken by a stranger when we were on the steps that lead to the San Diego Convention Center aka where they do Comic-Con. I love this picture mainly because my group was being stupid and wanted to take a photo like this but also because of how it ended up turning out. We assumed there was enough light around us so you could see us but what ended up happening was that there was just enough light to silhouette us instead. What makes the picture even cooler is that fact that every so often the stairs have lights on them so the floor looks clearer than we do. Personally, it gives me a very early 2000's punk rock band album cover.

Anyways.......if you ever have a chance to go to the Gaslamp District, I would highly recommend it for not only the plethora of food options you have there, but also for all the cool restaurants and buildings that are lit up in weird and wonderful ways.

Laurence's Drag Show

On Saturday, I attended a drag show in the little theater. I mostly went to support friends, but I was blown away by the technical aspects of the show as well as the acting. Nina Agelvis was the lighting designer and I could see how much effort and skill she had put into the production. She used many moving gobos that drew attention to the main character and made it interesting to watch. What I was impressed with was the cyc. The cyc created so many different emotions and set the scene for many pieces. Laurence Turner was the main character and he played many different parts from different musicals. Thus, it was hard for some to distinguish some of the pieces especially if they did not have knowledge of musical theatre. For example, when he did a piece from Wicked, the cyc turned green, and when he reached a climactic part of the song, it was accompanied by spinning gobos. Lighting was a huge part of this show and I was impressed by how much it complimented the actors and suited each piece perfectly and kept it exciting.

Madame Tussaud's - Hollywood

When your tourist friends come begging for you to take them somewhere and you can't be bothered, look no further than the wax celebrities at Madame Tussaud's in Hollywood. You'll find sculptures of so many different people, even an unnamed president most people don't like, but what I found especially interesting was the Django Unchained wax sculpture. The lighting on this specific sculpture was with just one angled top light that was shuttered to basically only illuminate him, the background, and less than a foot in to the right or left of it. Upon looking at the picture I took, I noticed that I was very well lit despite being the same distance from him as my friend who was behind him. It showed me that having a very tight, solo light can make a side by shot not work as well as 3D shot that showcases depth. -Matt Dinu

Corona Beach at night

Fairly close to fashion island lies this hidden gem I visited two nights ago - Corona Beach. Of course, the best and most romantic time to go to any beach is at night when nobody else is there, (remember that guys) but what I was stunned to find was the fantastic lighting the area had. One of the most peculiar parts was the lone rock that had a beam of light shining down on it from above. This light was caused by a mixture of warm and cold lights cast from the above palm trees on a cliff. Whether or not this was intentional is beyond me since only this one rock was lit, but it showed off how well a subject can be lit when mixing warm and cold lights from over what I would estimate to be around 500 - 800 feet in a straight line. The moon also provided great lighting as well and complimented this man made light by shining on the water through the filter of some clouds, so perhaps it was intentional. The combination and contrast that these two effects had did well to isolate the rock and make it very eye catching. - Matt Dinu

The Irvine Spectrum

My recent visit to the Irvine spectrum this week allowed to me to something I had never noticed before. Granted I had only been there once before, but this time I noticed the stunning effects on the palm tree leaves were caused by lighting them from the bottom. Normally having something lit like that, right underneath the subject, would cause a sort of supernatural kind of look to it when looking at it from straight on, but in this case a different effect too place. Since the subject was much higher than all the viewers, all I could see was how bright and vibrant the lights made the leaves of the palm trees look. It almost made them look drawn on, It taught me that the angle at which the viewer sees the subject is extremely important. When designing future plots with trees in them, I think I will definitely use something similar. -Matt Dinu

Urban Light in LA

Now, normally I wouldn't notice the lighting properties that this art exhibit shows even though it is entirely based on lights, but my recent visit to the Urban Lights in downtown LA yielding a few more interesting fruits. I started to notice that there was a definite sweet spot where the light would hit one best if they stood under it. That may be a little more on the obvious side, but what I also found interesting were the actual instruments used. Thought the lamps at the top seem to be very bright with a harsh bright light, it doesn't wash everything out as much as I would expect it to. By the time it hits the ground, we still have that fresh, crisp white light, but the cement on which it lands on makes the light appear to have a slight warm quality. It has shown me that consideration of the ground or set beneath a light is very important to its overall tone and feel. Also please excuse the soon to come influx of blog posts, they need to be caught up on. - Matt Dinu

Kraken Coffee Company - Avila Beach, CA

This weekend I was in San Luis Obispo visiting one of my best friends at her school. One of favorite places to study is this coffee shop, Kraken Coffee Company, in Avila Beach, about 15 minutes away from her house in SLO. The shop is has huge windows allowing for the shop to be lit mostly by natural light. However, there were several lighting fixtures around the shop, including a couple strands of light bulbs, sconces, hanging lamps and lanterns, etc. The lights all have a warm glow to them, almost in contrast to the bright light coming in from the windows. You would think that this contrast would not work together well, but somehow it does. The shop is set right next to the beach so the natural light and ocean view create an incredibly beautiful atmosphere. The light fixtures add a warmth to the environment by sharing their gentle luminescence. Both the natural light and lamps add a unique glow to the shop and makes it abundantly clear why this place is so popular.

My Name In Lights

I find it interesting and amazing  how light can evoke emotions in people. Even simple lighting. I've been noticing this a lot when we talk about the emotional effects of warm and cool light in class. For example, the normal light in my room in my apartment is pretty stereotypical/standard bedroom lighting in my opinion; it's bright, but I feel like the coloring is on the cooler side rather than the warmer side. It makes me feel pretty neutral/monotonous if that makes sense. However, I have these light up letters that I like to turn on sometimes and they give off a warmer glow to me and it just makes me feel better. It provokes more of a hopeful tone and openness. They're also a symbol of the stereotypical "having your name in lights" since I'm trying to be an actress. I also just think that they look cool to be honest. When I have the letters on by themselves, they cast a nice glow and shadows about the room. I think this makes my room feel bigger too rather than having the bright ceiling light on. The pictures do not show what the light actually looks like in person at all, but I thought I would include them anyways.

Projections

I was in class earlier today and while my professor was giving his lecture, I started thinking about how amazing projectors are. Projections are used for everything from PowerPoints for school to backdrops for stage shows to movie theaters, and they've become so widely used that it's hard to imagine what life today would be like without them. All you need is a projector and a blank area for the projection to land on, which is much more portable than a giant screen. Not only has light changed our world in terms of visibility and being able to work after dark, but it has made it possible for professors to show off visuals of their lectures and for movies to be shown to a much larger group of people. It's something that I've always took for granted in the past, and after becoming more conscious of light from this class, I've learned to become much more grateful.

Lighting in Eyes

When it comes to lighting, we typically think of the general utilization of light, such as to light a theatre, a photo, or simply to guide your way.  For this post, I wanted to focus on something much more intimate, which is how the light hits an individual's eyes. Have you ever looked at someone's eyes when light hits them?  I think it is the most beautiful time because you can actually see not only how their eyes truly look, but it allows for a more intimate connection with the person, I find it quite mesmerizing.  When the light hits the eyes, it creates a light glow, as if the person is hit by a limelight with a medium intensity, from a straight angle. Lighting is very useful for many obvious reasons, but I find that lighting can also be the key to a connection with someone.  For example, when someone says to set the mood, they usually refer to the lighting, in this case warm, low, dim lighting.  Light has many uses and it is extremely versatile, but it also serves as a connector among people.

Early Lighting Tool Using Refraction At Home!

I was watching a show on a Roku, which is like a mini home projector, and my boyfriend walked in front of the projection with a large jug of water. It created this really image on the wall. The water looked so magical with the light hitting it. It reminded me of the earliest lighting tools that were basically just a glass wine bottle filled with liquid. I thought it was so cool to create a lighting tool using refaction in the comfort of my own home with such common objects!

Concert Lighting

I was looking through some concert photos on my computer (not the best quality but oh well...) and I was struck by the change in mood you get just by comparing two photos by its lighting. Thinking back on the concert, I remember vividly the ambiance and mood of the room from the two photos; the first was towards the start of the show, and there was excitement and giddiness in the air both from the band and the crowd. In the second photo, the band was playing a new song from their album that's in the works; there was an almost unnatural and mysterious mood set by the all-surrounding green light that came from the lighting fixtures above and behind the band. With each different song there were completely different lights and gels being used, it's crazy to think it was the same concert. I remember that night being filled with a varying of emotions and I am realizing now it was due to the contrasting lighting cues in each song.

Natural Lighting is the Best Lighting

Within these last couple weeks, I've really started to appreciate the beauty of sunlight because it's the best way to see the colors and all it's contrasts in the world versus anything under artificial lighting. It is amazing all the effects we can do with lighting design, but I feel like nothing is more underrated nor can compare to lighting a subject with nothing but the sun. With advances in technology and the (sometimes over)use of filters on social media, I find it undervalues natural sunlight since people over focus on the "right" filter instead of noticing all that sunlight highlights. So the next time we're trying to find the "perfect filter", I challenge us to put our phones away, live in the present, and appreciate the beauty that is natural lighting.

Street communication

I spend most of my time in my car, or at least it seems that way.  Where I work is not neighboring to where I live, which is not close in proximity to where I go to school, so I spend a lot of time driving.  I've become much more aware of how lights direct us, and saves us, on a daily basis. Obviously lights direct where we drive through traffic lights, and the headlights on our cars help us see ahead and warn we're coming towards others from distances, but they also are the quickest warners in times of emergencies.  I was driving from Anaheim to LA last night and I was really tired and on a personal autopilot.  My navigation led me a way I had not driven before and it was pretty confusing.  Out of the corner eye, even through the fast speeds, these little blue and white flickering scattered lights in the street floor caught my eye and forced me to change lanes immediately as there was large glass residue from what I assume was an accident from earlier. Traveling in fast speeds in the dark night, I instinctually knew that these little scattered abruptly placed lights in the lane served to warn me something was wrong and to avoid or at the very least be highly aware of the area.  I find it fascinating that it is human nature to recognize light as safety.  We trust light as it makes situations visible, but also recognize lights further as a trustworthy means of communication on the road especially.  There were maybe three or four tiny street lights flickering and yet I instinctually knew to avoid the lane and recognize that those little lights were warning me and trying to keep me safe.  Light is communication on the road.

journal 3

I live in Newport Beach so going to watch sunsets is a luxury that I often get to enjoy. However, this quarter I've had to be on campus for more extensive periods than usual due to numerous performances, so I haven't had as many opportunities to go to the beach. This photograph is of the last sunset that I got to watch, about two weeks ago. I thought the patterns and the colors were incredible, especially the way the clouds blended so naturally from pink to orange and back again, and how the blue of the sky came alive against the colorful clouds. I also was captivated by how the light reflected off the water, again enhancing the blue while simultaneously showing the movement of the ocean. My favorite part about sunsets is how the lighting makes everything look softer; shapes of things are less blunt and everything seems to fit together with a natural cohesion that isn't normally the case.

Exploration

This is a picture that I took when I went on an impromptu trip to Santa Barbara/Los Angeles with my friends. This actually isn't in Santa Barbara but some out the way place in Los Angeles. The reason I chose this picture was because I loved the way the sky pulls everything into perspective. The left side also looks so much brighter than the right ride giving the picture even more depth. My favorite part of the picture though has to be the stream of light that is coming from the bottom of the picture and going across it. It also gives more ambiguity to the picture because it becomes very unclear where the light is actually coming from.

If you ever have the chance to go to Tapia Park, make sure you stop at the wonderful bridge!

Babe Cave

This weekend, I put up a cabaret/soul-sharing show in Studio 4 with three of my close friends. We decorated the studio to create a homey and comfortable environment. We had tapestries, lanterns, inspirational quotes, succulents, and a whole lot of love. When we were all set up, we turned on the lights and a whole string was out with the exception of one light. I was immediately drawn to it, not because the light was the only one on the string that was working, but because it managed to cast a light on a framed illustration that said "Babe Cave." The light reminded me of a single light source, like a flashlight or lantern. It reminded me of the picturization exercise and creating something with the inspiration of the picture and not necessarily the picture itself.

The Resistance

During Coup De Comedy, I went to a show in the little theatre where an improve group from LA was doing their show. They were a group of guys who did improv based on action movies and they were all professional stuntmen. They were entertaining, but what impressed me was the lights and sounds. The technical elements were all very astonishing, because they were not planned and had to be worked with on the spot. I am not sure who their lighting designer was because they gave us no information on their group, but he was spot on, and sometimes created the scenes. The lighting designer had to come into the space they had never performed in before and anticipate where the actors were going with the scene because it was completely improvisational. This shows that this group must have worked together for a long time to be able to precisely anticipate each other's moves without someone getting hurt.

For more context, they were improvising a western movie, and there was a part during their piece of constant flashbacks from a sunny, hot summer day to a memory during a cold, rainy day. So every time the actors insinuated a flashback, the lighting designer had that transition time between scenes to understand what the actors were trying to accomplish, and set the mood to the scene. So the lights and sound constantly changed from blues to reds and created the stark contrast between the sunny present and the rainy past. It was improvised lighting and I never thought that technical elements of theatre could be improvised, but it made the scene so much livelier and funnier because it gave so much more dimension to whatever scenario they were trying to play out.

Fireworks in celebration

     I took this photo on my phone about three week ago. The fireworks are in celebration of the angels winning. This tool place at angel stadium. I guess you can say that the night sky is a mock representation of a black out stage. I would love to see mock fireworks on stage through lighting and sound. I have no doubt that with the improvement of technology, things will become that much easier to do and craft. It definitely would be interested to have lights on stage that would isolate the source, as oppose to shining in from above. It's a challenge non the less.

Light and Mood

There were several days earlier this week that were pretty dreary. The sky was gray, the clouds were full and heavy, and very little sunlight could be seen. Later in the week the sun shone brightly and the skies were clear and blue.  I noticed how this shift in daylight changed my mood. On the days that were gloomy I felt a bit more introspective and calm that while the bright, sunny days made me feel very energetic and jovial. It is interesting how something like lighting can so drastically affect mood. I remember my mom (originally from SoCal) telling me that when she lived in Berkeley for a few years it was often overcast and dreary. She realized how much it affected her mood after coming back to the sunshine and warmth. I can see how this idea could translate indoor lighting in restaurants or theaters to set the mood of the atmosphere.

    

I took this photo walking home one night. This is the streetlamps that are lined up in Aldrich Park. I took the photo on accident while I was waiting for my camera to focus, and as you can see, my thumb is covering part of the lens. What I love about this photo is how much lust for wonder it makes me feel. I love how bright the dots of light are, yet how nothing is clear and focused. It draws my attention and makes me want to know more, but still keeps me cautious of what is beyond.

Theatrical Creation

I'm currently in Andrew Palermo's Theatrical Creation class. In this class we are given a vague prompt to create a performance around and write and perform it within a limited time period. This week our prompt was "Classics." My group (Sean Deuel, Dalia Anderton, and I) ended up devising a piece on the "Tell Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. Our piece used a lot of lighting and effects (well very limited resources). We had the lights off the entire time and we played a lot with shadows. For example, Sean was the main character/narrator and we had him start with a flashlight under his face which caused many shadows on his face and on the ceiling. This went with the eerie, spooky mood that we wanted to create. One cool thing that we discovered is that if we had a flashlight behind a piece of paper, the light one the paper looked like an eye, which was perfect since a section of the poem talks about a "milky eye" We discovered Also, at one point, I was sitting in a chair, and Dalia came over and had her hands in front of me and was squeezing them like a human heart. When she did this, I held a red light under her hands to help signify that her hands were supposed to be my heart and also the shadows from the light on her hands and my face were very creepy and kept the suspension high. In our piece we also used varying speeds of strobe light. I found it interesting how the strobe light really amplified the suspense and that the varying speeds gave slightly different affects, but they were all very successful. For example, when Sean was slowly inching toward me to kill me, we had the strobe light at the slowest setting which went with the "clock ticking" and the "heart beating." When he was actually killing me, we had the strobe light on faster to go with the heightened actions that were happening. I wish I has photos or videos of this piece, but unfortunately I do not.

Ricky Martin

To begin with yes, I did choose this picture because it is Ricky Martin.  For those of you who do not know who this man is, he is a Puerto Rican singer.  For this particular blog, I decided to go with what lighting is used for the most in my opinion.  When I think of lighting I think about photoshoots and how the lighting must be placed in order to accommodate the model.  In this picture, the medium bright light, is utilized to focus in on his face and features.  The lighting is also coming in from an angle, where it does cast warm shadows on his face, but as an undertone to emphasize his features, instead of creating atmosphere.  The lighting on the background where the brick wall can be seen, the light is much less intense and kept to a minimal, to allow the audience to focus in on hi face, rather than the background.  His black shirt also compliments the lighting because it allows for the light to fall softly on him and create a warm limelight on his face.  Lighting is used for a lot of things, but I always thought of lighting as a tool for photo shoots.

Light Mixing Exhibit at the Exploratorium SF

This is one of my favorite exhibits at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. This is something I want to experiment with myself at my next house party. They use a red, green, and blue light to create white light. When an object stands in front of the light projected it blocks one, two or all of the lights from hitting the wall behind leaving both the primary and the secondary light colors to be shown. This is a cool and fun way to show color mixing with lights.

String lights

While walking back to my dorm room the other day I passed someone's open door. The normal lights were off, and the only light was coming from the icicle string lights they had up as decoration. They gave off a warm golden glow, similar to the photo you see here.

This got me thinking about the fairly recent surge in LED usage, and how LEDs tend to look bluer than incandescent lights. As more and more people pick LEDs over incandescent lights, I'm curious to see how that will affect our perception of white light. Though incandescent lights may seem gently warm now and LEDs slightly too cold, in a few years I wouldn't be surprised if incandescent lights become unbearably yellow to us.

Day or night?

This photograph was taken in the William Regional park. This time around it was taken by phone and not a professional camera. I like the composition and the ambiguity of time. As it can be look as dawn or dusk solely at the discretion of the viewer. However I will disclose that this image was taken at dusk, and if you look closely between the branches you can see the moon peeking through. Of course this was taken a couple of months back where the sun set at later time. its rather interesting how soft and cool the light illuminates the branches and all object on proximity. Making for a rather rather bright colors of the green and the blue sky. I' sure there certain techniques were you can pop colors more in a low lighting setting, making for a brightness in color texture. .

Lighting's Affect on Energy

I was sitting in a film screening earlier  this week and realized how much lighting can change our energy. It was early afternoon, so walking towards the screening room it was very bright and sunny. Even though I was a bit tired, the daylight gave me an extra boost of energy . In  the screening room, the lighting was very warm but slightly dim and more diffused. I felt this brought a more calming atmosphere. Once the film began, the lights fully dimmed and you could feel the energy in the room decrease drastically over time. It was as though the lack of lighting simulated nighttime which caused people's energy to shift. What surprised me most is after exiting the room and going back into the sunlight, everyone seemed rejuvenated and lively again. Observing this allowed me to see the power of lighting in shifting our energy.