Blue Lighting...And sunsets...kinda

Since taking this class, I have learned quite a bit. Most surprisingly to me, how much I enjoy lighting design and (not to toot my own horn) that I'm pretty decent at it. But something that I have been acutely aware of while taking this class is Blue lighting. I know. Blue Lighting! It's everywhere!! Whether it's a bluer white light or a light so bright and focused you can see the blue rim around it, but I keep running into it! Then of course actual blue lighting has caught my eye as well. Seeing how utilized, arguably over utilized, this color is, is very interesting. What are the implications of blue? Calm? Serenity? Sadness? The unknown ocean perhaps? I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it's blue. And it's everywhere.

The Light in Darkness

I find it interesting how reliant we are on light, particularly the kind sourced from electricity. And how just within the last century we as a society have become more and more reliant on using it in every aspect of our daily lives. Without us ever realizing the potency of its grip on us. We take it for granted and don't take into consideration the consequences of man manipulated light. Obviously man has always had an obsession with and desire to create light, look at fire, but now as we enter even deeper into this age of booming technology and our attachment to it increases, the affects of light exposure are more and more lost or forgotten by us. Even now as I write this, I take for granted the fact that I can manipulate the amount of light exposure from my screen but don't consciously take into consideration the affects of prolonged light exposure can have on my eyes, my sleep patterns, or my body's ability to register different light intensities. Unfortunately I find myself on my phone a lot lately and I don't like it. I think it is important to live in the now and strive for presence in your life, finding the natural lighting and natural way of being. But more often than not, I find, without even fully registering it, that I am once again looking at a phone screen checking and scanning for any new needless information that wasn't there two minutes ago when I, shocker, last looked at my phone. I never used to be this bad. I don't know if it's a tell of my lack of attention/boredom/sloth like tendencies now that the quarter has ended and summer is encroaching upon us and I lack motivation to pack up my entire apartment before graduating next week; or if it's that I, sadly like most of my generation, have too become more than healthily connected to my device that allows me to connect.

Modern technology is great. Lighting is no exception. But I wonder at what cost? Man manipulated and man made lighting have their place and the world now certainly wouldn't be the same without them, for better or for worse, but I worry for myself and my fellow peers the daunting affect this constant exposure to light through technology has on our mental health, well being, and general status. Lighting is great...unless you're a bird flying through a city at night that is filled with light pollution so you can't see...Then lighting kinda sucks.

Lights, Am I Right?

Being inside the industry of show business I am constantly exposed to all forms of lighting. Given my theatre background I am predominantly exposed to the different types of lighting instruments that we have learned about and worked with in class over the course of the quarter. However, I have also been working with acting for the camera this quarter, a class with Andrew Borba, and I've also been in a few student films during my time here at UCI. I have become aware of how incredibly important, but drastically different the lighting for film is. Looking back on our footage from class there were a few scenes earlier in the quarter that we didn't use lighting, outside of the room's fluorescents (yipes), and later scenes where we did use lighting outside of the room lights, and MY GOSH what a difference! The very same acting suddenly popped, seemed cleaner, more professional and more compelling. It's also possible that the acting genuinely improved over time, but I feel more likely the acting was better highlighted by the addition of better lighting and black curtains, providing all of the main focus directly onto the actors. In dealing with both theatre and film acting, I have learned a lot, as an artist and performer, but one of the technical take-aways I have come to especially appreciate and value is the power of good LIGHTING.

Dunkin Donutssss

One late night earlier in the quarter I sat inside a Dunkin' Donuts with my good friends Julia and Sean studying for a lighting midterm that would happen the next day. While sitting inside of the establishment studying and reviewing fresnels, ellipsoidals, and the progession of candlelight to electricity, we began observing the world around us. Calling out different elements of lighting we saw in the restaurant as examples for our terminology. It started out almost as a joke, but then once we actually began taking the time to observe the different affects of the lighting and how angling, color, and intensity played a part in each of the lights and ultimately the restaurant as a whole.

I started noticing that the closer the lights were to the seating area the brighter they became and the wider the lens, whereas the lights that were closer to the ceiling were smaller and incredibly warm. The intensity of both lights played into both the necessary practicality of a restaurant, where people need to see their food and feel comfortable in being able to see the cleanliness (or lackthereof) of the establishment they are in. Equally, the warmth of the upper lighting made the brown and toffee walls feel even more cozy, and somehow the place as a whole feel bigger. Providing both comfort in coziness without creating a Closter phobicly intimate environment. A subtle but important distinction between the two lights and their purposes. It made me realize the everyday importance of lighting and how significant a role it plays in accenting the other elements it is a part of. Without either one of these light sources, the restaurant would either feel like a sterile hospital or a cozy romantic café...neither what you want or expect from a Dunkin' Donuts. But the lighting we discovered we were a part of both helped us with our studying and with our general understanding of the significance of lighting.   

SUNSET CARD- but instead the Moon!

I was going to use my sunset card but, I thought the moon is similar and holds more meaning for me.

Last year, I studied abroad in London, England, for a full year. It was a very fun and exciting time, but it was also one of the most lonely and painful experiences because I was all alone... for a whole year. I had no family over there and had no friends that came to study abroad with me. My mom and I have always had a special connection to the moon. We would both stay up looking up at it. It was something only me and my mom did. Before I left, she told me, "If you ever get depressed while you are over there, just look up at the moon, and know that I am also looking up at the same moon thinking about you."
I had many breakdowns while over there, but I had no one to talk to because I didn't want to scare off the budding friendships over there, and I couldn't call my parents only to make them worry about me when they are unable to spend all that money to come see me just because I'm sad. I left to find a part of me that I felt I was missing. I want to find happiness. To find something to live for. I had to tough it out and stay there. My only solace was the moon. It gave me hope. It reminded me that I have someone who loves me waiting for me when I get back and no matter the 5,456 miles between us, or the 8 hour time difference, we still saw the same moon every night- together. That huge rock in space saved my life just because it refects sunlight at night. Funny, the things that help keep us here another day, huh?

-Cat Miranda

LED Lights as messages

I have recent begun working at a consently busy Starbucks. There are many tasks to be done at a single given time. There are a coffee brewing tubs that have a small red LED light on the bottom. When this light flashes, it means that the coffee has become too cold, and, thus, is not fit to be served. I just wondered how a small system can detect the temperture of the coffee and light up the small light. Then, it got me thinking about how we use light everyday as signals or messages. Other examples are freeway signs, traffic signals, and even just looking at my computer screen right now! It's so exicting and, also, silly that most people in the US have just become so accustom to using light and electricity every day, when it is something so miraculous and so essential to our lives. It makes me appreciate light that much more!

(The Starbucks coffee machine looks similar to this but with a small red light on the bottom! I couldn't take a pic of it while at work. ahaha :P)

Lightbulb differentiation

At my parent's house, my bedroom is a mirror of my sister's.  Our doors are right next to each other's and her room is shaped exactly like mines, but flipped.  Despite the rooms being so similar, at a family gathering I noticed relatives gravitating towards her room to make small talk and avoiding mines altogether.  I go into a discussion with my sister about our bedrooms and I realized that, even further than the styles being different, the lighting in our room plays a significant role in our rooms' perception.  Her room's window hits a side of our house where more sunlight comes in whereas outside my own window there is a tree and behind that tree is a wall, so as far as a natural light, my sister's room exceeds that.  In addition, I noticed that we use different light bulbs.  I use whiter light, and she uses warmer, yellow toned light bulbs.  Our floor is light colored and reflects off the light bulbs' light which ends up shading our whole room.  It is unsure if her room's style is more welcoming, but it has definitely been concluded her room is a warmer reflection of my own room.

Final Blog

This is another picture that I took in Mexico. All around Puerto Vallarta they made these amazing sand sculptures. It was a literal work of art. I chose this picture because on the day we went, it was particularly cloudy and it made everything I took a picture of have really weird lighting. I also specifically chose this picture because the sculpture is not in the center of the picture and to the side. The seahorse is also surrounded by colorful letters which really make the muddier colors of the seahorse standout.

I'm using my Sunset Card

I love sunsets so much. I have always been attracted to bright colors in anything, clothes, makeup, and especially sunsets. It is so amazing how many colors result from just the atmosphere and the light ray from the sun. I took a physics class last quarter called How Things Work and we talked a lot about Rayleigh scattering and how the different colors scatter at different times and that's what causes the sky to be blue or pink, orange, purple, and any other colors. The other day I saw this sunset and this picture  does not even do it justice. It was so beautiful. If I were to choose two words for this picture it would be "hopeful" and "relaxed." If I were to turn this into a light cue in our class plot/in general, I would use a lot of bright deep pinks and bright purples to cover the floor and maybe play with pink and oranges on the cyc.

journal 5

This past weekend I went to Las Vegas with some friends for a premature celebration of the end of the year. We didn't get into the city until a little after 11pm, and we barely made it out of the car before we were running up and down the Strip, euphoric about having a weekend free of rehearsals or performances. I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to take this photo, which admittedly doesn't capture all the illuminated buildings that Las Vegas holds but I wasn't trying to memorialize Trump tower so this was the best I could do. I was very intrigued by the amount of LED's used on all of the buildings; from Treasure Island to the Venetian, all of the buildings were glowing well into the night and made the strip look other-worldly. Even the concrete seemed lit up. It was very interesting seeing how lights could be used to give the entire city life and vibrancy.

Light Board Programmer/Operator AVE Q

Looking for more experience in lighting, I took on the role of Light Board Operator for Avenue Q thinking I was going be pushing "GO" and learn to expedite the SM's commands. IT WAS SO MUCH MORE! I didn't know I would be learning to program a show, which included building cues, working with effects, moving lights and gobos and doing it all in a timely fashion. I have never touched a light board so this was so foreign to me. I learned so many tips from the amazing lighting team so in such a little time I became somewhat fast on operating the board. Even listening to both the lighting designer, Eb, and the SM, Matt, both giving me commands DURING the run of the show was something I learned to do. Jaymi told us that the LD does most of their work in front of everyone during tech and it is so true. I felt like Lucy and Ethel at the chocolate factory conveyer belt trying to listen to Eb giving me commands to alter cues while also taking cues from Matt as the show went on. This also reminds me of Jaymi because I feel super fortunate to have this experience being thrown into something totally new, out of my comfort zone, where I didn't know what I was doing at the start, but I'm doing well and have learned a new skill that could possibly help me get jobs in the future. Be sure to come see it this week/weekend! It is sold out, but come anyway because there's usually extra seats.

First Light

Being so busy and graduating soon has me up extremely late some nights to the point when the sun comes up and starts to light up my room through my window blinds. I've always HATED THAT LIGHT because it's a sign that I've really set myself up for doooom, but also I always have a moment where I'm fascinated at how the world and my room looks with this particular ambient light. It is very cold in the sense that it gives off a very...gray... and grayish blue tint to the world. Nothing is vibrant. The world seems to have no saturation and it looks like I'm living in purgatory. It feels like it too staying up that late. I grabbed an image I thought was a good example of how cold and dead the world looks at 5 am.

Coffee and light

So I realized the last time I uploaded a blog that all my blogs have been inspired by street lamps. All my photos are very different and I didn't realize that that is what I was pulling from every time, but I guess I just really love street light. I also really love coffee and love trying new coffee places. The other day a friend and I went and got coffee and as I was sitting there waiting for her coffee to arrive I looked down and noticed the shadows on my own cup. We were sitting under a tree and the light was seeping through the branches and creating these sharp shadows. I love the sharpness of light that the shadows bring and the brightness of light that comes from the sun mixing with the white on the frothed milk. It is amazing how much beauty light can bring to such a simple thing like a cup of coffee.

Street lamp

There is a strip of street lamps going across the sidewalk where I live. They constantly mesmerize me in different ways. The street lamps have small vertical bars surrounding them and the light flows out between the bars. I frequently try to get a picture of how the light looks flowing out of the lamp, but am never successful. This time I think I was pretty successful with capturing how it looks in person, too. I love the brightness of the light flowing through contrasted by the utter darkness that the bars create. It gives a whirlwind of emotion to pull from which I really appreciate. This kind of reminds me of what a gobo would do!

The Impov, Irivne

For my final post, I'd like to talk about my recent experience at the world famous Improv at the Irvine Spectrum. This past weekend I saw Jon Lovitz, UCI drama major alumni, and got chance to study their lighting setup. I was not expecting this show to have a meal included honestly, I expected a normal theatre, not various table set ups. For that reason the lighting seemed to have a need for enough vibrancy to not only make the food in front of one seem more appetizing, but so that the performer on stage also got a lot of the attention. The lights were set up just how they are in the picture, minus the warm yellow lamps keeping light level up before the show. When the show started all one could see were the red and blue lights signaling the spectators to look in on the stage. I thought that this was well done with those boxes reminiscent of a Japanese screen. If they had just been bright blue and red lights with no filter, it would distract the audience and make them want to look away, I imagine,  Putting those screens in front to give off the color was a great way of keeping the color and the intensity on stage. I think I might use devices like that in the future when planning out lighting designs,

Final Lighting Post

For my last lighting post, I figured it would be appropriate to write about the load-in/lighting process for the Drama 199 project I'm working on right now. I'm currently in Created, a new musical by UCI BFA and graduating senior, Amy Tilson-Lumetta, and we just began load-in yesterday. We are performing in the Robert Cohen and for the most part, a lot of things are already loaded in. There was a little bit of hanging of lights, more so focusing than anything. Once Morgan and Nina began focusing and adjusting lights, I was becoming more aware of the light sources that were not being adjusted, such as laptop and phone screens and their influence on the environment. When the lights were being adjusted in order to hit the scaffold, only a few lights were on in order to properly light it. In addition, because lighting is such a tedious process, there was down time for the cast that was there to hang out and wait until the next task. We used this time to be on our phones and laptops, which made me look around watch everyone for a moment. The light emitted from the adjusted lights was warm, while the light being projected onto the cast's faces was a cold, almost blue light. Because they were so transfixed on their phones, it seemed as though the light had them in a daze, in another world. It's crazy how even a lack of light can tell so much.

Created has shows June 11th and 12th in the Robert Cohen Theater.

Sign-ups will be on the callboard later this week. :)

Lighting For Decoration (Final Post)

So this picture was taken inside the pantages theater about a year ago. Me and my brother went to see Motown. It was my first time being there, I felt in love with the architecture right away. Just the way this chandelier was build is simply captivating. You can really tell it was build with purpose. The way the frame was build around the chandelier gives it an extra lining of shadows that creates lighting diffusion that ultimate gives way for light to create different patterns. In the same token either scneninc or props can synthesize with lighting to create an-aesthetic atmosphere that serves the story.

Light and Shadows

About two months ago I did a hike and came across this cactus flower. I like it and decided to take a picture of it. I live in the city and so it's not everyday that you come across a cactus flower. For those that may not know, if you are good a telling the direction of the light than you can guess approximately the time this photograph was taken. The intensity of the sun helps colors pop up more.  I thought about how we could use the stage lights as a representation of the sun moving through out the day and casting accurate representation of  shadows on the subject.