I like how the one spotlight in this photo is bringing your focus straight to the female character in the center of the set. There is no other light, and while the spotlight does slightly light up other parts of the room, the strongest area is over the two characters. Because the man is standing with the light over him, it makes him look almost scary especially because he almost seems to be surrounded by darkness. Meanwhile, the female character appear to be almost completely covered in the light, making her seem like an innocent person.
While all the people in this photo are covered in some sort of light, your eye is immediately drawn to the three people in the yellow/orange light. These three people are also in different poses than the group of people behind them. Because of the poses and different colored lights, we know that we are meant to be focused on what is happening in this moment. It looks like these three people are going through some type of change.
I think its really interesting that there are three points of focus in your second photo. Most of the ones I've seen are all with a spotlight. The color contrast definitely makes it more interesting, as the blue makes the people in the background almost blend in. This way they don't take away from the people in orange light at all.
ReplyDeleteLet me just start by saying that as I was scrolling down to the second photo, my eyes were following the material leading to the three character. Going back to the first photo, the one light makes the room much creepier than had it been flooded with lights. I agree with what you said about how the man looks scary since he's still covered in darkness. It characterizes to the power dynamic between him and the woman, making him look like the dominant character.
ReplyDeleteBoth of these images are very compelling. The first design does create a gentleness surrounding the girl on the floor, making her the only source of light in the room. Her lightness compared to the darkness not only draws focus, but gives her a higher status than the man in the background. The second image is striking with the three pools of orange light downstage. The three actors are crouching, but their forms take up the entire height of the stage with the help of the lights. They are definitely the focus on stage, yet the stark contrast of the cool blue lights also draws my eye back towards the second group onstage. I think this example could potentially exemplify split focus lighting really well, even though one of the groups is darker than the other.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the strongest aspect of the lights in the second picture is the stark contrast between the warm yellow colors and the cool blues. That instantly makes the spotlights stand out, so that was an intentional move by the designer. The interesting shape made by the yellow lights are also worth noting, drawing a little attention away from the people themselves and toward the light path itself.
ReplyDeleteIn the first picture, the light seems to be a menacing light as if it is working with the man standing over the woman. The light on them focuses on her mainly, but also on the front of the man. The yellow light definitely draws the eye of the audience, but I think it is also because of the blue light. The blue light gives the golden light a nice contrast which draws your attention because there is less of it compared to the vast blue.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way the lighting in the first photo creates a very ominous mood. The lack of any other type of light helps emphasize the main focus, which are the two characters being lit by the light; yet it also gives us a bit of sight into how the room looks, although in a very diminished capacity. I do agree that with the way the man is casting his shadow, he appears to be much scarier.
ReplyDeleteThe second photo does a great job of separating the two focal points of what is currently on stage. It does an even greater job of distracting you initially with the significant difference in the two colors of light. Especially since the golden light does also extend upwards and is very obvious where it is being cast from.