light and sound design - basic

Lights and Sound

Lights

4 Major Functions1. See actors

2. Focus audience attention

3. Create a mood

4. Establish interior/exterior light sources

See actors

• Spot – Direct lighting on an actor that does not

move

• Follow spot– Moveable light that follows an actor around

the stage

• Wash– General lighting that covers an area with

more than one actor

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Focus audience attention

• Spot light– Darkness everywhere except spot

• Dimmer in certain areas of the stage to pull focus to more lit areas

Create a Mood

• Bright vs. Dark

• Color symbolism

• Happiness

• Eeriness

• Etc.

Interior/Exterior Light Source

• Sunlight into a room– Windows– doors

• Time of day– Interior or exterior

• Lamp

• Overhead light

Process

1. Read the script and take notes– Light sources– Affects

• Strobe• Police cars• Etc.

– Time of day – Time of year

• Winter darker than summer

Process

2. Speak to the director and take notes• Color symbolism• Mood in scenes• Areas of the stage• Locations of set pieces

Areas of the stage

• Our stage areas

Equipment

• Lamp -- actual bulb in the light• Fixture -- houses the lamp• Gel -- inserts in front of the light to

change the color or filter the light• Gobo -- gel that projects a certain image• Board -- controls the lights from the

booth

Process

3. Light Plot

map of lights available in a venue

Simple Light Plot



State of the Art Venue



Process

4. Cue Sheet (also called prompt sheet) -- chart out every moment that lights change

Cue = The moment in the script when the lights change.

Top = beginningUp = onDown = offFade in = slowly come onFade out = slowly turn off

Example of cue sheet

# Pg. # cue Description of change

1 1 Top of show House lights down; lights up SR

2 1 “get thee to a nunnery”

Fade out SR;

DC Spot

3 2 Transition to scene 2 (Ophelia screams)

Work lights up; full stage wash top of scene 2

Sound Design

Major Functions

• Establish Mood

• Provide realistic sound

• Situate the audience in the world of the play

Establish Mood

• Mostly through music– Pre-show

• Audience will know the vibe of the show before it starts

– Transitions• No dead space• Move feelings from one emotion to the next

– During scenes and at certain moments• Heightens tension• Builds romance

– Helps the audience understand how they should be feeling

Ben Lovett

http://www.echomountain.net/news/black-rock-movie-out-in-theaters-scored-by-ben-lovett-here-at-echo-mountain-2/





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFsOWtsN4NE&noredirect=1

Provide Realistic Sounds

Doorbell

Door knocking

Phone ringing

Dog barking

Toilet flushing

Videos

• Foley Artist = Create sound for movie. Not usually used in theatre but provides a good example of sound creating realism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNvKhe2npMM&noredirect=1

Situate the audience in the world of the play

• Time Period– Especially with music– Telephone sounds (old school vs. cell)

• Time of Day– Crickets chirping– Birds singing/rooster crowing

• Location– City sounds– Country sounds– School – Office – hospital

Wall-E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSf8Er2gV_Q

Process

1. Read the script and take notes– Time period– Time of day– Locations– Realistic sounds

Process

2. Talk to the director and take notes• Mood• Transitions• Music• Pre-show

Process

3. Cue Sheet - Similar to lighting cue sheet

Cue # Page # Cue in script Description of change

1 1 Top of show Fade out pre-show; fade in Mozart track 1

2 1 “get thee to a nunnery”

OS - sound of glass breaking

Affects Track 1

3 2 (Ophelia crosses to C)

Door knocking - Affects track 2

How to acquire sound

• CD’s– Music– Sound affects

• Internet– Youtube– Pay sites

Activity

• Create a WWW for a lighting term or a sound term

(spot, follow spot, wash, gel, gobo, cue, fade, foley artist)

• Create either a sound or a light cue sheet for the provided scene– Cue sheet must have at least four cues.– Be creative; make choices.

light and sound design - basic

Documents