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I am very excited to announce that I have completely revised this course, adding lots of new exciting and updated content!
Please head on over to:
https://lookingatlight.weebly.com/
to check out all of the new stuff!
Update your bookmarks, and I'm looking forward to seeing you at the new site!
Gobos
The use of shape (or form) in lighting design is achieved in several different ways. The first, and perhaps most obvious, is through the use of gobos- steel or glass patterns that are placed into Ellipsoidal Reflector Spotlights and moving lights. These patterns sometimes project literal images to bluntly provide given circumstances or other information to the audience.
Other times, the patterns are abstract or organic breakups to help to texture the environment, either naturalistically or more abstractly.
These steel patterns create light and dark and help to sculpt space and create visual interest to your designs. If you are to go outside and begin to really look at how light acts in the real world, you'll likely notice that shadows are everywhere. Rarely, except out in the middle of an open field on a brightly sunlit day do you find shadowless or texture-free light. Usually, the sun is shining through trees, windows, lampshades or clouds to create texture in the field of light. We can recreate these kinds of effects on stage through the use of these kinds of patterns.
In addition to steel gobos, there is a large library of glass and dichroic gobo patterns that provide color along in addition to shape. Similarly to the steel gobos, there are both literal images and abstract breakup patterns. Most designers dealing with a budget will likely have to limit the use of these gobos, as they are much more expensive than steel patterns ($80 to $300 for one glass gobo as opposed to about $10 for a steel gobo), however they have the ability to make a major impact on the lighting design when used.
In addition to steel gobos, there is a large library of glass and dichroic gobo patterns that provide color along in addition to shape. Similarly to the steel gobos, there are both literal images and abstract breakup patterns. Most designers dealing with a budget will likely have to limit the use of these gobos, as they are much more expensive than steel patterns ($80 to $300 for one glass gobo as opposed to about $10 for a steel gobo), however they have the ability to make a major impact on the lighting design when used.
Glass gobo images are from apollolighting.com
The major manufacturers of glass and steel gobos are Rosco, GAM and Apollo. Each of these companies have the full catalog of standard gobos available on their website. Additionally, you may find that you would like to create your own pattern. You can have a custom gobo cut through most theatrical suppliers. It's a little pricey, but sometimes the specificity of the pattern that you use in your design makes a big impact on the look of the show. Some designers have also been known to create simple custom gobos with an X-Acto knife and a soda can or pie plate. I don't know the impact of the ability of these materials to withstand the heat generated inside the lighting instrument, so ... well- there you go.
iris
Kind of related to gobos is the iris. This allows the shape of the beam of an ERS fixture to be made smaller, but to keep its circular shape. Some fixtures have a built in iris, but more commonly in modern instruments, the designer can specify that a drop-in iris be added to the instrument. Both work in the same way. It is a device that has overlapping steel wedges that constrict via a lever. The iris gets bigger or smaller (like the iris in your eye) and kind of acts like an adjustable circular gobo. The drop-in iris fits into an oversized slot in the gate of the unit, near the shutters and gobo slot.
One thing to remember when using an iris is that it is not the same as using an instrument that has zoom capability. While each of these devices makes the circle of light bigger or smaller, the iris simply blocks some of the light. When a zoom fixture is made smaller, it also gets brighter, because the same amount of light is concentrated into a smaller area.
Moving lights will often have an iris feature built in that can be adjusted through the lighting console just as you can with other changeable attributes. Follow Spotlights also have an iris as a standard feature to make the circle bigger or smaller based on the needs of the design.
One thing to remember when using an iris is that it is not the same as using an instrument that has zoom capability. While each of these devices makes the circle of light bigger or smaller, the iris simply blocks some of the light. When a zoom fixture is made smaller, it also gets brighter, because the same amount of light is concentrated into a smaller area.
Moving lights will often have an iris feature built in that can be adjusted through the lighting console just as you can with other changeable attributes. Follow Spotlights also have an iris as a standard feature to make the circle bigger or smaller based on the needs of the design.
Prism
The prism effect is mostly unique to some moving lights, and really is more akin to a kaleidoscope than to a prism. When a prism is activated in a moving light, it splits the beam or whatever pattern is active into three similar images, which can then spin or otherwise be adjusted. It's kind of a cool effect, useful for creating disco balls or similar movement based effects.