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Overview

The very first thing you need to do as lighting designer is familiarize yourself with the script, read it (probably more than once). Pick out themes that you think are important and might be able to translate into different looks. (I find contrasts Contrasts tend to be the easiest easy to work with; : winter vs. spring, Egypt vs. Rome, etc.) Meet with the director, find out what s/he wants they want to emphasize and if they have any ideas about how they want the stage to be lit. At this stage, take in all suggestions you can get , — feasibility can be worked out later. Once you have an idea of how you want the stage scenes to look (which takes some creativity and luck, generally after the semifinal set design is due), you need to figure out if you can do it. The two main spaces the Ensemble uses are Kresge Little Theater and La Sala de Puerto Rico. KLT has an enormous a large stock (an inventory can be found on the inside of the electrics closet door or you can ask Karen Perlow kperlow@mit.edu for a copy). E-mail other student theater groups or Campus Activities (CAC) for Sala inventory (Chris Nayler: nayler@mit.edu). list is in the PDF attached to this page). Sala's inventory (salainv.xls) is a bit smaller.

At this point you should also meet with the Set designer Designer to see what his/her designs arethe set designs look like. This way, if there is something a scenic element that needs to be rigged from the pipes, you know to avoid that area. Also, you need to know about major set pieces that may need to be lit, or different levels of playing areas that you will have to deal with. You should also see a run through "designer run" so you have a more concrete idea of the blocking and general mood of the show so that you know of any special areas that need particular lighting. You . If in KLT, you should also decide if you are going to use a cyc. Next, you must come up with a plot (specifics as to where each light lighting fixture will be hung). This is probably the most difficult aspect of lighting design. You need to pick what kind of lamp, and where it should be hung to illuminate a specific part of the stage in the desired manner , — needless to say, this takes can take a bit of trial and error. Your next job will be during put-in/prod week. As a lighting designer your job will be to tell your electricians where to focus each and every instrument once it's hung and circuited (which happens during hang). Once the lamps are focused you need to sit down with the director and write the cues. This process is often called "paper tech".  During Q2Q you need Q2Q (cue-to-cue) rehearsal is your chance to refine the cues and during subsequent run-throughs during prod week you need to continue to refine the cues and if necessary, the focus of particular instruments (during this time realize live, in the theater, with the actors onstage. During subsequent tech/dress runs, you can further refine cues, and (if necessary) the focuses of particular instruments. (Realize that much if not all of your free time during tech week may be spent in the theater.) . Finally, sit back and enjoy the beauty of your work.

The Lighting Plot

As I said creating Creating the plot is probably the most difficult thing a lighting designer does. Translating what you want to see on stage into where you want a particular instrument and how you will focus it is an arduous task that takes time. Each designer has his/her own method light plot is your largest single task pre-tech week. Translating the stage look you want into a set of lighting instruments in space is an arduous task, and is best learned by doing — many times. Each designer has their own preferred method, and you will develop yours as you go along. The important thing is that you understand your plot your plot is readable by both you and your team, and that it works to create the look you wantcommunicates the needs of your design.

There are various types of lighting instruments available to you: . In Sala, you have Source 4 ellipsoidals, pars, fresnels (in KLT only), strip lights and cyc lights. If you don’t know what these are or are not sure of their properties there are many sources of information (even if you are sure it’s good to remind yourself). Karen Perlow (kperlow@mit.edu) is the theater arts faculty member and excellent lighting designer you can get information from. You will also need to know the heights of the different pipes and distances. Floor plans of both KLT and Sala exists somewhere in the ensemble office. If you cannot find them you can ask someone at MIT theater arts to print you another copy. The Sala plot can be found here: Sala Plot. As for heights Sala has a uniform pipe height of 20ft. A quick note, apparently the pipe between 8V and 9V in Sala mysteriously isn't there. KLT has heights that vary; Karen can give you an elevation map of KLT. The KLT plot is here http://web.mit.edu.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/aff/www/mitspaces/klt/Source 4 PARnels (mostly like a fresnel, but in the formfactor of a Source 4 PAR), scoops, strip lights, and a few miscellaneous fresnels and other things. In KLT, you'll have Source 4s, Source 4 PARs (the normal interchangeable-lens ones, not PARnels), fresnels, cyc cells (both hanging and ground-row), and strip lights. (Beware: the KLT strips are notoriously unreliable. We recommend not using them.) See "references" below for some more information about the functions of these different types of fixtures, if you are just learning or if you'd like a refresher.

Use VectorWorks for your plot, unless you have a really good reason for using another CAD software. Whatever you do, don't draw your plot by hand. Hand-drawn plots stopped being cool about the time that you were born. VectorWorks template files of both Sala and KLT are attached to this page.

While creating your plot you should decide channel number for each instrument. A channel is a complete connection of instrument, circuit and dimmer. This is one way of organizing your instruments, for example giving your instruments channel numbers in order starting from downstage right to upstage left. During focus and afterwards you will probably refer to channel numbers (example: “can you bring up channel 19”). It is important that the numbers make sense to you the designer so you can refer to the correct instrument/s quickly and easily.

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