Week 10

While on a quick weekend trip to Germany with my family, we were walking around downtown during the midafternoon, and I was taking pictures of all the buildings for my brother who wants to be an architect. After looking through some of the pictures- one really stood out to me as a picture that I wanted to share with the class. I really liked this picture because of the use of shadows. The dark clouds overhead really compliment the dark grey color of the building and it gives everything a sense of distance. However, there is a hint of light coming from the background, and shining on the upper part of the builindg that helps to add some warmth to the darkness surrounding everything else.

Week # 10: Extreme Angles

I took this picture at Wilson Park in Torrance today around 6pm. For the last couple of sundays, I have had rehearsals in a dance room at this park's rec center. Usually the sun is just setting when my rehearsal is over but today, however, I was excited to see that it was still light out because of the day light savings time change. I was also excited because I found something to take a picture of for the last lighting blog. This field is right outside of the dance room. I decided to take a picture of it because I really liked how the sun's extremely low angle makes the not-very-tall tree's shadow cast across the entire field. It was really cool to see how just the angle of the light can make someone's or something's shadow be ten times bigger than their actual size. Also, it is probably hard to see, but I also liked how the shadows of the trees in the back of the picture make a kinda zebra print design on the ground. I am starting to really notice all sorts of real gobos in nature now and it makes me happy.

Today, I took my dog Peanut Butter to the dog beach in Belmont Shore. It was the perfect day for the beach. We were able to spend our trip under clear skies and a bright sun. I made sure to leave around twelve or one in the afternoon to make sure that we could go out when the sun would be at it's highest point. When we got there, I let him off his leash as usual and watched him run straight for the water. As I was watching him splash in around and chase after other dogs, I thought to myself how much the sun played such an important role in the happiness of me and my dog. It really is a life source that gave us the energy we needed to get out of the house and have a good time. Along with the clear skies, the sun's reflection off the water lit up the entire beach with a beautiful blue tinted light that reminded me of what we discussed in class about memory. It reminded me about how we light good memories brighter and better in our heads than the actual light of the event that had taken place. I felt that watching Peanut Butter play at the beach was lit as a memory and that I could not have lit it any better myself if I were trying to recall what the day was like. This picture isn't of Peanut Butter, but it captures the emotion and life of our day.

Week 10 - Creepy and the Unknown

As my last blog of the quarter, I wanted to take the chance to study something that really always intrigued me. As we all know, when we are children, the darkness always feeds our imaginations and can produce some scary images that can really trigger our emotions and make us react in very astounding ways. Unto this day, I am still afraid of the dark. Even in my own house, I will begin to doubt myself and really ask whether what is in the dark is completely known. When the imagination is on fire, our behaviors can change dramatically. In fact, I still lock the door to my room when I go to sleep at night. How can so much tension be produced through darkness? I took this picture because it is somewhat the epitomy of what I am talking about. Many lessons for lighting I have learned from this picture.

First of all, what is amazing is how this picture was taken in broad day light and still managed to produce so much fear in me. The picture was taken at two o'clock in the day. It is probably a safe time of day for most. It is for me. I know for a fact there are people inside my house. Therefore, I am pretty sure nothing is in this dark corner. Still, I am blown away because I am just so frightened by this image. I still think there can be something lurking in the corner waiting to grab me. Even though I know this garage very well, it is still dark enough for me to wonder if there is something in the corner. This really stresses the idea of angling and tension. The angle of the shadows is in the corner of the garage. I can't really see all of the angle, and therefore, I begin to wonder if I am missing something in that corner. Shadow can also really spark our imaginations. This goes for a show as well. If I were to brighten sections on a stage and retain a small sense of shadow in a certain section, I could probably produce fear from my audience since I will get them to wonder what is in that section of the stage. Plus, if I were to add shadow effects around the stage and brighten everything up to a good percentage, just because everything is revealed I am still causing tension because I am keeping the audience in a place that is still borderline mysterious. I am hoping to make a horror show, and I would love to play with shadow effects. I also notice how white colors also add to that terrifying effect. The only colors in the garage seem to be white and black. The white is obviously more revealing. Since the white is not the dominating color but is the most visible, I begin to draw into the borderline mysterious area. I can only see these objects. What else is in the garage... I know what is there but is there something more? Since white is so visible, I can probably really begin to play with brighter colors to reveal a few objects on stage and make the shadow a dominating effect. I can draw the audience in and really get them scared.

Shadows produce so much tension. It just goes to prove how we can create a feelings in the human being that can defy logic. We might logically know there is nothing in the theater that can hurt us, but we have the power to overcome that logic.

Week 10 Blog

I was driving back home a couple of weeks ago from school, when it was still raining, and I noticed how beautiful the weather looked. Normally I'm not a big fan of the rain, but this image I snapped while driving in my car was extraordinary. There is this great contrast between rain and sunlight which is an uncommon sight for me to see.

To me, this photo was a little bit symbolic of life as well. It's that light at the end of the tunnel. The sunlight that came out represents hope in my eyes as it is sort of nature's promise that the rain will soon stop. I thought this was a magnificent image that is so meaningful to my life. It is a reminder that any negativity in my life will never be everlasting.

In addition, I love the shadow the light creates with the trees. It's not a typical picture of a tree, but instead it is outlined and black. I really appreciated this image of light and I hope this photo can inspire others as well.

Ricky Wang

Week #10 - Stay a little bit longer.....

"The distance is too long && the visits are too short"

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This is my love. I took this picture early this morning while we were having breakfast and reading the newspaper (I subscribe to the OC Register like the old soul/nerd I am) before he had to drop me off to my show and then take the long 7 hour drive back to base. As a little backstory, if you remember from my first lighting presentation, I mentioned that he is in the Navy & even before he joined we have been in a long distance relationship from the very start. I realized I haven't seen him longer than a full 2 days since last spring break. Every moment is fleeting... With this in mind, I'll bring you back to why I chose this picture. At first I was upset that the flash didn't turn on which resulted in his picture being more of a silhouette and the morning light can only been seen on some parts of him. The significance of this can be drawn back to my quote I mentioned at the beginning of this blog entry. The visits are short. He comes & goes, vice versa. The silhouette of him signifies just how fleeting these moments are because he is in a sense gone too fast for the sunlight to catch him. He's never around long enough to be lit completely. The small parts of him that are lit are the very small indications that "Robert was here". It's a hard life, but a relationship quote in which mirrors my feelings perfectly is:

"Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It’s for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It’s for those who know a good thing when they see it, even if they don’t see it nearly enough…"-Unknown

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It was nice reading all of your blogs (thanks for sharing) and the quarter has been fun. Good luck on finals & have a great Spring Break everybody! Enjoy :)

♥ Darlene

Sunlit Shadows

This is a photograph I took of my sister recently. I love it because it has such defined gorgeous colors that are high lighted by the sun. The sun has this amazing ability to create a vivid , multi-dimensional light that can highlight just as well as it shadows and this art is displayed very well in this photo. I love how well the background is lit up and exposed in contrast to the stark shadows that cover up parts of her face. It creates an allure and this level of mystery that can only be created through this combination of contrasting light and color. Though the background is a lot brighter, the simple fact she is lit in a more multidimensional way gives my sister the center stage of this photo by drawing the eye to her. Part of her face is highlighted by a bright light, while other parts of it are cast in dark shadows. One of the things I have come to appreciate most about sunlight is it's natural ability to create shadows. Though this can be sometimes unfortunate when taking pictures, it has the ability to create so many interesting and unique patters and evoke so many different kinds of feelings.

Source Light in the Real World

I was sitting at my table doing homework and I began to think about what Lonnie had said in class - because of the sun, we're happier when we have our light directing where we are looking at as opposed to the dispersed light of a fluorescent light. I decided to see what this did since I was already pretty miserable doing homework and could use a little more happiness =P. I turned on my table lamp and turned off my room light. This made the light throughout the room a lot softer and friendlier to my eye but when sitting at the table - it was far too bright on its own. It was harsh to my eyes. I then turned the room light back on and noticed that along with the room lamp - this lighting was fantastic to study in. I had the focus on the table from the table lamp but my eyes didn't feel attacked by the strong bulb. I guess this is similar to stage lighting - although we like to see exactly where the source of the light is - we can't use only one light. We have to add a little back light to surround the model, or front light to give more to their face. Although we want the source light to direct us where to go, it will still need help from other lights to give us the complete image.

Week 10: Campus Lighting

Hey everyone. So, I realized this week that I love walking around our campus at night. After I finished with crew last night I was walking from the Little Theatre to the shuttle stop at UTC and I noticed how much beautiful lighting there is on our campus, particularly in the area surrounding the Barclay. I was walking down the steps by the flagpoles and I looked up at the tree in front of me, and its overhanging branches were glowing with a brilliant white light. Since I had just left the Herbert Siguenza Project, it kind of reminded me of the angel (played by Darlene:) and for those of you who are going to see the show you'll understand what I'm refering to) and I couldn't stop staring at it for a moment. At first I couldn't figure out where the source was coming from, but as I looked around, I noticed that there is a white light in the middle of the bushes to the left of the staircase. I suppose it's meant to keep the stairs lit enough so people don't trip when they're walking up and down them at night, but i thought the white light it cast on the trees was beautiful and inspiring.

Also, I love the lights that line the bridge to UTC. On either side of the bridge there are rectangles cut into the cement where lights rest. In front of each light is a set of bars, which casts really cool shadows on the ground. The rest of the light shoots out across the bottom of the bridge and, from the top of the staircase I mentioned earlier, it creates a lovely pathway that really caught my attention. The way the shadow and light alternates almost makes it seem like a staircase itself. I did take a picture but I forgot that I am not at my parent's house with my parent's computer and my laptop doesn't have a slot that I can put my camera's memory card into:/ So unfortunately I can't share it with you. But if you ever walk past the Langson at night, take a peak over at the bridge and you will see what I mean. The lighted pathway it creates is brilliant, yet almost creepy in a sense too. Everything behind it is dark in comparison, and it looks like it suddenly drops off altogether in the back.

Finally, one last thing I noticed. I can't help but stare at the lights at the top of the Barclay each time I pass it. The upper part of the building has washes of purple and green light shining up on its walls and for some reason I just find it beautiful. I've noticed that a lot of buildings in this area use similar lighting on their walls. Just take a look at the restaurants at UTC or at the Spectrum. The architectural lighting in these places all rely on lights placed on the walls that are covered so that they cast a wash of light going up and one going down. As with the buildings at UTC, this creates an hourglass shape on the walls. I think it's interesting how many building use this and it's a really neat effect.

Ok, I just wanted to point out that we don't have to look far to find interesting sources of light; we are surrounded by it at this campus. We just have to look up once in a while so we can really notice what we usually walk right by.

Good luck with finals everyone and have a great Spring Break!!!

Week #10 - Bonfire

Near the beginning of the quarter my friends and I went down to Corona del Mar beach to have a bonfire. But it wasn’t just any bonfire: our friend Tim had been saving Christmas trees in his garage for his annual Christmas Tree Burning Party (I have no idea how this started). It probably isn’t the wisest or safest idea, but I will admit that it was extremely epic, and a lot of fun. Tim is six feet seven inches tall, and the flame went well over his head. As a lighting student, what struck me the most was how the blaze lit everything so much. There were very few lights around the beach, as we were there very late at night. Therefore, our fire was the source of light.

 I love this photo because it really shows how the flame lit our faces and even the sand in a way that created color and extreme intensity. If it were not for the blackness of the sky, this photo might be very irritating to the eyes because of the intense orange and amber colors that the fire created. I think that it is so interesting that everyone in this picture has an amber tint. My blonde hair looks red, and our black and blue sweaters have a red hue to them as well. Additionally, our faces are very washed out. This is an interesting example of why theatre makeup is so necessary for actors when the lights are very intense. Overall, what began as a simple night of a fun activity turned into a lesson in lighting, which was very interesting and exciting for me. 

Week 10: Two Lights

This picture was taken in a cave that is meant to showcase a waterfall. To provide
illumination and ambiance there are two green par lights. These one light reflects
off the water another provides lighting for the steps leading to the exit. These
lights together add a warmth to the space that would otherwise only be lit by
sunlight streaming through water. These lights add another dynamic- a greater visual
appeal- to the area. The light reflecting off the water is particularly mesmerizing.Just looking at the two pictures the difference is clear, where the added light is not as visible and the sunlight is the focus the image is harsh and slightly unpleasant. The image that captures the added light is much warmer and inviting.

Week #10 Main Source of Light

It's funny how you can pass by the same thing everyday and not really notice it at all. I was leaving my apartment (which is on the second floor) and as I was passing by the street entrance of my building I noticed how the light was shining in. I decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator so I could walk through the main entrance. I think my lighting design class has really changed the way I look at lighting because I began to asses the main source of light and the affect it has when is shines through the entrance. It crated a very light shadow and a brighter pathway that went in between the plants and bushes on the side. I began to imagine an outdoor scene and what lights I would use to create this same type of lighting. It's funny how the shape of the entrance and the angle of the sun had created what looked like a natural path for me which I gladly took as I began imagining future scenes I could create with this type of lighting.

Week #10: Function over form? Pfft.

This past weekend my boyfriend and I went to the Griffith Observatory in LA. My boyfriend, an art major, had a photography assignment for a drawing class (figure that one out, right?) so we went late in the evening, around 9pm, when there would be less crowds. I had been once to the Observatory before, in fact, it was one of my boyfriend and I first dates together...Ready? One, two, three: "Awwwwwww". I vividly remembered what it looked like, and was anxious to take my new "lighting design eye" and explore the lighting around the iconic architecture.

We were able to park at the top parking lot adjacent to the observatory. The moment I stepped out of the car and looked towards the building I was immediately taken aback however. It was all dark! The domes were completely black and standing in complete darkness. Now of course in my mind, I remembered this monumental place, with brilliant lighting and grandeur architecture. But there it stood in complete and utter darkness.

"Why arent the lights on!?" I asked.
"What lights?" my boyfriend said.
"On the domes! The beautiful lights!"
"Well...considering it's an OBSERVATORY- putting lights on a giant lens that is meant to look at OUTER SPACE would seem to be a stupid idea, no?"
(My boyfriend is a sarcastic smart-ass at times. And I love it.)

We then got on a rather silly debate on the fact that I thought it was ridiculous that the building wasn't properly lit. "Function over form" he said. The domes main purpose is to, duh, look at the sky. But I was seriously perturbed at the fact that this beautiful building was sitting in the dark.

It was then that I really appreciated architectural lighting. This experience further proves the truth of lighting memories, which I love. But even more so, the realization that it was the lighting of the building that made it seem so epic and amazing was really wonderful. Light plays such an important part of our experiences, sometimes completely subconsciously. Remembering such a fun and memorable new experience with my boyfriend, I had painted a magnificent image in my head of the observatory being lit in almost a Disneyland-esk fashion. Perhaps it was a particularly important night, because normally the front of the building and the giant statue sun dial are uplit with broad and intense strokes of light. But this evening only the front windows glowed, and even the sundial was in the dark. While the back area of the observatory was majestically lit with the uplights- there was something just so anti-climactic at the observatory not being perfectly and beautifully lit from all and every angle.

Function over form? Pfft, I say!

(Not my picture- but a perfect representation of what I saw)

Week 10- Looking Into A Coyfish Pond

One of my favorite things to do, childish and lame as it sounds, is to visit the coyfish pond at Fashion Island. I visited it all the time as a kid, so revisiting it brings back very fond memories. Anyway, I'm with my friends and we are all scouting for seats by the pond. It's always a hunt and it feels like you have to race to beat other people at getting seats. I end up getting lucky and manage to snag a table for everyone close to the water. I'm looking at the fish, transfixed, while my friends chatter about guys, school, clothes, etc...when I notice how one fish would appear and then vanish before my eyes. I soon realize it was how the sun beams hit the fish and went through the water. When the sunlight hit the fish, that's when it revealed the fish and was clearly visible, but when the fish swam into a shadow (coming from a plant nearby) it was concealed and "disappeared." I was fascinated by how the light would seemingly dance upon the ripples in the pond and how they'd glance off the scales of the fish. Plus, it was at the end of the day (my favorite) when the sun glowed a warm, orange color. Everything that the light touched ended up having a warm glow as well, even the fish.

Dancing Waves- Week 8

The other night I was out with a group of my friends in Newport by the ocean and there was little lighting on the ocean besides the moon and stars and the distant lights from the board walk. I wish that I has my camera with me to capture this moment. The waves were making patterns with the lights. The lights were making this glistening shadow over the far side of the ocean and where the waves were crashing the lights would hit the top of the wave, disappear with the wave when it crashed, then wait for the next wave and make the same pattern. I was captivated by how natural lighing combined with the naturalistic elements of the ocean made such a spectacle for my eyes. It was beautiful and reminded my to take the time to appreciate nature and what it has to offer.

Week 8: The power of Color

I have been stressing myself out the past couple of days trying to find interesting lighting to talk about for this blog. Of course, I finally find something to talk about when I wasn't looking for it and it was right under my nose. Last night, while lying in my bed trying to fall asleep, I noticed, as my eyes adjusted to the dark, how the light from the little display screen on my stereo, in stand-by mode, was lighting my room. I realized that the colors and angles of the light were very similar to my second cue that I made in class that day for the Our Town Project. The blue color from the screen was pretty close the color I used for the moonlight in my cue in class. While I was already having a hard time trying to fall asleep that night, I started to picture and pretend that the display screens source of light was the actual moonlight coming through my window, even though my blinds were shut, and slowly but surely I finally started to become more, relax, calm and tired. It is amazing how just the colors in lighting can create moods that have such big effects on people.

Week #8 - Voices in the Shadows

News of the protests going on at UCI is not anything we all haven't heard yet. This protest took place during lunch time on the Ring Mall by the Student Center. The reason I took interest in this picture is the fact that for the most part, the protestors (laying on the ground) are in the shadow of a nearby tree and the onlookers are lit in the sunlight. The significance of this is that in the past these protestors voices & beliefs were (in a sense) in the shadows. They went on with their days unheard, with the public unaware of their opinions.... until now.

Week 8: Tsunami?

So this weekend we had a bit of a tsunami scare. The interesting part to me was the sky and how it changed with the weather. The light changed as well. On Saturday, in the midst of the tsunami advisory, there was rain, lots of rain. The sky was so dark and there was barely any natural sunlight coming through. On Sunday, however, the sky completely changed. In the morning the clouds still obscured the sunlight a bit, but it filtered through and eventually the power of the sun took over and the day became sunny and wonderful.

The sun is such a powerful force of light. Even when there are thick, dark clouds in the sky, it still manages to break through and we are not left in the dark. It's an amazing thing, the power of the sun.

Week 8

It has been mentioned in lecture that Florescent light is unpleasant because it does not have an identifiable single source. The classrooms in Humanities Hall are all lit by florescent light have convinced me that florescent light is quite unpleasant. What was interesting was how much more bearable that light is at lower intensity. During a lecture in Humanities Hall last week one of my professors dimmed the lights to about half power. The room instantly became much more pleasant but why? the ambiguous source of light remains constant only the intensity has increased shouldn't this level of light be more obtrusive than pleasant?

Malibu Week 8

I had been wanting to go hiking for the past few weeks and with my busy schedule and bad weather I hadn't found the time to go. This weekend I drove up to Westlake in the rain and figured I would be spending the weekend watching movies with my friends and sipping hot chocolate since it seemed like the natural thing to do in rainy weather. Well, Sunday came along and so did the sun! I automatically had the urge to go outside and actually be active! It reminded me of the lighting color word association game we did in class and how we associate certain colors with certain feelings, or even how brighter lights go with more energetic and happy feelings. Sunday's sunlight definitely brought out the energy in me. I finally got to go on my hike and even after a long week the warm sunny weather was definitely something to get me through the next week =)

Week #8 - Crazy Lights

I had the opportunity to catch the fireworks at Disneyland this past week, something I usually miss, and there are a lot of interesting shapes and whatnots that the fireworks can produce. I noticed that the of course, the colored ones received the most attention because they were much more engaging. I think it's because people are so familiar with "white light" that they aren't as in awe compared to when they are exposed to colored lights. One aspect during the show that really caught my eye was the glow that the fireworks created in the sky in accordance to the fog. It has a weird hue or tint to it that does not quite read white. I am reminded of a time my roomate and I thought there was an event happening at the Tustin Marketplace. We live in an apartment close by and we saw really bright green lights that were being shone at the marketplace pretty late at night. So, in an attempt to join, we drive over, only to realize that the street lamps and the fog were creating a much brighter light, and a different color as well! How is it that the light is projected (diffused?) so much more by the fog, and that it created a different color as well? That really amazed me. But around the fireworks in the picture, there is a glow that is being created. I am not sure if that is fog or smoke, but either way, it emphasizes the light a lot more.