Lighting Workshop

We had a lighting workshop with Fergus giving us details of how to set the lights up safely, how to control what you want the lighting to be light and how to notice the subtle differences in the lighting stops on the camera. 

I enjoyed this workshop because it was something different to what we've done before and gave me a real idea of what a set would look like if it was a low key production. It allowed me to understand the importance of communication with crew and actually how important it is to have a crew! We were given some of the technical names for someone who is working with lighting:

Cable Basher: This is the person who secures all of the lights and cables so that they are safe to use for everyone on the set. They put the gaffer tape on the wires in a long strip to ensure that no one will fall over the cable. They also follow the lighting person around by holding onto the cables so that they are not in the way.

Gaffer: This is the person who controls the lights and moves them around the set. They are in charge of shaping the lights and using them to create the moods and tones that the director would like. For example, they will add gels to the lights to change the atmosphere or effected, paint with the lights. 

Here is a video we put together expressing what we did in the workshop. 

This workshop has definitely helped me to come up with some ideas of how to light my Drama piece in particular. I need to have some more practice at making the lighting much more subtle so that for an audience member it won't look like there is any forced lighting but really they are being forced to look at the character or scene in a particular way.