Tuesday March 27, 1pm - 9pm

Member price: $100                Non-member price: $120 

Explore drawing, sketching and watercolors for the lighting designer. This session will show various techniques the lighting designer can use to more effectively join in the visual communication of the pre-production design process. How will the light hit the stage and/or the performer? Where will the shadows go? What path will the light actually create for the director to block Little Red through the woods?

Lighting designers often have difficulty at production meetings explaining what the design will look like. All too often, the designer points imaginary lighting units with her/his fingers to ‘show’ where the desired light will come from. The challenge is that light by itself is invisible; without an object or a person to bounce from, the light goes off into nothingness.

Lighting designers often show images that have nothing to do with the production in the attempt to ‘show’ color and mood to the director and the other designers. “But, what will it really look like?” Image research is not necessarily helpful for non-visual thinkers. Designers must be able to communicate with the rest of the creative team. Short of setting up a small light lab to show lighting ideas upon the set designer's model, the lighting designer has few options other than acquiring basic light rendering skills. Presenters will demonstrate the use of various drawing, sketching, and painting media to create light renderings. The workshop will also explore preliminary light plots, magic sheets, and other lighting communication elements.

Chair: Scott Parker