Lighting--Ways of controlling what to see

A performance ran by one of my friend last week, which I did the video and lighting for her. Auditorium, a cube being made out of two degree of transparencies of fabric, was at the centre and the sage around it. Meanwhile, videos were projected from two sides on and through the fabric, which means audience viewed the performance through the fabric or moving images on the fabric.

Ways of viewing the performance its lighting which was different from normal one, not only because spectators were at the centre, but also audience had to watched the acting through the setting which was fabric. And the ways using lighting to control what to be see are difference. For example, audience can not see the acting if lighting project on fabric from outside or top lighting at the auditorium only. Although the whole space was very bright, actually, audience can see anything outside the cube. So setting the lighting, I had to came in the auditorium making sure the lighting was right.

Another thinking is the video I did which did not work very well. The video speed, for example, due to the limited audience space, audience close watched the normal speed moving images and can not catch some information.

spectatorship II

spectatorship II

How do digital performance make sense

Coniglio (2006: 83) pointed out that the use of media in theatre is one of approach creating context and rise tensions. Some digital performance that do not communicate to our human, audience, experience, which is because director fail to integrate media with other elements of the performance itself. However, this technology, media, and live acting well combine connecting to each other, and spectators are able to understand

Broadhurst, S (ed.) 2006. Performance and technology: Materials vs Content in Digital Mediated Performance

Spectatorship : live video or film on stage

Spectatorship

How audience view a show and provoke debates about the demands place on them and how the show effect on them. In general, most of productions lead the audience to where director wish them to go, like blocking, delivery, lighting, and so on, which are the certain way that could draw spectators' attention. However, when it comes to live theatre or performance which combine with video pr film, audience's attention seems diffused due to moving images presented through digital screen?

Last week, I took time in library doing my research study, and found more related reading materials, like, Staging the Screen which is about the use of film and video in theatre by Greg Giesekam, Media and Performance, A Critical Overview of Contemporary Performance and Theory, which should help my research and answer the question.

Auslander pointed out that we can 'make phenomenological distinction between the respective experience of live and mediatised representation, distinction concerning their respective postitions within cultural economy , and ideological distinctions among performed representations in all media.' (Liveness, 1999:51)

POWER OF IMAGE

power of image

One part of my research, I want to present image through angles which are different from our human angle, which is one of the reason why I find myself interesting in digital video communicate with live theatre. I did some video works this week, and I have drawn drafts of each shoot before filming. And after the shooting, the moving images do not work well, then I got inspirations from an artist's work at a wed site which is a great resource of digital media performance. One of the photo below is from this web site. It is a brilliant stage image, isn't it? It greatly capture my attention.

Come back to my work, I can not reach a level that communicate my idea through one image , then why not try a set of related images, like this example.

Image -- power of communication

What kind of image has strong power of communication?

When I selected photos which I took, I found some of them do not have strong visual effect as what they are.

I have some experiences that when I saw I a beautiful view which touch me so much and I captured it, however, the photo does not give me the same effect as I saw the original view.

Take this photo (A) for instance, can you notice that the black building with purple curtain is not vertical? Or your feeling is wrong perspective of this photo? Actually, the black building is not vertical, however, hard to tell it is a falling building

.

And I also have another experience that some photos have great power communicate to us, which are subjects that in our daily life and we find they are too insignificant to board. One more example, another photo (B) below, which is a great photo, and I wanna know where is it. Then see the last photo (C)

photo: B

photo:C

It is such a witty photo, such a powerful image can be create by few piece of stones which is such a small something.

Since a lots images, stable and moving, will be a main part of my project, I keep thinking how to create more effective image in order to communicate with audience.

HOW TO START MY NEXT PROJECT?

How to develop my project, which is a live performance combined with digital screen?

At the moment, I am planning and have had a lot of ideas about it, however, I find running

a performance is not an easy job, although it is only a performance that is only a few

minutes long. It will be a challenge for myself and I want to

present a good one...Then I felt lost, didn't know where to start my work...

Until I saw Van Gogh's exhibition, which was divided in 7 rooms exhibiting

works from different periods of his life, from his very early drawings to the

last piece in his life, and mixed with this were his letters showing his thinking.

I am surprised by how many paintings he did, how many letters in which he had added draft sketches

or drawings of his final work he had written, which encourages me.

And I truly believe that no one can achieve success easily or that

no one can be a master simply because he/she was born with talent in his/her field.

Van Gogh spent his whole life painting, learning and thinking.

Nowadays, how many people, especially those who live in thecity, can be such a person who is

unstoppable major in doing one thing?

So, I did learn from him through this exhibition.