Today’s post will have to be a little shorter, simply because I am exhausted. The probably most hated part of a lighting designer’s job is the focus. And this is what I went through today until 11 pm. One could say that it is my own fault as it was me specifying all the lights. And I admit, that there are too many. Somehow the second year in a row, the set has ended up in the wrong position on my CAD plan and so the lighting is squashed up downstage so you cannot fit one hand in between the flybars – whereas there is quite a significant gap in between some bars more upstage. Basically the set is more upstage than it should have been which means my top lighting for the set was morphed into frontlighting and funny stuff like that.
The people here are a nice bunch and they are a good crew to work with. Of course nobody likes a focus session and the fact that in this theatre, not everything is in a great shape doesn’t make it much easier. Anyway I keep having this feeling that the language barrier is establishing a little more again. Sometimes I wished I could be a little quicker at repartee than I actually am. Because, yes, it is stupidly huge rig, and yes, it might have done with some less lanterns here and there, BUT, I am still the lighting designer. And to get this message across without being rude is difficult for me at the moment. From tomorrow on, it will be fine, as the worst part of the physical job – the focus – is done.
One thing came into my mind today on my way home, and it is my personal carbon footprint in this production. Not that I feel I have to tune into the general discussion about how “green” theatre can and will be. But it just came to my mind, that it cannot be very environmentally friendly for me to fly over for one weekend, travel through the country for several hours by train and car and do the same thing again a few weeks later. Now I am switching on a maximum of 230,000 watts of lights for 7 days in a row and I am quite sure together with the aircondition in the theatre, we are soooo green… Anyway, just a random thought.
Going to sleep now.
You have the equivalent of 230 parcans in your rig? That is a lot of lights indeed. You would need my fingers it would seem… actually, I’m pretty fast on the Congo as well :p Give me a call next time!
Hans, I would have done! Their budget is too tight. But there were several (!!) moments when I had to calm myself down quietly and when I thought: I wished Hans was here. It makes such a difference when the communication between operator and LD works AND the operator also is as keen on getting it right than the LD is… but there will be a time when we will work together again!