Week 1 | Savannah

Hello! I'm Savannah and I'm another one of your TAs. I took this sunset picture back in November of 2014, when I was in my undergrad's version of 50C. We were only allowed one picture of a sunrise/sunset I and I really wanted the one I took to be stunning.

This picture was taken through the trees outside my apartment complex. I was struck primarily by the colors of the sunset when I took it, the light pinks and blues at the top of the frame beautifully blend with the rich golds and ambers on the sunset itself. Once I got up to my apartment at really looked at the picture, I was further impressed by the stark contrast between the beauty of the sunset and the spookiness of the tree's silhouettes.

There's a lot of emotional connection rolled up into this image, (mainly from where I was in my journey as an LD but also because of the friends I was with when I took this picture), but looking at it out of context, it feels like one of the this beautiful sunsets you see as a group of teen friends laugh and run into their house at the beginning on a horror film. Everything's beautiful and glorious, and then the camera pans to the dark woods and all we see is a pair of glowing eyes.

Week 1 | Merle DeWitt

Hello Everyone, my name is Merle DeWitt III and I am one of the TA's for this class. The image I chose to share with you all is from my first professional Assistant Lighting design. I took this while they were testing our LED strip units. In the moment I remember thinking how beautiful the rainbow effect looked against the pale amber sunset; this coupled with the white set and ocean (that is barely visible) I have always loved this moment. Other than the beauty of this moment and the fond memory, I wanted to share this because I feel that this is a moment that not many people would have thought to take a picture of. This moment during the tech process, of a look that is not even a cue evoked an emotional response from me. The angle that I was at was actually back stage right, so no audience member would have ever seen this, but that is ok, it was a "process" photo that I have cherished and kept in the back of my mind and it also shows a lovely contrast between a pretty artificial light and a beautiful natural backdrop. 

I look forward to working with you all this quarter and can't wait to see what you all find to post.

Lighting observations for Spring Quarter 2020 in UC Irvine beginning lighting design class

Welcome to 50c Blogging for Spring 2020:

The intention of these blogs is to help you develop your eye for light, not just in the theatre, but in your everyday life.

In order to more effectively understand how light can alter the perception of the audience; we need to first understand how it alters our perception, daily.

As we move through the quarter, I hope that this blog will help you to discover light in ways that you have not seen before.

Perhaps you'll see colors you've never noticed before, you may recognize the angle of a certain light, and maybe you will find ways to articulate how a light makes you feel.

In order to assist with this process, I've created this blog so that all of you may contribute a short piece every other week on an aspect of light that you have noticed in your journeys.

This can include a beautiful sunset, a well-lit store, or just what happens to your emotions when the sun moves behind a cloud. Anything and everything can be included.  Photos can be taken in your own neighborhood.

Your postings are 10% of your grade.

Include photos or short videos with your post to help see what you are describing.

Whether or not you continue in lighting design after this class, I hope that this online journal will help you to discover inspiration for your art in daily life.

Make sure to fill in the subject line with the following information:

Creative title/subject for each posting with the Week # of the quarter and your name.

You will be submitting posts every other week starting in Week 2.  You will post in Week 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10.

Thank you and Happy Blogging!!