Week 4 - Kevin Aguilar - Inspiration

 Howdy! So recently it's been cloudy in the L.A. area and just looking around, this lighting setting has caught my attention because thinking about it, I've never seen cloudy weather in Hollywood before (or at least I never happen to be in the area when it's cloudy). When I think of Hollywood I immediately think of bright sunny uplifting weather. I was in Hollywood for some personal research on this screenplay I've been working on and the moody weather has given me inspiration on the setting for a scene in the said screenplay. I like to go out and explore L.A. whenever I run into writer's block, I always bump into interesting sightings and meet exciting people which helps me but in this case, the lighting and weather contributed to my inspiration here. Something about this gloomy lighting is calming to me but at the same time gives me a small sense of unease due to how drastically different this is from the bright intense sunny lighting that I'm used to.

Week 4 - Aria Roach - Inspiration

 

    I find a lot of inspiration with photography from the sun. It has always been my favorite light source to play around with visually, and I love finding new ways to capture it. Oftentimes, I'm out and about with friends or family when I notice an opportunity to capture nature's beauty. 

    In the picture above, I was in Costa Mesa with a friend for the Newport Film Festival, when we noticed this stunning reflection of a fire pit coupled with the brilliant colors of the sun setting behind it. What's fascinating about this image in particular is that, with the help of the glass, the reflection makes the fire look like it is creating the orangey glow in the sky. The saturated colors also help with the effect here, if it had been a few minutes earlier in the dusk, it might not have been as brightly orange at the base of the skyline. 

Week 4 - Michael Diaz - Inspiration

 

I love feeling connected with my soul and spiritual faith in order to be inspired in the best way possible. Not just inspiration for projects or assignments, but inspiration with life in general. My faith is what gives me mental sanity. It's honestly what keeps me going. I feel the most true with myself when I'm connected with my spiritual side through prayer, meditation, and simply being a good person. While I consider this aspect of my life to be personal, I feel that sharing it is important to me. It's who I am! So for that reason, I wanted to share a picture I took today at the 4pm student mass service I attended. It is a crucifix being framed with so much different lighting sources making it appear flawless.

I was surprised to have seen Christmas lights up at the service this week, but their seemed to have been an event of some sort.  That's why they were up. While the lighting they provided was not as intense on the crucifix, I loved the glow and sparkle that it gave to the top background of it. I think that the major light source for this image was the outdoor natural lighting. By the time I took this picture, it was a quarter after five, as the service ended at 5pm. The sun was not yet setting, but it was starting to. The way the crucifix was angled allowed the natural lighting to get the right side of the crucifix with some soft, white light. It made the left side of it appear more darker and gave it more dimension with the shadows it casted. From what I perceived, I could not help but take an image of it. I got it to where I framed it with a green plant that was below it. Overall, this image inspires me and I enjoyed taking it!

Week 4 - JACOB NGUYEN - Inspiration FROM THE SUN

 So this is a sort of continuation from the inspiration project of seeing cool things in nature during the morning. Ok so last weekend I went to Joshua tree with a whole gang of other CTSA students. It was super early and everybody was asleep so I did a dumb thing and climbed a little mountain all alone because I was bored. 

The sunset from up there was so pretty but unfortunately the iPhone camera does not do it justice. The sunrise happened over the course of maybe 20-30 minutes but it was insane how much happened in that timespan. The sky turned from a dark color to a nice pink, then to an amber, and finally into the light blue sky we all know. It wasn't even just the clouds and the sky that looked cool. I could literally see the shadows on the terrain form and move as the sun gets higher in the sky. 

Seeing the long shadows cast by each little indent of the floor left me in awe of how strong and powerful the sun really is. The warmth of color combined with the sudden increase in brightness contrasted so much from the dark and dreary of when I was climbing. It had me feeling safe and calm while I was on top.

I'll be going out there again during the Winter and I will probably wake up early to experience this again.

Week 4- Wilder Windeler- Inspiration

 

For this week's blog I had to think a bit when it came to inspiration, but then while I was standing at the mirror in my bathroom I realized that I was already in the location where I often have ideas come to mind. There's nothing particularly special about the quality of lights in the bathroom but for some reason when those lights come on I just seem to get some of my better ideas. To me, inspiration doesn't need to always come from something beautiful or overly meaningful, but rather it can also come from moments where you just get to stop and think to yourself. That's what these lights symbolize to me. That brief respite where you are all by yourself with only your thoughts. I also did like how the illuminated that cobweb in the top of the photo as well since normally you can't see it all to much.

Week4- Citlalli Mora- Inspiration

 

I find inspiration for lighting through my life experiences. Light is everywhere we go; as obvious as that may seem, I have only started noticing it a lot more this past year. For instance, I was eating at Brandywine this past Thursday and drinking some coffee. I was about to take a sip when I realized the pattern on the coffee was caused by the light hitting the glass and reflecting on it. This made me think about my Halloween project and how I incorporated a rocky floor with the gobo. I feel that noticing and capturing images like these can help me with any future projects because I can look back and reference how I want a certain light or gobo to look. If I had seen this before designing my project, I would have most likely used this image to let JQ know the type of texture I was looking for. My inspiration sometimes comes through at the most unexpected time and in the most unexpected ways. Thanks to my growing love for lighting design, I will continue to observe the light around me for the rest of my life.

Week 4 - Stephanie Bernardini - Inspiration

The sun and sky are one of the biggest inspirations in my life. This picture above is a sunset image that I took on my way to Halloween Horror nights, and I was simply obsessed with the way the sky looked. The

yellowish amber sun, with the light blue sky and the wispy clouds, felt serene. Even though I have been so exhausted lately, the sunset brought me out of my headspace and into a relaxed state for a brief moment. Similarly enough to my inspiration project, the sunset signifies the nighttime, and with nighttime

comes sleep, and for me my imagination while I sleep, inspires me. 

A sunset look in the theatre setting is one of my favorite looks to create, as a sunset on the cyc is so

visually pleasing. This sunset in particular, reminds me of one of the most common cyc color combinations to represent sunsets. Warms with cool colors are one of my favorite pairings to play with in the theatre, and I am obsessed with the colors of this sunset and plan to keep it in mind for future shows!

WEEK 2 - JACOB NGUYEN - THOSE BIG HAMILTON BEAMS AT SEGERSTROM

So literally like every day for the past week-ish when I drive home I can see these beams. Hamilton is so extra that they gotta bring these things just to show off. I went to the opening of the OCMA with Kassia and finally saw them in person. Those things are GIGANTIC.

 I find them quite cool. If you stand in the right spot in the courtyard it looks like they're all converging at the same point in the sky. It makes like a stick figure person. It really adds another layer of scale to the Hamilton tour. It reminds me of some big red carpet premier of a Hollywood blockbuster. It's honestly a little funny that they did this because I can't recall any of the past Broadway shows having that here. The super tight beams moving around always amaze me on how cool they look.

Week 2 - Kevin Aguilar - Sunset

 

Howdy! Earlier this week, I got home as the sun was setting and I figured this lighting setting would be perfect for this week's blog post. I really love how warm the colors are during this time of the day. The way the warm colors blends with the green from the trees stands out to me the most. I'm fortunate enough to be able to see the sunrise and sunset when I drive to and from school. I always appreciate the little things such as sunsets as I travel and explore.

Week 2- Citlalli Mora- Afternoon glow

 This was a picture I took last year in December, around 4:30pm. It was taken right outside my house. I took it because I thought the sun was giving off a beautiful color during this time. As you can see, the trees have a golden glow, and even the clouds above seem to be getting that glow. I love the light the sun casts as it sets throughout the afternoon because even after a stressful day I get to see and feel the warmth the sun provides. Additionally, the sunlight creates visibility in this image and ultimately the objects seem bold, almost as if they serve some importance. If this kind of lighting composition were to be used on stage I would imagine that it would indicate that something good is about to happen, and that there is hope.

Week 2 - Aria Roach - Dappled Blinds

 

    In my apartment, we get pretty direct sunlight with no obstruction - except for a few trees. In the late afternoon, around 5:00, the sun goes through these trees and creates this beautiful dappled effect on one of the windows in my room. My favorite part about this image is that the shapes are blurred; from first glance, it isn't clear what is making the shadows. Within this, you can see varying shades of grey and lavender that create gradients within the shapes of the leaves and tree branches. 

    This image reminds me of the simple beauty light can create anywhere, and noticing this beauty can help open a designer to new ideas in creation. Appreciating nature is something I have always been keenly aware of, and I love being able to look at it through a lighting lens. 

Week 2 - Michael Diaz - Glowing Foliage

 

            

    I took this picture early this week, as I was walking back home after rehearsal. It caught my attention as, the color of the greenery was vibrant. From far away, as I walked up to this spot, it looked like a gradient effect as the foliage got darker, where the light was not hitting it. This lighting pool was achieved because an LED lamp post that was to the side of this foliage plot, lit the plants up.

    Something about the way the light was hitting the rim of each leaf was enchanting. The light source was giving them a sort of glow and making them appear a more vivid green. They almost looked artificial, but of course they were all real. I had to stop and appreciate the view of this lighted greenery. I love the outdoors and nature. I enjoy hiking so I've seen this type of stroke on foliage before, but naturally with the sun. It was interesting to me how this same effect was achieved with an artificial light source. While it translates the same onto the subject, it stands out more since it was night time. It gave it that lively, romantic touch. Funny how also the environment lighting can affect and change the overall look (day/night).

Week 2 Wilder Windeler- I Thought She Was Inside

 This happened when I went back up to visit my mom last and I found it pretty funny. I was walking in the kitchen at night and our cat was perched on a ledge that at the time I thought was inside because of the reflection of the mugs in the back. I had to do a quick swivel to see if she was behind me but when I turned around I was able to capture this image. She was not inside upon inspection but rather outside just doing what cats do(stare). I found it crazy that the lighting in the kitchen was good enough to make a reflection of it see like at the time, to be the interior of the house. Needless to say I felt like a fool afterwards.

Week 2 - Stephanie Bernardini - The OG Source

 

This past summer I went on a cruise to Alaska, and let me tell you… it was the most

BEAUTIFUL place I have ever visited thus far. I was totally obsessed with the gorgeous

mountainscapes around me, the calming blue seas, and the enormous glaciers. I

literally debated whether or not I would at one point in my life, want to live in Alaska. 

The sun is a rare thing in Alaska as they typically experience lots of rain and snow,

but for about a month in the summer, Alaska experiences sunny skies. This image, I

felt, was one of the most striking ones that I took while on this trip because of the way

the sun reflected off the peaceful waters of Alaska. It has a soft elegance, and whenever

I look at this image I am continuously obsessed with the Earth. 

This picture brought me back to the original source of light. The sun is humankind's

OG light source. The way the sun interacts with the many objects around us influences

how we represent them in the stage setting. The sun was a very powerful tool for

lighting as the ancient greeks utilized and manipulated its light for their performances.

The sun, our star, and bringer of the day is THE light source for our daily lives, and she

just amazes me.