BY LU CY A N D R E W

LIGHTING GENRES

THEME PARK SHOW

I decided to look at theme park shows as they contain a lot of different elements of lighting technique. In particular I

will be looking at Fantasmic, a show from Walt Disney World Resort as lighting plays a big part in this show throughout. The show is staged end on and the stage is in the centre of

a lake. The show involves large pieces of set, projection, pyrotechnics and also water fountains and sprays. The

complexity of the effects is a running theme throughout the show as it contrasts busy scenes with a lot going on and a lot to see with quieter scenes where the main focus is clear

to the audience. Set changes tend to take place out of audience view as they are either covered by fountain and lighting effects together or by relevant video clips being

projected onto water sprays.

THEME PARK SHOW

The set itself conceals various lighting stands which appear

throughout the show, however the majority of the lights are on

a rig directly above the audience and the rig runs the length of the stage. This is so that all areas of the stage and lake can be lit if needed and also doesn’t distract from the

performance as they are not in the audience’s eye line.

This is an example of a quieter scene where the focus to the audience is clear. The stage is lit in a dark blue as the blue

contrasts the bright orange of the fire on the boats making it stand out even more. The blue also creates a sombre effect which fits to the music that it playing at this moment in the

piece. The lights on the overhead rig are being used at this point as any of the lighting stands on stage would distract

from the boats.

This is an example of a scene change where

projection onto water is used to disguise the stage and divert the audience’s

attention. The stage at this point is not lit as it would

be seen through the projection, however the

surrounding lake area is lit in a medium blue which fits

in with the water and doesn’t distract from the

projection.

THEME PARK SHOW

This is an example of the fountains being used to conceal a large scene change. There is a spotlight on a character in front

of the fountains to catch the audience’s attention. The

fountains are lit in light blue and light green, this contrasts not

only the open white of the spotlight but also the previous scene which is mainly lit with reds and purples with the reds

signifying danger.

This is an example of the different elements of the show all in use at

the same time together to create a chaos within the scene. The contrast of fire with the water fountains and sprays takes place over the lake as

there is already a lot taking place on stage. On the stage itself bright

lights are being contrasted with the dark purple of the dragon which is

just out of view. The purple and blue in the lights contrasts with the orange of the fire making each element stand out on its own.

For this scene black light was used to highlight the

colours on the animal puppets, this contrasted the bright colours with the dark setting. This also gave the scene a more exotic effect

like the animals would be in a jungle. Animal sounds and

music were also added to this scene to add to the

effect of the setting.

MUSICAL THEATRE SHOW

Musical theatre shows are typically bright with lots of colour when it comes to lighting. The lighting states are kept simple for

the acting scenes and become more complex throughout the musical numbers. Not many effect are used other that a smoke machine and sometimes small pyrotechnics are used. This is as the show is meant to be telling a story that happens in day to day life therefore it is kept quite naturalistic. Musical theatre is typically staged end on using the over head rig for lights and boom stands in the wings which would be out of the audience

view. Set changes normally take place during a blackout unless it is necessary for the audience to see these set changes taking place. In particular I will be looking at In The Heights as this

musical is set in reality and the lighting must signify different times of the day whilst also being able to be dynamic and

exciting during musical numbers.

MUSICAL THEATRE

This lighting state is during one of the many musical numbers. The pink mixed with the blue on the back

drop gives the feel that the time of day is in the

evening when the sun is setting. However the all

over pink creates a fantasy feel, that in the moment they are not currently in

reality.

This lighting state is also during a musical number,

however this number involves dance, the dark blue indicates that it is taking place at night,

however the downstage area is much brighter, this is to highlight the dancing

that is taking place and make that the focal point

on stage.

MUSICAL THEATRE

This lighting state clearly shows the set as a whole with the lower levels been shown in brighter light to highlight the key areas

which will be used throughout the show. The open white at the lower levels contrasts with the

orange at the higher levels from light to dark

This lighting state clearly takes place in the

evening due to the dark background, however the main area in the space is bright light

mainly in open white, this lights the extremes of the space ensuring

that all of the characters

are lit and can be seen.

COMPARISON

Although both staged end on the lighting was used differently in both shows. Although minimal with the lighting effects In The

Heights achieved reality and depicted to the audience the time of the day when necessary, where as Fantasmic! the theme park show had a multitude of effects used throughout which

also achieved the fantasy aspects it needed which matched the large pieces of set. Although both of the shows used an

overhead rig they were staged differently, for the theme park show it didn’t matter that the rig could be seen, it was crucial

for the musical theatre show that it still gave the realistic element therefore the rig had to remain hidden meaning that nothing could be moved and they needed to work around the set, where as with the theme park show the different lighting bars meant they could light from and angle of the stage they

wished.