Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2008 - 76

Not just for film and video
That said, I do not want anyone to think this work is limited to film and
video students. On the contrary, I strongly recommend that theatre lighting designers and teachers take heed of this text. Throughout my own
career, I have crossed all the lines of entertainment design. I have found
that my work in concerts, video, architecture, etc., have added to my ability to take a fresh look at solving design issues in theatre, both by using
equipment from another specialty as well as by using their techniques. As
a theatre lighting designer, I have found I turn to film lighting techniques
most often because they come the closest to the subtle shading and use
of angles of light I need in my own designs. This book can expand any
theatre designers understanding of lighting techniques.
Now, when theatre practitioners are seeing opportunities to cross
over in many fields such as concerts, theme parks, and architecture, there
is also a case for reading this book to open the possibilities of employment in video and film. A jump from theatre to these media is not impossible, it just takes some effort. Using your theatre Fresnels in the light lab
to simulate Brown's demonstrations can be very useful in understanding
the techniques he shows.

Historical perspective
I would only take one mark away from this book and I
admit it is only from a theatre person's historical prospective. Brown uses the word "Leko" in connection
to ETC's Source Four (ERS - Ellipsoidal Reflector Spotlight). He also used the numeral "4" when the manufacturer uses the word "four" spelled out. Picky? O.K., but
I would point out that "Leko" is a trademark of the old
Century Lighting Company that was purchased by Strand
Lighting many years ago. The word is actually a contraction of the names of the two men credited with the invention of the unit, Ed Levy and Edward Kook, around 1932.
The author also seems to be stuck between the old Lekos
which used the designations 6x9 and 10x16, etc., to designate the lens cross-section and focal point. All modern
ERS units (Strand, ETC, Altman, and others) simply use
the degree symbol to indicate the beam width produced
by the lens. He also says that "Not all Lekos have gobo
holder slots" (p.29). Well that may be true in the old
Lekos, but not for any modern ERS units. Given that the
pictures of "Lekos" in the book all show the modern versions of ERS fixtures, I hope this error will be corrected
in the next edition.
Brown also does not give due to the Fresnel. The
first letter should be capitalized because it is the proper
name of the inventor of the lens. Augustin-Jean Fresnel
first used his design for a lighthouse in France in 1822.
In later years theatres adopted the design for the Box
Spot fixtures to save glass and weight. Mole-Richardson

Inc. and ARRI Inc., large film and video lighting manufacturers, spell
Fresnel with the capital letter in their literature. These may seem small
matters, and they may well hold no significance in the film industry, but to
theatre designers they do go against our traditions.

Chapter basics
Chapter 3, Fundamentals of Lighting, and Chapter 4, Basic Scene Lighting,
are the real heart of this book. Take heed, read carefully. It is a clear and
well-documented section in words, still photos, and the enclosed DVD. I
cannot say enough about how great a teaching tool Brown has given us.
Chapter 5, Lighting HD, DV, and SD Video, may be completely new
ground for the theatre reader but it is well worth detailed study. To understand video lighting you must understand contrast and angle. This chapter
uses the DVD to wonderful advantage by showing the images at different
exposure levels with charts and the waveform monitor superimposed.
Chapter 7, Theory and Control of Color, is a chapter that could have
been pulled from any theatre lighting textbook, yet I have seldom seen it
more clearly illustrated. This is a staple of any lighting program-read
it. Brown also adds information on conversion filters, CTO (Change to
Orange), light balancing filters, fluorescent lights, and more.
We have Blain Brown to thank for a wonderful text that provides
clear, understandable, and up-to-date information on lighting for film

S U M M E R

2008

theatre

design

technology

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2008