WJEC/Eduqas GCSE Drama: Designing Drama

ANGLES, COLOUR AND INTENSITY Light in the real world Daylight Theatre lighting frequently seeks to re-create natural lighting, so begin your design thinking in the real world. During daylight hours our light source is the Sun. The time of day affects the angle at which the Sun’s light hits the Earth. The season and the weather (amount of cloud cover) affect the intensity (brightness) of the sunlight. TASK 1.7 1 Assuming you are in a room with at least one window, and it is daytime, turn off any artificial lights. Look around you for a minute and note the following: • How many sides of the room have portals (windows/doors)? • Where can you see bright light? Where does it come from? • Where are the shadows? What shape and length are they? Why? • How deep (dark) are the shadows? • Does the atmosphere vary in the room because of the light? How? 2 Draw a sketch of the room, representing areas of light and shade. DESIGN TIP Be aware that light bounces off surfaces – particularly light-coloured and shiny ones. Night-time When the Sun sets, the Moon and stars create significantly less natural light, so we use artificial light. TASK 1.8 Thinking about inside and outside: 1 Write down three sources of artificial light. 2 Use them to write two or three sentences about how artificial light has different affects from natural light. An angle-poise lamp, for example, creates a small area of intense white light, whereas a candle creates a dim, flickering warm light. Think about angle, colour, intensity and atmosphere when comparing natural and artificial light. ASSESSMENT CHECK This section will help you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of how theatre is developed and performed (AO3). FOCUS Three key components of lighting design. Chapter 1 Practical Guide to Lighting Design 22