lighting suggestions

[cia]

i am about to stage a duet contempory dance. my dancers are wearing black and red and doing a dance with a lot of pain and hurt. what lighting should i use to give the stage the right atmospher

[Lucas]

I'm not a lighting guy, but I'd say Red orangy colours, harsh colours.

[[Director] Joseph B]

I'm thinking a lot of blue -- for sadness -- also. The contract between the red/orange may also be quite dramatic.

[waynehoskins]

I am a lighting guy (I really enjoy lighting dance), and I can't tell you what's right until I hear the music and watch a rehearsal. Until then, it's absolutely impossible to decide what's perfect from what's completely wrong (but would be perfect for a similar but different piece).

[cia]

sorry i cant give you that but if you want i can give you the name of the song and a synopsis

[waynehoskins]

Originally Posted by cia

sorry i cant give you that but if you want i can give you the name of the song and a synopsis

Doesn't help a bit.

My point was that to light it right, the LD has to be right there. Until then, what might seem the most perfect way to light it will often turn out to be the worst possible way to light it.

You've got to find a local LD who can be there in person.

[tedanderson]

You've got to find a local LD who can be there in person.

And perhaps a company that uses intellegents on 90% of their rig so that they can dial it in on the fly.

[bladeaudio]

As a general starting place, I like to light dance from the floor or the sides. (Not exclusively, but as a key light) This creates great highlights on all the movement and also creates nice dramatic shadows on the back wall. But the overall feel of the piece would have to be taken in to consideration for appropriateness.

[D.R.HADDOCK]

If you want a dark sad atmosphere, try using red and green together, and it looks real good if you can put the lights across the front floor of the stage shining up at an 45 degree angle, it gives a dark almost spooky feel, this trick is commonly used in horror movies to give the right atmosphere