Lighting Soulstice

This past weekend I had the privilege to organize and watch Soulstice, UCI’s annual talent show. There were so many lights used in this show, but there was one performance that caught my eye. The performer was a soloist who was singing a song from Les Miserables. She was lit very well with lights that illuminated her from a high side angle and from behind. The high side angle that illuminated her was a blue colored spotlight. The backlighting was from the ground and it pointed up toward her. This low back angle lighting was a dark, deep blue. I think this backlighting worked well because it gave her dimension and she stood out more. There was also red lighting from above and it was illuminated onto the curtain behind her. There was also white lighting from above that illuminated the curtain behind her, and in this white lighting there was a gobo that had a criss crossed pattern. I did not really see the necessity for the patterned gobo because it did not necessarily add to the performance but rather, to me, was distracting. Because of the white, blue, and red colors used for lighting, I think that the concept was to represent the French flag in Les Miserables. I thought that this was a creative idea because as soon as the lights went on, it reminded me of France and helped me to connect with the singer’s song more. I would definitely say that the lights used in this performance was flashy and was meant to be showy. I think this flashy use of lights worked because it made the performance lively and energetic. I also thought that the high angle light worked well because it was a spotlight on the performer and made her stand out more and made it dramatic. Because of the colors and flashiness of the lights, it was a very energetic mood. The colors and the lights brought the performance alive and gave off a very excited mood. Because the red and blue were so saturated, it made the performance more dramatic and pop. I really liked the bold colors used in this performance.