Week 8: Obsession-Lights and Automation-Faaizah

This past weekend I attended my first LDI. Ever since my high school lighting mentor first mentioned the convention to me 5 years ago, I put it on my bucket list to go. I always thought that theatre tech was a side hobby for me until my first year at UCI when I forced myself to take a break from anything theatre related. I figured that if I gave myself a clear break I could figure out for myself if I truly missed it enough to fully pursue it. A couple months into my forced break, I realized that I did not just miss it but that I was obsessed. I spent every spare moment reading whatever I could on the new types of technology being introduced in performing art spaces. There were giant leaps being made in incorporating automation, AR/VR, and motion control for theatre. My expectations for how the convention would be were beyond exceeded. I got to see first hand all the new technology that I had read about and was able to marvel at the variety of different approaches each company took to cater to a specific venue's event solution needs.

The video I took of the kinetic lighting sculpture shows everything I have been obsessed about regarding the movement of lights. By changing the physical position of a light, one can simultaneously create both a scene change and a light change. I saw a design concept for a production done where the theatre had custom built lighting rods that changed position to show the different architectural locations the characters were in, to simulate flight and to show World War II's destruction in the play the theatre put on. There are so many different ways to challenge how we use lighting in performing art places and this video was a great reminder of that. The convention reminded me of the reason I became obsessed with technology in theatre and encouraged me to keep studying so that one day I can help build this kind of technology.