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Stage Lighting Design: The Art, the Craft, the Life
By Richard Pilbrow
Nick Hern Books £19 99
477 pages
Dateline: 2nd November, 2008
It is unusual for the BTG to have two people review a book, but we're
making an exception in this case, with both Philip Fisher (as someone
who has a general interest in theatre) and Peter Lathan (who has worked
as a lighting designer) contributing.
This reissue of the 1997 publication is the first paperback version
of Richard Pilbrow's much revered book which has been, since the first
edition, one of the bibles of lighting designers.
It is easy to see that, based on his forty years in the profession,
Richard Pilbrow has written a definitive book on his subject. To start
with, he has glowing forewords from two of the profession's greats,
Hal Prince and Lord Olivier.
Next, even the uninitiated can see that the hundreds of illustrations
and photographs, many in glorious colour, show a thorough knowledge
and exploration of the topic.
Pilbrow has addressed stage lighting and its design from a number of
different perspectives. First, he reproduces much of the material from
the book that he first wrote on stage lighting, in those days without
the design element, in 1970. Next, he moves on to a history starting
with the times when the only way of creating light was with the use
of fire and advancing to 1997, when the hardback copy of this book was
originally published.
Part 3 looks at a long and successful life in the theatre, from an
angle that is rarely if ever considered, that of the person who ensures
that actors and scenes are properly lit. This section also contains
interviews with over a dozen of his friends and rivals from around the
world.
Finally, for those who are seriously into the business, comes the mechanics,
which will undoubtedly baffle the average reader with no knowledge of
lighting, even a theatre director or designer.
The only minor reservation is with regard to recent developments. Even
an amateur can spot that the world of lighting has been revolutionised
by technology in the last decade with those wonderful lights that appeared
to change colour and move in almost any possible direction. He does,
however, deal with Vari*lites, the precursors of the modern MAC, and
points out their faults and foibles. And, indeed, some of the limitations
of the intelligent lights of the time that he mentions are still applicable
today.
In the same way, lanterns such as the Parnel from ETC came along after
the book was written, although the Source 4 profile on which it is based
was in fairly common use then. And of course very recent developments,
such as LED luminaires, are not even foreshadowed.
In terms of lighting control, by 1997 DMX512 was in common use and
Strand had introduced the Lightpalette and enhanced Genius software
which enabled the same desk to run both standard cues and moving light
control - a long way from the M24 which was introduced in 1983! Modern
desks are, essentially, refinements, and so much of what he says is
still relevant.
In any event, the basics of stage lighting remain the same, and the
guidance Pilbrow gives on colour theory, angles, rigging and plotting,
remain as relevant as ever.
But what is particularly important, both to the lighting designer and
the more general reader, is the huge collection of photographs which
show just what can be achieved. Most of the technical section of the
book can be found in other Stage lighting handbooks (such as the excellent
book by Francis Reid, now in its sixth edition) but these photos are
a unique source of inspiration.
Nick Hern has ensured that this first paperback edition is produced
to high standards and in the circumstances, pricing it at under £20
is an achievement. In reality, the market may be relatively limited
but everybody who has a need to know about stage lighting design should
regard it as the one volume that they must have on their bookshelves.
Philip Fisher and Peter Lathan
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