Customer Reviews

Stage Lighting Design: The Art, the Craft, the Life

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book helped me make the decision to go for lighing design as a career .... the first half has the info most of us in the industry have picked up on stage but orders it very well, the second has many wonderful anechdotes from his and many others careers. Its the only lighing book I have found that one can enjoy reading again and again.

I bought this last year, and it quickly became one of my favourite books of all time. It's well written, and is packed full of information. But that's only the beginning. Pilbrow has chucked in years of experience and anecdote, not only from his own extensive career, but also from many other excellent designers. Whenever I'm lighting a show, I take this book with me. In a way, it is my own lighting assistant. This is a must, not only for lighting people, but also directors and producers. And that is because this book endevours to emphasise the 'art' of lighting, and not just the craft.

And it's about time.

This is the only book on Stage Lighting that I've come across that covers the whole spectrum of the possiblities of lighting. Mr. Pilbrow covers the range of knowledge you must have to be an effective designer -- everything from how to setup your paperwork and reports to the most esoteric of design concepts. My personal favorite couple of lines talks briefly on how you have to think about where to position the light board during rehearsals to either be in the middle of or to get away from the political center of power. There is no other author out there that can speak clearly about the evolution of lighting from oil lamp to Vari-Lite. Basically, living the life of a true designer is all about collecting visuals and techniques that intrigue and excite us and using and reinterpreting those ideas through our own personalities. With Mr. Pilbrow's book, you will never find a more comprehensive single source of those lighting ideas and techniques. Don't read the book because you have to. Read the book because it will make you a better designer.

I would easily say this is one of the top 5 books on Theatrical and Concert Lighting Design. As a young designer his advise in learning and developing the craft as well as the background he provides is invaluable. I'd recomend this book to anyone seriously considering the field.

Another person reviewed this book complaining that it wasn't effective because it didn't have an abundance of color photographs. He missed the mark big time! This isn't a book on lighting for photography, it's a book on lighting for the eye and a theatrical experience, two different things. A static photo doesn't give you the interaction with how the cue ran, what the actors are doing, how the audience is supposed to feel. The photo whould just be a picture of a person in a light and convey nothing.

True, the end product of lighting design is a visual medium, but the means of getting there are purely cerebral.

Lighting designs are drawn in black and white based on theory, knowledge, practical experience and the ability to visualize. This is a book on theory and knowledge culled from Pilbrow's extensive experience.

If you want to approach lighting design like a cake recipe or an auto repair manual then this is the wrong book for you and probably the wrong career.

If you are dedicated to your craft, want to add to your knowledge base and get more out of your work experience, buy this book. Reading this book is like sitting down with Pilbrow and asking him how he did this or that and why. As your career grows, you will find yourself rereading passages of this and getting more out of it each time.

When I received the book I was surprised that Pilbrow had written a 450+ page book on lighting and there were only 6 pages of color photos and scattered pencil drawings and black/white photos in select areas. This is analogous to explaining engine repair without detailed diagrams. The lighting designer is a visual person. It is a visual medium. Words are poor vehicles to carry the ideas of this art form. I think Pilbrow missed the mark. That's why I'm returning the book.