Week 8: Depth

I’ve spent a lot of time at the Little Theatre over the last couple of weeks, and the thing that keeps surprising me is its peculiar placement in this classroom building. It’s still a bit jarring to leave from stage left door or the front house left stairway and come smack into a hallway of completely unrelated classes. That hallway has generally bit lit when walking back and forth to bring props to the dressing room, or to go to the bathroom. But this week, on one route between the dressing room and theater, I noticed how the light seems to be very directional from each light in the ceiling. It’s not that long of a hallway, but the way it’s broken up by each bit of light makes it look longer. Each distance source of light makes your eye travel down the hallway. The pattern of it, the almost pulsing of light through each pool, the way it brightens circles on the floor and walls, all give this sort of feel of movement and distance. I also noticed how the light reflects in the shiny floor, which always gives an impression of things being grander and taller to me. I also really like how sharp the change is at the back wall, totally unlit but the hallway lights. I would think there would be light spill, or that that hallway would have lights on, but neither happens. It’s just a strong definitive end. Which also made me think about how directional light can be. That it lights up the area at which it’s pointed, but right next door can still be totally dark. And that contrast can make the distance between the two areas seem greater. For me, I always think about how perspective and diagonals affect depth perception, and of course, we can sense how things get further away. But actually looking down this hallway made me think about how light plays such a key role in that as well. Further away is darker. Each pool of light being separated shows a clear distance between each point. Walls, ceiling, and floor are all affected. 

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