Kicking off the 2011-2012 Metro Phoenix theatre season

[caradoc]

…with Stray Cat Theatre‘s production of “The Sparrow.”

(Clickr for Flickr)

[lokisbong]

That’ pretty cool. How many tries did it take to get that shot? I like how the blank cartridge is just hovering there in the center of her focus.

[caradoc]

Nailed it in one, actually. I’ve got a few other angles that we tried for various reasons, but they didn’t really work out very well.

There are three strobes used in that shot – one to near high camera left in a mini-softbox (15″x15″), one to far middle camera right for back/rimlighting, and one on-camera I used for fill and as the Commander for the other two lights. I use Nikon’s “CLS” or “Creative Lighting System” a lot for this sort of thing.

(And while the camera settings are all manual, I use TTL a lot for the CLS lighting…)

The “bullet” is held up by a very thin thread to her upper hand. Took the thread out in post. So this wouldn’t be a Farktography candidate…

[lokisbong]

“The “bullet” is held up by a very thin thread to her upper hand. Took the thread out in post.” Sneaky works well in photography doesn’t it. Very cool indeed.

[caradoc]

Other new stuff:

Venue 104 in Tempe, AZ is rehearsing for “TAPE.”

Actors Theatre of Phoenix is currently running “NEXT FALL.”

(Actors Theatre is currently having some financial difficulties – if you can, go see their shows. They’re always running good stuff…)

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/jackalope/2011/11/actors_theatres_next_fall_–_n.php
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/jackalope/2011/10/actors_theatre.php
http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/stage/articles/2011/10/27/20111027actors-theatre-next-fall-herberger-phoenix.html

[caradoc]

Stray Cat Theatre is in rehearsals for “MILKMILKLEMONADE.”

[orionid]

When you do these, is it during rehearsal with stage lighting or posed with your lighting?

/Still awesome.

[caradoc]

The promotional images are typically posed by the director with my lighting (usually two lights, since these are mostly halftoned in black and white for newsprint) on a black curtain.

The production images are pure stage lighting, no additions by me (with very, very rare exceptions like the “splash” image from “Octopus,” where I added a single flash.)

[caradoc]

“MILKMILKLEMONADE” closes this weekend.

It’s one hell of a show:

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/jackalope/2011/12/milkmilklemonade_check_it_out.php

http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/stage/articles/2011/12/09/20111209stray-cat-theatre-milkmilklemonade-review-tempe-arts-center.html

[caradoc]

“Hunter Gatherers” opens at Herberger on Dec. 30th.

[caradoc]

Hunter Gatherers closes this weekend.

[caradoc]

Stray Cat Theatre is in rehearsals for “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.”

[Yugoboy]

OK… I’ve volunteered to begin shooting productions at my school. (Amazing… it’s a school of the arts, but photography isn’t represented!)

Any suggestions for ISO, shutter speed, lighting, etc?

[caradoc]

For production photos, there’s not much I can tell you besides…

1) Do not try taking photos during an actual production with an audience.

2) No, really. Don’t do it. Even if you’ve got a completely soundproof blimp for your camera, you’re going to piss off the audience.

We usually do the “production” photos immediately after a real performance, running the scenes backwards until the stage is reset for the next performance. Obviously, this doesn’t always work in the cases of really messy productions like “Octopus,” “Twelfth Night of the Living Dead,” or “Hunter Gatherers,” as there’s just too much blood and gore on the stage. So we shoot the “dry” scenes before the show, and the “messy” afterwards.

For promotional photos, light it any way you want. I typically use 1-3 SB-800s and occasionally an ABR-800, in umbrellas, soft boxes, bare, gridded, or not.

For production photos, I almost always stick with the lighting provided, very rarely adding one or two flashes if I need to “freeze” some wild action.

Keep the ISO as low as possible for the shutter speed and aperture you’re using.

[Yugoboy]

Thanx. Most likely I’ll be shooting rehearsals (and dress rehearsal) as opposed to actual ticketed audience shots. Also probably going to do some staged/posed shots for promotional/lobby purposes.

At first, I just need to get comfortable with the process, and I also have limited access to lighting not provided by the school/stage/production. Somewhere in my basement I’ve got a couple really HOT lights, but no umbrellas, so they’re more for catalogue-style shots of “stuff” not people. As I do more of this, and as my value to the school and the productions goes up, I may be able to ask for stuff to be available, even if it belongs to the school.

[Author]

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