The morgue project  involves analyzing the lighting design of a fine art print. (The name comes from costume designers’ “morgues”: collections of people wearing different styles of clothing, all kept in a binder or folder for research.)

You will select photos from the online gallery at the Lighting Design homepage (or one will be assigned).

Carefully analyze the lighting in the paintings, specifically addressing the five controllable qualities of stage lighting: angle, color, texture, intensity, and movement (implied, if any).

Then, determine how the lighting is helping to tell the story of the painting. Does it bring you into a world, draw your focus, or create a mood? In this section you should specifically address the three objectives of stage lighting: mood, visibility, and selective focus. How would the story be less clear if the lighting were not as specific? How is lighting a part of the overall composition of the painting? The written description should be complete and in-depth—about a page in length. This should be typed, spell-checked, and proofread for omissions and continuity.

Then document your findings with both an 8.5 x 11 sketch plot in addition to the written description of the lighting. The sketch plot should include both a ground plan and an elevation—the elevation can be a print-out of the actual image with light sources drawn on it. I will show examples of morgue project in class and go over them.

All the paperwork—the printed picture, the sketch plot, and the description—should be stapled together in the upper left corner and have a cover page with your name, the name of the project, the class, and the date.

THETR 359:

Morgue Project