Young Frankenstein

Photo Credit: Casey Gardner Ford.

Director: Zechariah Pierce
Music Director: Amy Duffy
Choreographer: Ste Clough
Dramaturg: Candice Wilson
Scenic Designer: Dennis Maulden
Costumes Designer: Pam Workman
Lighting: Designer: Matt Sand
Sound Designer: Zack Bennett

I had the wonderful opportunity to be the Assistant Lighting Designer for this production of Young Frankenstein.This was my first time having a professional design position, so I was nervous but eager to learn more about the design process. I have previously worked with Matt, so it took us no time to get to work and collaborate. I assisted the Head Electrician in getting all of the lighting fixtures up and took on a special project (more on that below). I loved being able to turn off my electrician brain for one second and think about if L201 or L202 would be a better gel choice. I also took care of spotlight paperwork and communicated with our spotlight operators regularly. All in all, this production process let me spread my wings a bit as a designer, while still having a support system behind me.

Photo Credit: Serafina Ramirez.

Here is the start of my journey, how do I make these look electrifying? Photo Credit: Serafina Ramirez, unless stated.
This is the height we settled on for the coils.
In collaboration with scenic, they graciously secured the rings to the PVC pipe.
Close up of one of the power supply boxes.
Close up of the decoder I was working on.
This is the length of ribbon cable I was working with originally. We had to order a spool of cable and make longer tails for the LED tape. I figured we may not want to run LED tape all the way down the pipe and under the set in order to make the connection.
After setting up a power source and connecting data to the light board, we were able to play around with the LED tape on a scrap piece of pipe.
The designer wanted to see how the rings looked upside down, but ultimately the other orientation was chosen.
I wrapped the LED tape around a smaller piece of PVC pipe. Later we would put R101 over the tape to diffuse the diodes more.
Here is a close up of the bare base.
This is the base with just the top ring working properly.
All three of the rings working.
The orb and three rings each had their own line of LED tape. I had to be smart about how I laid the cable in order for all four lines to fit down the back of the pipe. Photo Credit: Shelby Ashley.
A photo of the finished product!

Before tech week, I was under the set working on wiring decoders and power supplies. As you can see it can be a tedious process since the components I’m working with are so small. However, I enjoyed the challenge and it let me practice this skill.

Video Credit: Serafina Ramirez.

Here is a video of a pulsing effect the designer created for when the Monster comes to life. It was so rewarding seeing my hard work pay off in real time.

Video Credit: Serafina Ramirez.

Example Spotlight Track Paperwork

Photo Credit: Serafina Ramirez.

Young Frankenstein

Here is the start of my journey, how do I make these look electrifying? Photo Credit: Serafina Ramirez, unless stated.

This is the height we settled on for the coils.

In collaboration with scenic, they graciously secured the rings to the PVC pipe.

Close up of one of the power supply boxes.

Close up of the decoder I was working on.

This is the length of ribbon cable I was working with originally. We had to order a spool of cable and make longer tails for the LED tape. I figured we may not want to run LED tape all the way down the pipe and under the set in order to make the connection.

After setting up a power source and connecting data to the light board, we were able to play around with the LED tape on a scrap piece of pipe.

The designer wanted to see how the rings looked upside down, but ultimately the other orientation was chosen.

I wrapped the LED tape around a smaller piece of PVC pipe. Later we would put R101 over the tape to diffuse the diodes more.

Here is a close up of the bare base.

This is the base with just the top ring working properly.

All three of the rings working.

The orb and three rings each had their own line of LED tape. I had to be smart about how I laid the cable in order for all four lines to fit down the back of the pipe. Photo Credit: Shelby Ashley.

A photo of the finished product!

Before tech week, I was under the set working on wiring decoders and power supplies. As you can see it can be a tedious process since the components I’m working with are so small. However, I enjoyed the challenge and it let me practice this skill.

Video Credit: Serafina Ramirez.

Here is a video of a pulsing effect the designer created for when the Monster comes to life. It was so rewarding seeing my hard work pay off in real time.

Video Credit: Serafina Ramirez.

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