Saturday, October 03, 2009
A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting, Second Edition
iSquint | Entertainment Lighting News & Review: "We received a message from Steve Shelly, the author of A Practical Guide To Stage Lighting, that the second edition of the book is getting ready to hit the shelves. The Second edition is 480 pages with over sixty new topics, twenty new forms and fifteen new drafting presentations not previously found in the first edition."
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5 comments:
Glad to see this book is getting re-vamped. I've got the earlier edition, which is great, but certainly needed some updating. I'm looking forward to the new version, but at the same point, there are several books like this one that are very similar. There are about 4 or 5 manuals of similar length that seem to address the same issues and problems as "A Practical Guide". As the author of the review mentions, this is not an esoteric lighting theory guide. I sort of wish it was though as I see very few of those in print.
I am always happy to see newer editions on guides like this. It says to me that the author cares about keeping their information current and that they have responded to criticism and made changes. However, from reading this article, I get the feeling that this new edition just adds some nice to haves like more plots and a few new topics. There really isn't much in overall content, as far as the article suggests. This makes me think that this author is more about the money, and less about improving his work. That makes me sad.
I also agree with Jeremy that there are many books like this out there. Though they all go into the practical elements of lighting, none really get into nuts and bolts of the thoughts and theory behind lighting design. I will buy that book when I see it in the store.
I haven't had a chance to read his book before and now I am intrigued to read his new one. The addition of all the new topics, form ideas, and draftings alone make the book worth the money. Many students are always looking for a good resource when they are first learning how to create light plots, or paperwork for shows. This book seems like it gives a good basis for the process of a young LD or someone who has been in the business a while.
This is one of those pieces of news which I am kicking myself over. I think I purchased the first edition about a year ago. I have been very pleased with it but I would love the new edition. Its the type of thing where I can't really justify purchasing the new one. I would really like to se the new one and do a comparison between the two to see where the changes/improvements lie.
I am in no way a lighting designer but I would like to lear more about lighting. I liked the design we did during pre-college. It was fun and a good intro to lighting. As I said before I would like to learn more and this book seems like a great way to get the basics down. The fact that it was just updated is also a plus because all of the new technology will be in the new edition. I will definitely check it out.
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