Rating: 
Summary: WOW
Review: "A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting" is destined to become the definative source of instruction in the field of theatrical lighting. With the books emphasis on the process of light design it gives the reader the tools necessary to create the art. Whether your goal is to become a good stage electrician or a good designer the explainations in this book will allow you to work and communicate quickly and efficiently during that precious time allotted for load-in, hang and focus.Steve Shelley, by taking a chronological approach to light design, illustarates exactly what goes into a successful design. He defines his terms, explains why he does things, and provides anecdotes and insights that make the book entertaining and easy to read. The final section of the book on how to focus lights will teach you more about creating and implementing a light design than any other book you have, can or will read.
Rating:
Summary: The coming standard in lighting design instruction.
Review: "A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting" is destined to become the definative source of instruction in the field of theatrical lighting. With the books emphasis on the process of light design it gives the reader the tools necessary to create the art. Whether your goal is to become a good stage electrician or a good designer the explainations in this book will allow you to work and communicate quickly and efficiently during that precious time allotted for load-in, hang and focus. Steve Shelley, by taking a chronological approach to light design, illustarates exactly what goes into a successful design. He defines his terms, explains why he does things, and provides anecdotes and insights that make the book entertaining and easy to read. The final section of the book on how to focus lights will teach you more about creating and implementing a light design than any other book you have, can or will read.
Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: Get This Book! This book has everything a aspiring lighting designer needs. Shelley clearly shows his thoughts with clear illustrations. The first page is his complete lighting design for a show!!Buy It!
Rating: 
Summary: Organised Stage Lighting
Review: I would say this is NOT the first book to buy or read for someone wanting to learn stage lighting design. The books does not cover the basic theories. But - it offers a very good guide to the real-world contraints and demands of lighting. The author give very concrete and useful suggestions and advice. Analysing a complete design ('Hokey') step-by-step is a clever move. It is also the perfect book for those who want learn how to accurately document their designs to last nut and bolt. Even with my 20+ years in lighting and lighting design, I found this book a worthwhile addition to my collection of lighting textbooks.
Rating:
Summary: A must for any stage lighting designer's bookshelf.
Review: Mr. Shelley starts from the idea that you, the reader, have some lighting design ideas that you want to achieve. He then leads you through a complete tool kit to assure that you will be able to accomplish your designs within the realities of limited stage time and limited budgets. The material is invaluable, and the presentation is highly enjoyable. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: A must for any stage lighting designer's bookshelf.
Review: Steven Shelley has done it again. After the triumph of his lighting templates, Shelley branched out and wrote a fabulous book on stage lighting. You don't need to be an expert lighting technician to understand this book. Shelley uses easy to understand terms and metaphores. This book is perfect no matter if you are like me, a struggling lighting designer just out of college, or have been in the business for 30 years, you*will* find something new in this book... I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: the most complete guide to stage lighting...BRAVO
Review: Steven Shelley has done it again. After the triumph of his lighting templates, Shelley branched out and wrote a fabulous book on stage lighting. You don't need to be an expert lighting technician to understand this book. Shelley uses easy to understand terms and metaphores. This book is perfect no matter if you are like me, a struggling lighting designer just out of college, or have been in the business for 30 years, you*will* find something new in this book... I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: From A Classroom Tool to a Professional's Reference
Review: Thanks Steve! I met Steve and bought his book at the 1999 USITT Expo in Toronto. When I returned to The University of Illinois in the fall for the first semester of my sophomore year, I found that this was the textbook for one of my lighting design classes. I agree with the previous reviewers, this book is great. Steve takes you from zero to hero on the design of a sample show. From the first call to the last curtain Mr. Template himself outlines what a typical lighting designer does, and reminds us what a typical designer FORGETS to do! He provides many thorough checklists to make sure you've got your bases covered when you're in an unfamiliar space or dealing with unfamiliar people. Steve even let's us in on some of the more humorous stories involved in his lifetime of experience. From the classroom beginner to the top-notch LD, this book is a strong tool to carry in your travel case.
Rating: 
Summary: PG2SL is an "under the hood" exploration of lighting design.
Review: There are many texts that explain the mental processes and methods used to create light on stage. Very few texts explain the purpose and use of the mechanical tools that are necessary to convert those conceptual images into a lighting design for a production.The most finite time period in any theatrical production starts when the the load-in begins and ends when the curtain opens to an audience. This constrained period of time can be called stage time. And this will come as no great news: There's never enough. Time spent on stage trying to make a decision, rather an implementing a decision, is often stage time that is wasted and can never be regained.when I was a younger student of lighting design, I wasted a lot of stage time. I had gone to classes and read books, but no one said anything about effectively using time. Without a system or enough experience, I would be led by others through a production schedule that usually resulted in an unfinished lighting design. While analyzing my dissapointment of unfulfilled designs, I finally realized that I had it backwards. Rather than walking in the door and backpedaling through whatever situation was dictated to me, I began searching for ways to dictate the situation. My goal broadened to not only creating a design, but also establishing the environment that would allow the design to be completed within the presented parameters.The creation of every lighting design requires a progressive sequence of tasks. Although every production is different, some variation of the tasks and choices must be followed to complete a design. Some speed expediting those tasks comes from experience and common sense. Other elements of the speed, however, come from proper homework. After years of watching and analyzing mistakes (both my own and others'), I believe I'm beginning to understand the relationships and progression of the steps. In doing so, I've created a general set of tools, methods, and techniques that I use to expedite the process.A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting is a "nuts and bolts" examination of some of these tools and methods. Part One examines the theatrical environment and explores the boundaries that define a light plot. Part Two examines the different documents used to define, communicate, and expedite a light plot. Part Three discusses each task involved in the on-site creation of a lighting design, and examines how the tools are applied to successfully and rapidly design light.The purpose of this book is to illustrate one series of methods that I've used to utilize the precious commodity of stage time and create theatrical lighting designs. A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting presents tools and techniques that solely address the realities of crafting a lighting plot with minimal space, tools, or time. Or, to put it another way, how to get the best lighting bang for your buck.
Rating:
Summary: A great useful book on the PROCESS of lighting
Review: This is hands-down the best book I've ever read regarding the process of designing and executing a lighting design. Other books do wonderful jobs of discussing instruments and electrical aspects, or how to create a design, but very few discuss the day-to-day paperwork and personal interactions involved in getting that design executed. This book addresses that subject thoroughly, discussing what documents to create, how to schedule time in the theatre, how to work with all the other folks involved in creating a production, and so on. Highly recommended.
| 
